What is the Earth's Core Made of?

Based on the relative prevalence of various chemical elements in our solar system, the theory of planetary formation, and constraints imposed or implied by the chemistry of the rest of the Earth, the inner core is believed to consist primarily of a nickel-iron alloy known as “NiFe”. Oxygen, sulfur, silicon, and possibly volatiles such hydrogen and carbon are also believed to be present in smaller amounts. This talk will examine the consistency of recent mineral physics simulation results of outer and inner core compositional contrast and seismic information of these two deepest layers of the Earth.