The best type of information about the Earth's interior is seismic. Seismic wave velocity depends on the value of the bulk modulus of the rock. The geophysicist Sir Harold Jeffreys derived a relation between temperature and bulk modulus for solids. From this, and the well known variation of velocity with bulk modulus for solids, we derived the variation of velocity for solids with temperature. We compared this relation to general data on rocks in order to test Jeffreys' predictions in our applications. Next, using the above relation as well as the well known relation between temperature and radius for an adiabatic Earth, we found the variation of bulk modulus with radius. This relation was then compared to actual values of the bulk modulus of the Earth in each major region.The variation of bulk modulus with radius should have been a close fit to the derived equation. This closeness of the fit would then be a measure of how close a region was too adiabatic conditions.The results of this study seem to indicate that the inner core and the outer core of the Earth seem to be near adiabatic conditions. / Department of Physics and Astronomy
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/184124 |
| Date | January 1991 |
| Creators | Hill, Robert L. |
| Contributors | Ball State University. Dept. of Physics and Astronomy., Thomas, Gerald P. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | viii, 106 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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