Geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth, generated primarily by the decay of radioactive materials like potassium-40 in its core. This natural process keeps the Earth’s core extremely hot, around 5,000° Celsius. Heat travels from the core through the mantle and reaches the crust, gradually increasing in temperature the deeper you go, a phenomenon known as the geothermal gradient.
This heat can be harnessed for human use. Magma, which is super-heated molten rock beneath the Earth’s surface, heats surrounding rocks and water, creating natural geothermal features like geysers and hot springs. These can be used directly for heating or to generate electricity.
In regions like Iceland, geothermal energy is easy to access and widely used because of abundant hot water underground. In other places, such as the U.S., it might require deeper and more expensive drilling.
Various methods like geothermal heat pumps, which are shallow and efficient, utilize the Earth’s heat for both heating and cooling buildings. This system is considered very energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Additionally, some geothermal energy is also a byproduct of oil and gas production, which can be used to generate electricity.
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