As a geophysicist with a deep understanding of the Earth's structure, I can explain why the inner core remains solid despite the extreme temperatures it experiences.
The key concept here is the interplay between temperature and pressure. While it's true that higher temperatures generally lead to a phase change from solid to liquid, the pressure exerted on a substance can counteract this effect. In the case of the Earth's inner core, the pressure is incredibly high due to the weight of the material above it. This high pressure allows the iron and nickel to remain in a solid state even though the temperature is extremely high, exceeding 5000 degrees Celsius.
So, the reason the inner core is solid despite being the hottest part of the Earth is because the
pressure is also
higher there, which allows for the existence of
solid iron-nickel at these extreme temperatures.
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