Magnetism of Planets: Do Other Have It?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the magnetism of planets, exploring whether other planets besides Earth possess magnetic fields. Participants examine the relationship between a planet's core composition and its magnetic properties, as well as the mechanisms that may generate these fields.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that all planets with electrons should exhibit magnetism, suggesting a universal property of matter.
  • It is noted that Mars and Venus have almost no magnetic field, while Mercury does, leading to the idea that a metal core is necessary for a magnetic field.
  • Jupiter is mentioned as having a strong magnetic field despite lacking traditional metallic elements, with hydrogen behaving like a metal under extreme pressure.
  • Participants discuss the theory that a liquid metal core is essential for generating a magnetic field, emphasizing the need for a planet to be sufficiently large to maintain a molten core.
  • There is a question about the current understanding of the processes in planetary cores and whether there is an accepted model explaining how liquid metal generates magnetic fields.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the simplicity of the dynamo mechanism, asking for clarification on how electrical charge is produced and maintained in a neutral mantle.
  • Concerns are raised about the limitations of existing models of planetary magnetic fields compared to those of neutron stars, with an acknowledgment that many observations do not align with current models.
  • A participant wonders about the behavior of hydrogen in high-pressure conditions and its implications for magnetism, noting that hydrogen typically exhibits diamagnetism under normal conditions.
  • It is explained that under significant compression, hydrogen can exhibit metallic properties, which may contribute to magnetic field generation.
  • A participant shares a personal theory relating planetary magnetism to atomic structure, suggesting that magnetic strength could be a function of spin and proposing a connection between solar systems through magnetic fields.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the mechanisms of planetary magnetism and the conditions necessary for its existence. The discussion remains unresolved, with no consensus on several key points.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations in current understanding of planetary cores and the complexities involved in modeling magnetic fields, indicating that existing theories may not fully account for observed phenomena.

mdnazmulh
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Like the earth, do other planets have magnetism?
 
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Every electron, by nature, is a magnet. If there are electrons there has to be magnetism.So I think there will be magnetism in other planets also.
 
Mars seems to have almost no magnetic field at all, and the same for Venus. Mercury is the only inner planet besides us that seems to have one. The current theory is that having a magnetic field around a planet is dependent on having a metal core.

The outer planets have truly monsterous magnetosheres. Neptune's magnetic poles are so far out of alignment from its rotational poles that the planet looks like it could be used as an alternator!
 
LURCH said:
The current theory is that having a magnetic field around a planet is dependent on having a metal core.
Specifically a liquid metal core - which means a minimum size of planet to be big enough to have melted the core and large enough to keep it warm.

Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field, although it doesn't have any metal.
Under the extreme pressures at the centre of Jupiter, Hydrogen can behave a little like a metal.
 
Do we really have so little knowledge of the processes in our planets' core? (And when there is so much literature concerning models of neutron star magnetic fields..)

Is there an accepted model of why the liquid metal gives rise to the field?
 
The overall mecahnism is known, conducing iron flows in convection currents creating effecively a dynamo.
The details are a little more complicated than a simple model of a symetric rotating neutron star.
 
mgb_phys said:
The overall mecahnism is known, conducing iron flows in convection currents creating effecively a dynamo.
Really that simple? My dynamo experience does not lend me to expect that stirring a bowl of quicksilver should produce any magnetic field. Could you expand on how electrical charge is produced (if the mantle were initially neutral) and maintained (when convection sounds slow compared to the conductivity)?
 
mgb_phys said:
Specifically a liquid metal core - which means a minimum size of planet to be big enough to have melted the core and large enough to keep it warm.

Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field, although it doesn't have any metal.
Under the extreme pressures at the centre of Jupiter, Hydrogen can behave a little like a metal.

Although it clearly isn't size alone that makes this determination (Mercury has a magnetic field and Mars and Venus do not). And yes, it would be fair to say that nobody really knows why. It's amazing how much we don't know. But, regarding the models of magnetic fields of neutron stars; they are only models, and we do have models of planetary magnetic fields. We just can't get the models to match some of the observations.

A team of researchers at Maryland University are trying to buildhttp://complex.umd.edu/dynamo/index.html" called a " geodynamo" to explore why the magnetic field apparently "flips" periodically.
 
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But I wonder how hydrogen could behave like a metal in a high-pressure condition? What is the theory that leads to the magnetism inside the hydrogen core( if there is really a hydrogen core inside Neptunian Planet)? Hydrogen in normal condition exhibit diamagnetism, which mean it has very weak magnetic field.
 
  • #10
Nothin really fancy; when Hydrogen is significantly compressed, the electrons become free to rome from one nucleous to another. Once this happens, the element matches the definition of a "metal."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallic_hydrogen" about that metal being achieved in a lab heer on Earth (at Livermore).
 
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  • #11
Finally, ty for the confirmation.

I've been trying to relate the macro world to atomic world. I say that planets are like electrons in an atom. I claim that the magnetic strength is a function of spin. Heck, our solar system might be bonding with some the adjacent solar system by some outter planet that have strong magnetic field. Don't tell me I'm wrong. I can't take this. :)
 

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