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The three principal internal sources of heat for the terrestrial planets are;

  1. accretion,
  2. differentiation,
  3. radioactivity.

The first two mainly occur during the planets formation. Accretion, as gas, dust and smaller bodies collide to form the planet, generating heat on impact and differentiation. Differentiation is the process where the most dense outer material falls to the centre of the planet heating the core through friction during accretion. The source of the thermal energy is the gravitational potential energy which the extended mass had before accretion. The planet holds this heat for billions of years.


Radioactive material was present in the original accretion disk. The long lived radioactive elements decay for billions of years. (On Earth, these are potassium-40, uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium-232.) This also contributes significantly to internal heating, as unstable radioactive nuclei split and release energy (fission).

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