Dear College of Science Faculty and Staff,
Here’s a summer science quiz for you.
Circle one. Which is closest to Boston?
- Our Northeastern Oakland campus
- Center of the earth
- The International Space Station
Answer: c. the ISS is 250 miles up. The center of the earth is 4,000 miles down, and Northeastern Oakland is 3,000 miles away (but the easiest to get to!)
Circle one. The deepest hole people have drilled is:
- 7 miles
- 70 miles
- 700 miles
Answer: a. The Kola borehole is apparently the deepest drilled hole at 7.6 miles, not even getting through the earth’s crust (~25 miles thick) where we all live.
I looked up these answers after a fascinating read around the changing rotation of earth’s inner core. What is this core? Well, our planet has several layers and the innermost core is a solid sphere made of iron-nickel alloy, with an estimated temperature of 9800oF, the same as the sun! The core spins, but not at the same speed as the earth’s rotation, and a change can influence day length.
The core is not so far away really, but no-one has seen it (see 2. above). Its existence has been inferred by monitoring how waves from earthquakes and explosions are deflected as they go through the earth and emerge on the other side. This is a fantastic example of science knowledge that does not come from direct observation, but from clever indirect methods.
Down is the most challenging direction to travel. It gets very hot, the pressure gets very high, very fast. We will likely never make that 4,000-mile trip except in fiction: like Jules Verne’s 1863 Journey to the Center of the Earth, a classic I read one winter in the cozy school library. And The Core, a notably bad Sci-fi movie with a smidgeon of truth, since without the core earth would collapse.
We bring the notion of a core to our collaborative, cross-disciplinary, global Northeastern University College of Science: educating the next generation of science professionals and solving the greatest research challenges. We celebrate our core for the thousands of new undergraduates, MS and PhD students joining the College across our global campuses in the Fall; for our outstanding new faculty, staff and postdocs; for the research grants being submitted and awarded; for all the important work you do. And as we work through challenges of implementing our wonderful vision, it's always helpful to focus on our core. Thank you for your outstanding work and commitment.
I’m available all summer if you would like to discuss any aspect of your successes or any challenges you’re confronting. If you would like input or assistance. If you have ideas to share. Simply email me or Sara Service and we’ll make a time to meet, individually, or as a group. Please come by.
Warm wishes to everyone.