Chapter 2: The Birth of Earth

Minerals began forming only after Earth itself took shape. This chapter explains how the young planet grew from dust and molten rock into a world with a solid surface.

From Dust to a Young Planet

After the early Solar System formed its spinning disk of gas and dust, certain regions of the disk began to grow faster than others. Small rocky bodies, known as planetesimals, collided and merged again and again. Over millions of years, these repeated collisions created a much larger body. This growing sphere would eventually become Earth.

A Molten Beginning

At this early stage, the young Earth was not solid. It existed as a ball of molten rock because of three sources of intense heat: constant impacts from other bodies, the decay of radioactive elements and the pressure created by its own growing mass. Almost nothing could survive on its surface.

As more material accumulated, Earth became large enough for its gravity to pull heavier elements toward the center. This slow sinking of dense material formed the core. Lighter minerals rose upward and formed the mantle. The outermost layer, which was still extremely hot, slowly began to cool and harden. This created the first version of Earth’s crust.

Early Atmosphere and Water

During this time, volcanic activity was widespread. Gases released from the interior began to form a very early atmosphere. Water vapor from these eruptions, along with water carried by certain meteorites, eventually collected at the surface as the planet cooled.

These first stable minerals became the starting point for all later geological processes, from the formation of rocks to the shaping of continents.

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