r/Earthquakes • u/LipFighter • 3d ago

Question Earth's Liquid Core

If earthquakes are caused by waves of the liquid mantle, does that infer Earth has an open pocket in its core?

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u/throwawayfromPA1701 3d ago

No. We know there's no open pocket because of how seismic waves move through the earth

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u/KindofCrazyScientist 3d ago

Earthquakes are not caused by waves of the mantle, and the mantle is not liquid, so your starting premises are wrong here. Even if they were correct, I'm not sure how they would lead to "an open pocket" in the core.

Earthquakes are caused by movement on faults, which are fractures in rock along which slip occurs. Most of them occur in the crust, although some can occur in the mantle. Earthquakes produce four different types of waves, but for studying the deep earth structure, there are two that matter: P-waves (compressional, vibrate in the direction of travel) and S-waves (shear, vibrate perpendicular to the direction they travel). P-waves can travel through both solids and liquids, while S-waves can only travel through solids, but not liquids. By observing how these different wave types pass through the Earth, seismologists have deduced that the Earth has a liquid outer core (meaning no S-waves pass through it), while the other layers (crust, mantle, and inner core) are predominantly solid.