Description
What is the interior structure of the Earth? We will start our
exploration of the Solar System with our home planet Earth. This
lecture discusses the interior structure of the Earth, introducing the
idea of differentiation, how geologists map the interior of the Earth
using seismic waves, and the origin of the Earth's magnetic field. I
describe the basic properties of the crust of the Earth, its division
into rigid tectonic plates, and describe how plate motions driven by
convection in the upper mantle have shaped the visible surface of our
planet over its dynamic history. Recorded 2007 Oct 30 in 1000 McPherson
Lab on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.
A new podcast, Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is available
for those interested in continuing an exploration of topics in
modern astronomy.
Published 12/06/09
Are we alone in the Universe? This lecture explores the question of how
we might go about finding life on planets around other stars. Rather
than talking about speculative ideas, like the Drake Equation or SETI, I
am instead taking the approach of posing it as a problem of what to look
for...
Published 11/30/07