<p>This is just an amusing addition to the existing answer.</p>

<p>It turns out that a metallic hydrogen layer (which lets electrons move freely, and moving electrons means a magnetic field can form) is not enough to account for the size of Jupiter's magnetosphere.  It's off by a factor of approximately 2.</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_(moon)#Interaction_with_Jupiter.27s_magnetosphere" rel="nofollow">The rest of it is mostly thanks to Io</a>.  The wiki page will give a more complete description (of a rather complex system) and references, but here's the short of the matter.  </p>

<p>Io is on an eccentric orbit, thanks to a resonance with the other Galilean moons.  This gives it significant tidal heating (and as it is the closest of the Galilean moons, it has the most significant heating effect of them all).  This gives it volcanic activity, which puts new gaseous materials (sulfur, oxygen, and chlorine mostly) into its atmosphere.  Jupiter strips material from Io's upper atmosphere at about 1 metric ton per second.  This material ultimately forms ionized bands that generate substantial electric current, and significantly increases the magnetosphere around Jupiter as a result.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-15T00:29:39.753Z
2015-06-15T00:29:39.753Z
zibadawa timmy
<p>The mechanism that produces Jupiter's magnetic field is in principle not any different to that which produces Earth's magnetic field. Only that in the latter case it works with liquid iron instead of hydrogen. If you are interested, you may read about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamo_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">dynamo theory</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-25T08:24:16.253Z
2021-03-31T15:43:17.873Z
2021-03-31T15:43:17.873Z
Thomas
<p>I had heard that the large radiation belts around Jupiter may be formed by liquid metallic hydrogen in (or around) Jupiter's core (which Wikipedia says haven't been observed in labs yet due to the immense pressure required), but I don't understand how the liquid metallic hydrogen can form a planetary magnetic field. The article also says that the hydrogen can act as a conductor, is this somehow related to moving electric fields forming magnetic fields? </p>

<p>Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere_of_Jupiter">Magnetosphere of Jupiter - Wikipedia</a></p>

<solar-system><jupiter><magnetic-field><terrestrial-planets>
What Causes the Large Radiation Fields Around Jupiter?
Sarah Szabo
# What Causes the Large Radiation Fields Around Jupiter?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-10-08)

I had heard that the large radiation belts around Jupiter may be formed by liquid metallic hydrogen in (or around) Jupiter's core (which Wikipedia says haven't been observed in labs yet due to the immense pressure required), but I don't understand how the liquid metallic hydrogen can form a planetary magnetic field. The article also says that the hydrogen can act as a conductor, is this somehow related to moving electric fields forming magnetic fields?

Source: [Magnetosphere of Jupiter - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere_of_Jupiter)

**Tags:** solar-system, jupiter, magnetic-field, terrestrial-planets


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-06-15. Score: 2

This is just an amusing addition to the existing answer.

It turns out that a metallic hydrogen layer (which lets electrons move freely, and moving electrons means a magnetic field can form) is not enough to account for the size of Jupiter's magnetosphere. It's off by a factor of approximately 2.

[The rest of it is mostly thanks to Io](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_(moon)#Interaction_with_Jupiter.27s_magnetosphere). The wiki page will give a more complete description (of a rather complex system) and references, but here's the short of the matter.

Io is on an eccentric orbit, thanks to a resonance with the other Galilean moons. This gives it significant tidal heating (and as it is the closest of the Galilean moons, it has the most significant heating effect of them all). This gives it volcanic activity, which puts new gaseous materials (sulfur, oxygen, and chlorine mostly) into its atmosphere. Jupiter strips material from Io's upper atmosphere at about 1 metric ton per second. This material ultimately forms ionized bands that generate substantial electric current, and significantly increases the magnetosphere around Jupiter as a result.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-02-25. Score: 1

The mechanism that produces Jupiter's magnetic field is in principle not any different to that which produces Earth's magnetic field. Only that in the latter case it works with liquid iron instead of hydrogen. If you are interested, you may read about the [dynamo theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamo_theory)


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