KEY TERMS

• • Conducting Fluid

    Liquid, gas or plasma material in which electrons are able to flow, thus making the fluid able to conduct electricity. When an electrically conductive fluid circulates, it generates a magnetic field. Earth’s outer core is an ocean of hot, liquid iron in constant motion; its circulation generates our planet’s magnetic field. Within Jupiter, scientists think its hydrogen is compressed by gravity into a liquid form that can conduct electricity; thus it is a conducting fluid that generates the planet’s magnetic field.