The Earth's Core Is Made Up Of Iron, Nickel, And Silicon

This study suggests silicon exists in the Earth's inner core with iron and nickel

BBC: New candidate for 'missing element' in Earth's core

Japanese scientists believe they have established the identity of a "missing element" within the Earth's core.

They have been searching for the element for decades, believing it makes up a significant proportion of our planet's centre, after iron and nickel.

Now by recreating the high temperatures and pressures found in the deep interior, experiments suggest the most likely candidate is silicon.

The discovery could help us to better understand how our world formed.

Lead researcher Eiji Ohtani from Tohoku University told BBC News: "We believe that silicon is a major element - about 5% [of the Earth's inner core] by weight could be silicon dissolved into the iron-nickel alloys."

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CSN Editor: key points of this post .... The innermost part of Earth is thought to be a solid ball with a radius of about 1,200km (745 miles).

Also ....

It is mainly composed of iron, which makes up an estimated 85% of its weight, and nickel, which accounts for about 10% of the core.