A good subject to research. Nickel for sure. My [limited] understanding is that it is a non-spherical blob of hot solid iron, surrounded by a molten layer, that has vast crystalline protuberant waves on the core. If you believe NYT from 1995:
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/04/s...e-of-iron.html
Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center
https://www.psc.edu/science/Cohen_Stix/cohen_stix.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struct...the_Earth#Core
Quote:
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In early stages of Earth's formation about four and a half billion (4.5×109) years ago, melting would have caused denser substances to sink toward the center in a process called planetary differentiation (see also the iron catastrophe), while less-dense materials would have migrated to the crust. The core is thus believed to largely be composed of iron (80%), along with nickel and one or more light elements, whereas other dense elements, such as lead and uranium, either are too rare to be significant or tend to bind to lighter elements and thus remain in the crust (see felsic materials). Some have argued that the inner core may be in the form of a single iron crystal
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