The
Mass of the Earth and the Planet's Magnetic Field
The size
of Earth is no less important for life than are
its distance from the Sun, its rotational speed,
or geographical features. Looking at the planets
we see a great range of sizes: Mercury is less
than a tenth the size of Earth while Jupiter is
318 times bigger. Is the size of Earth as compared
with other planets "coincidental"? Or is it deliberate?
When
we examine the dimensions of Earth we can easily
see that our planet was designed to be exactly
as big as it is. American geologists Frank Press
and Raymond Siever comment on Earth's "fitness":
And
Earth's size was just about right -
not too small as to lose its atmosphere because
its gravity was too small to prevent gasses
from escaping into space, and not so large that
its gravity would hold on to too much atmosphere,
including harmful gases.1
In
addition to its mass, the interior of Earth is
also specially designed. Because of its core,
Earth has a strong magnetic field whose role in
the preservation of life is vital. According to
Press and Siever:
The
earth's interior is a gigantic but delicately
balanced heat engine fueled by radioactivity
…Were it running more slowly, geological activity
would have proceeded at a slower pace. Iron
might not have melted and sunk to form the liquid
core, and the magnetic field would never have
developed…if there had been more radioactive
fuel and a faster running engine, volcanic gas
and dust would have blotted out the Sun,
the atmosphere would have been oppressively
dense, and the surface would have been racked
by daily earthquakes and volcanic explosions.2
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At
the justify of the earth there's a sort
of heat-driven engine that is so perfectly
adjusted that it is strong enough to generate
the planet's magnetic shield yet not so
strong as to engulf the crust above in lava.
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The magnetic field these geologists talk about is
of great importance for life. This magnetic field
originates from the structure of Earth's core. The
core consists of heavy elements like iron and nickel
that are capable of holding a magnetic charge. The
inner core is solid while the outer one is liquid.
The two layers of the core move around each other
and this movement is what generates Earth's magnetic
field. Extending far beyond the surface, this field
protects Earth from the effects of detrimental radiation
from outer space. The radiation of stars other than
the sun cannot travel through this shield. The Van
Allen Belt, whose magnetic lines extend
ten thousand miles from Earth, protects the globe
from this deadly energy. It
is calculated that the plasma clouds trapped by
the Van Allen Belt sometimes attain energy levels
100 billion times more powerful than that the
atomic bomb released over Hiroshima. Cosmic rays
may be equally detrimental. The earth's magnetic
field however lets only 0.1% of that radiation
through and that is absorbed by the atmosphere.
The electrical energy needed to create and maintain
such a magnetic field is nearly a billion amperes,
as much as mankind has generated throughout history.
If
this protective shield did not exist, life would
be destroyed by harmful radiation from time to
time and might not have come into existence at
all. But as Press and Siever point out, Earth's
core is exactly designed to keep the planet safe.
In
other words, there is a special purpose as stated
in the Qur'an:
We
made the sky a persevered and protected roof
yet still they turn away from Our Signs.
(Surat al-Anbiya: 32)
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