Skip to main content

How does temperature affect the formation of magma?

Magma is another name for molten rocks. Due to the heat of Earth's interior, rocks melt and rise to the surface. If there is an opening in the Earth's crust, the molten rocks flow over the surface and are known as lava. This is observed during volcanic eruptions.


The melting of rocks is a function of temperature. The higher the temperature, the more rock melts and the less viscous the magma is. It should be noted that there are a variety of rocks in the Earth's mantle and they melt at different temperatures. If the temperature is lower, only some rocks (generally the ones with more silicon content) will melt. Thus, at lower temperatures, we will observe magma with high silicon content. Temperature also affects the final magma composition and structure. For example, at lower temperatures, the magma crystallizes faster. 


Hope this helps. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more