In: Physics
The Earth's magnetic field
Select one:
a. has flipped its North and South pole directions numerous times
b. controls the orbit of the Moon
c. is generated by The Sun
d. has remained constant since it was first created
Ans.
a. Has flipped it's north and south pole direction numerous times..
While the North and South magnetic poles are usually located near the geographic poles, they can wander widely over geological time scales, but sufficiently slowly for ordinarycompasses to remain useful for navigation. However, at irregular intervals averaging several hundred thousand years, the Earth's field reverses and the North and South Magnetic Poles relatively abruptly switch places. These reversals of the geomagnetic poles leave a record in rocks that are of value to paleomagnetists in calculating geomagnetic fields in the past. Such information in turn is helpful in studying the motions of continents and ocean floors in the process of plate tectonics.