Iron and irony

"Life is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel." - Voltaire,

Did you know that the Earth that we live on has a central core that it made of iron? I am a geologist a.k.a Earth scientist by profession. By virtue of this I have studied at some lengths about the Earth Sciences.

Earth’s Core

During my first semester graduation course in college, I remember we were taught in great details about the internal structure of the earth. Earth primarily has three layers. The crust is the outer surface on which we live, the middle mantle and the central core. The core has two divisions. The inner core is made of solid iron whereas the outer core is made of liquid iron. This is a somewhat simplified description the earths structure.

Now it is the outer core which has circulating molten liquid iron which makes things pretty interesting for earth. It generates the electromagnetic fields that make life on earth possible. So we may say the circulating molten iron keeps the earth going on. Like a lifeline.

Human Core

A few days back, another thought struck me related to iron. This thought was that, We humans have blood in our veins and arteries. The heart pumping this blood and flowing of this blood is what keeps us alive. Now a major componet of our blood is haemoglobin which is an iron rich protein responsible for oxygen transport. So, basically without iron in our bodies we will stop living.
Now I could not stop myself from drawing a parallel between the role of iron in the earths core and it’s role in the human core. Do you see a similarity? Each and every living being with haemoglobin in their bloods, is powered by iron. This is like a micro reflection of the functioning’s of the earth within each being.

Why?

This cannot be a coincidence. I thought a lot about it and came up with a semi explanation or you can call it a hypothesis. This concept is somehow related to the Big Bang event. The Big Bang event was when our universe was formed and the cosmic soup necessary for creation of the earth and all its life came into being some 13.8 billion years ago. Something related to iron must have happened at that time. That is the reason due to which the cores of all planets including our planet earth is made of iron.

Eventually life evolved on earth and human beings came into existence with iron rich blood pumping through their veins. The fuel liquid that keeps us breathing and living.

Iron deficiency in our diet can cause anaemia. Anaemia can cause debilitating weakness and long term complications. Pregnant women need extra iron supplementation for healthy development of the baby. That’s how important iron is for human development. And I have already explained how iron is necessary for the existence of earth as we know it!

To know a bit more about the Earths core, you can watch the movie “Core” on Netflix. This movie is a popular scientific depiction of how important the Earth’s core is.

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z“ and this is the “I” post.