Eerie simulation shows exactly what would happen if the Earth’s core cooled down

A terrifying simulation has shown exactly what would happen if the Earth's core drastically dropped in temperature.

While it's unlikely to occur in our lifetimes, the centre of our planet cooling down would spell big trouble.

As kids, most of us were convinced we could dig to the center of the Earth, some 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beneath us.

But it's a good job we can't, as the core is raging away at 10,832 degrees Farenheit (about 6,000 degrees Celsius).

And the feat would take a good while to complete; scientists in Russia spent 19 years digging the deepest manmade hole in existence in the 80s.

The Earth's core is nine percent hotter than the surface of the Sun (What If/YouTube)

The Kola Superdeep Borehole, in Murmansk Oblast, reached depths of 12,262 meters (40,230 ft) in 1989, almost two decades years after drilling began.

The project was stopped in 1995 due to a lack of funding, but also because deep down, Earth was hotter than anticipated.

Made up of two parts, the liquid outer core and solid inner core, the Earth's core is roughly nine percent hotter than the surface of the Sun.

But our planet's interior has been gradually cooling for all of its 4.5 billion-year existence.

If it cooled so much that the molten liquid center solidified, what would happen?

Fortunately, YouTube channel What If has created a simulation answering exactly that question.

Firstly, we'd lose our geomagnetic field, which is generated by the core's two centers.

It protects us against space radiation and charged particles emitted by our Sun, so we'd be screwed without it.

Another major issue would then present itself. We'd have no atmosphere, so the Earth would start feeling a bit like Mars.

We wouldn’t be able to breathe without a pressure suit and oxygen mask.

This is how we'd all be looking when the world cools down (Flash Movie/Getty Images)

And as our core isn't heating up water, rocks, or gas, the world would be getting colder and colder.

Volcanoes would no longer spurt lava and continents would stop drifting away from each other.

Earthquakes would no longer be a thing, which is great for people living on the ring of fire, I suppose.

Only, we’d all be dead before reaping the benefits of that one.

And if you fancied venturing to the center of the Earth, you may want to think again.

Even if it weren't dangerously hot, the Earth's core would still consist of 3.5 million tons of pressure, so you'd be instantly crushed to death.

There aren't many positive outlooks for this one...

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