An Overview of Earth’s Layers

We only interact with the very surface of the Earth, called the crust. So what else is down there? What is the composition of the Earth? How many layers are there, and how do they differ? What is the mantle, and how does it convect? What is the core made of? How does the Earth generate a magnetic field? Let's dig into all of this and more!

Script by Jared Matteucci

Check out "Is This Wi-Fi Organic?", my book on disarming pseudoscience!

[maivaiva]

In these tutorials I especially love that you don't shy away from dumping a lot of information at once, since everyone can watch the video multiple times and review. This is very informative and condensed, and at the same time accessible even if you only half-remember high school introduction to geology.

[danf]

I always imagined that the subducting plate was being pushed under the overriding plate instead of pulled. That never jived with how those splits look in the oceanic crust where new material is being exposed. This makes sense now.

[glennpearson]

Man, I just love this series. Somewhere along the way in my college education, decades ago, I had to make a choice about what I wanted to study. I ultimately decided on civil engineering, but I had so much interest in geology that I used most of my elective courses on topics like this. Looking forward to the next installment which will, no doubt, cover P-waves and S-waves and how we used seismic events on one side of the planet to better understand the deepest reaches of our planet from the other side. Great work, Professor Dave!

[JakeWitmer]

This was an awesome update to my high-school sophomore "Earth Science" class. Thanks, Dave!

[tygerbyrn]

The illustrations are wonderful. Very informative and yet have an artful elegance to them.

[wbegg]

Very good explanation! i spent 33 years in the mining industry as a mining geo and a Senior Engineer. Most recently at a project/mine owned by Sibanye/Stillwater her in southern Montana. Our deposit is a VERY old Intrusive unit that was uplifted during the Beartooth mountain uplift. Our deposits are dated at 1.2 Billion years old (yes, 9 zeros). Never got subducted again. Uplifted over MUCH younger Limestone unit. We mine Platinum and Palladium. We mine a little "sliver" of the entire original magma settlement. Just 1 corner (0.001%). but still our mine life is 50+ years that we know of. If you ever want an underground tour, you're more than welcome!

[jessicadeines]

I cannot thank you enough for this video. My young son was asking me about what caused volcanos and I was not able to articulate it well. We watched this together and paused whenever he needed to study the image. He even correct his uncle when they talked about lava vs magma which made me so proud as we had talked about it after your video. Thank you as always Professor Dave.

[imperialguardsman]

I believe there's a pretty big facility in the UK where they have a machine that simulates magnetosphere generation with a large sphere of molten metal. They've found that the magnetic field can appear spontaneously

[smellafella]

I love this channel; it's pretty nice to check back here every few days or weeks to refresh my knowledge on some interesting subjects

[waelfadlallah]

Professor Dave you always make science interesting please keep on going with the thing you do

[oliviapauw]

The power of such a good summary. Thank you very much, this video clarified a lot for me.

[harrietharlow]

Gret video, Professor Dav. I look forward to the next lecture. Geology (esp. marine geology), violcanology, and seismology being three fields of interest.

[KMMK]

You are amazing Professor Dave! This is one of the best videos I've seen about the layers of the Earth!

[janegael]

This was absolutely fascinating. I knew some of this but by far, not all of it.

[CaptainCuttlefish]

at around 8:50 you say that the inner core grows by a rate of 1 millimeter per year, but is that an increase in radius of 1mm, or an increase in diameter of 1mm?

[robkesik]

So, what you're REALLY saying is, watching the movie "The Core" was not enough in and of itself to get my PHD?

[phoenixkingtheo]

These videos are bringing me back to my historical geology days in college. Was my favorite class I took and love these summary videos!

[jacobcasmus]

I was looking for a detailed explanation and I found it lol. I didn't think it would be so in depth that most of it went over my head tho lol, still an awesome video! My Thanks

[dontcallmelil]

The Geodynamo has to be the coolest thing I've ever heard. Metal af

[Psiredem]

I'm tackling a bachelor's degree in biology and geology in early September, and this man is a hero!

All hail Professor Dave Farina, Holy Slayer of Ignorance!

EDIT:

Well, it turns out I couldn't solve my illiteracy in mathematics and thus had to abort the whole project. Oh well. At least I can still enjoy science thanks to YouTube channels such as this one!