Why is the outer core so hot?

This occurs through both "convective" transport of heat within the earth's liquid outer core and solid mantle and slower "conductive" transport of heat through nonconvecting boundary layers, such as the earth's plates at the surface. read more

As the outer core is fluid and presumably convecting (and with an additional correction for the presence of impurities in the outer core), we can extrapolate this range of temperatures to a temperature at the base of Earth's mantle (the top of the outer core) of roughly 3,500 to 5,500 kelvins (5,800 to 9,400 degrees F) at the base of the earth's mantle. read more

It is from nuclear fission of uranium, thorium and decay of potassium. Both uranium and thorium have relatively long radioactive half lives. read more

The Outer Core is the second to last layer of the Earth. It is a magma like liquid layer that surrounds the Inner Core and creates Earth's magnetic field. In this section you will learn about how Earth's magnetic field is created, how hot it is, how thick the Outer Core is and a few interesting facts about the Outer Core. read more