'Electric Earth' Could Explain Planet's Rotation 153
sciencehabit writes "When it comes to Earth's rotation, you might think geophysicists have pretty much everything figured out. Not quite. In order to explain some variations in the way our planet spins, Earth's mantle — the layer of hot, softened rock that lies between the crust and core — must conduct electricity, an ability that the mantle as we know it shouldn't have. Now, a new study (academic paper) finds that iron monoxide, which makes up 9% of the mantle, actually does conduct electricity just like a metal, but only at temperatures and pressures found far beneath the surface."
this is all fine and dandy (Score:5, Insightful)
as long as this story doesn't bring out the electric universe trolls
Re:Magnetic field + conductor = Electricity? (Score:5, Insightful)
Electricity is remarkably lazy, and doesn't do anything it isn't forced to do. It will always follow the path of least resistance, and will never flow from a point of lower voltage to higher (that would be like water flowing up hill). If there's electricity flowing, you have to ask what's causing it to flow. What's increasing the voltage between the two points? If you harvest the electricity without unerstanding why it's flowing in the first place, you won't know what the consequences may be.