Scientists from the University of Beijing said that the inner core of the Earth can change the direction of its rotation.. In the last decade, it has practically stopped rotating and is now spinning in the opposite direction, according to the researchers, according to Science Alert..

The fact that the inner core rotates in relation to the mantle above it, scientists learned relatively recently, this was confirmed in 1996. Prior to this, the idea that the Earth's inner core rotates separately from the rest of the planet was an unproven theory predicted by a model of our planet's magnetic field..

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Since then, scientists have been trying to figure out how fast or slow the nucleus is spinning.. At first it was believed that it makes a smooth turn every 400 years. This happens under the influence of electromagnetic torque and is balanced by gravitational attraction.. But soon another theory appeared that the core rotates more slowly and makes such a revolution in 1000 or more years..

In a new study, scientists used the same method that helped to find out that the nucleus does rotate.. In 1996, researchers tracked seismic wave readings from repeated earthquakes, called doublets, that passed through the inner core.? from the South Atlantic to Alaska between 1967 and 1995.

If the inner core did not move, the shock waves would have to repeat the path. But scientists have shown that between the 1960s and 1990s, seismic waves got a fraction of a second faster..

In a new study, scientists used this archival data, comparing it with more recent observations of seismic waves.. They found that since about 2009, paths that previously exhibited significant temporal variations remained virtually unchanged as seismic waves passed through the core and exited the other side.. Any time difference is gone.

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According to the researchers, this stop is due to the reversibility of rotation. The core begins to rotate in the opposite direction as part of the seventy-year oscillation.

According to their calculations, a slight imbalance of electromagnetic and gravitational forces would be enough to slow down and then reverse the rotation of the inner core.. This is what is happening now.

Scientists believe that the core changes its direction of rotation approximately every 60-70 years..

Earlier, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that the Earth's inner core may be in a superionic state.. According to the researchers, the heavy elements of the deep interior of our planet form a crystal lattice, and the light ones flow freely between them..