Originally posted by jjw004:
Does a planets orientation contribute to its internal heat?
Your idea, if I understand it correctly, is that (1) a planet's rotation around its axis has an effect on its magnetic field; (2) that the more extreme the deviation from the perpendicular (in relation to the plane of the orbit), the more extreme the effect on the magnetic field; (3) that a rotation in a direction opposite to the common direction of most planets has a significant effect on the magnetic field; (4) that these effects on the planet's magnetic field encounter resistance or otherwise interact with the sun's magnetic field or solar wind or cosmic radiation or something, so that (5) the planet's core generates heat.
I'm not sure I buy it. Do you have any analogous observations about the interplay of magnetic fields that would indicate (a) that heat would be generated this way and (b) that any such heat would arise within the planet rather than out in its magnetic lines of force in space? Do you have any analogous observations about magnetic fields created by physical forces similar to a planet's rotation, which would indicate that the angle or direction of rotation have any significant effect on the magnetic field so created?
While you're answering these questions, you might also want to ponder the fact that Venus doesn't appear to be throwing off more heat than it is absorbing (so its atmosphere and proximity to the sun would appear to explain its temperature).
And you might also want to ponder the likelihood of fusion occurring in the cores of the gas giants, which is widely supposed to be occurring at least within Jupiter, and not improbably within the other three.
