Molten Core Inside The Moon?

beggs writes: "The Times (free reg et al.) is running an article about the possibility of a molten core inside the moon and that this, if confirmed may lend support the the theory that the moon is the child of a violent collision between mother earth and some other heavenly body in the distance past."

Re:Energy

[Christopher Thomas]

IF we had a moon colony how would a molten core compare to solar cells as an energy source?

Solar would be better.

Especially with no atmosphere or weather to degrade the incoming sunlight, solar cells work quite well.

Geothermal is a pain to work with under the best of circumstances (you can only build a large-scale plant (no small power sources)), and even if the moon has an energy-producing core (tidally kneaded or (like Earth's) radioisotope-powered), the amount of energy flowing out of it is small compared to Earth's (no volcanism or rapidly convecting mantle). This means that the yield from geothermal on the moon will under the best of conditions be much lower than on Earth.

Given that solar power is so convenient, I don't see any strong reason to use geothermal. Power storage for half a month isn't *that* hard, and if you need enough power to make storage impractical, you can put big mylar mirrors in orbit around the moon to reflect enough sunlight to supply your photocells (probably cheaper than a power cable around the equator).

No way

[AllMightyPaul]

Having a molten core would NOT lend support to the theory that the moon splintered off of the Earth. In fact, the non-existence of a molten-core would better lend support to that theory than a molten core. This is simply because if the moon splintered off of the earth, it is going to be one giant rock. How does one get a molten core from just a rock? Does anyone else see what I'm saying?

Aren't there easier tests?

[looseBits]

Measuring fluctuations in the Moon's size obviously tell you if it is solid or not but what about looking at the magnetic field. If the core of the Moon is liqued, then you wouldn't you see a large magnetic field from the free flowing ions in the core? That is what is responsible for the Earth's field.