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SECRETS locked in Earth’s core could soon be revealed by a model that recreates our planet’s magnetic field in the lab.

The magnetic fields of planets like Earth are thought to be produced by turbulent molten metal in their cores. For the first time it may now be possible to confirm this experimentally.

To model Earth’s core, Bérengère Dubrulle at the Atomic Energy Commission in Saclay, France, and colleagues stirred up molten sodium using propellers rotating in opposite directions. The motion induced a self-sustaining magnetic field that spontaneously reversed direction – just as Earth’s field does periodically (Physical Review Letters, vol 98, p 004502).

It is not yet clear why this reversal occurs, but it suggests that Dibrulle’s model could eventually explain how such reversals occur in Earth and similar planets.