Scientists discover 'Paatal Lok': A hidden world inside Earth's core

In ground-breaking recent findings, scientists have discovered what many are calling a whole new hidden underworld deep inside the Earth. According to a sensational new physics study, this underworld (translates to ‘Pataal Lok’ in Hindi) was found deep inside Earth's core.

The belief that Earth's inner core is solid has been around for over half a century. But the latest findings challenge this notion of the underworld, having discovered that the Earth's inner core is mushy. Till now, there has been wide consensus that Earth's inner core is a a solid ball of highly compressed iron ore which is wrapped around by an outer core which is liquid in state.

But the recent ground-breaking study published in the Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors journal on September 20 states that the firmness of the Earth's core varies from hard to semi-soft and to molten matter.

The University of Bristol's Jessica Irving, a seismologist, explained that the more we investigate the Earth's inner core, the more will fresh discoveries be found.

Jessica stated that until Jules Verne published the novel ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ in 1864, Earth's centre had remained a great mystery. According to Verne's fictional novel, the earth's core was hollow. This insight, however, was ignored by scientists in 1950.

According to scientists, the earth's core is extremely hot and pressured. This is just too much for a person or a human-made device to handle. Irving said, “Unless something awful happens to our planet, we will never have a direct observation of Earth's core”.

A report was written by Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology geophysicist Rhett Butler and his team. At five different locations on Earth, they analysed the waves sent by large earthquakes. Straight-Line Compression Waves, which flow in a straight line, and Undulating Shear Waves, which flow in a zigzag pattern, are the two vibrations. Depending on the type of geographical activity, each form of wave can increase or reduce its speed and leap.

Butler noticed that light waves struck some areas of the solid sphere in the earth's inner core and returned, while others passed through. If the entire thing had been solid, these waves would have clashed with it and returned.

The team double-checked several times and came to the same result each time. This indicates that perhaps the iron in the Earth's inner core can be found in solid, liquid, as well as soft forms.

Scientists believe that gaining a better understanding of the inner core will give them enhanced grasp about the relationship between the inside of a planet and its magnetic behaviour. They believe the study has the potential to transform the general view of the Earth's magnetic field.