Material under Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) Extreme Condition Simulator. Scientists use this as a tool to study the hot
inside the giant planet ? It sounds like a scene in a science fiction novel. However, based on published scientific research results, this refining process has been implemented in the laboratory.
This breakthrough experiment means: Some planets in our solar system may contain a layer of precious material distributed throughout the layer - diamond .
For a long time, people have speculated that there is diamond "rain" deep underground between Uranus and Neptune - this is the "crystal" of the polymerization of carbon and hydrogen in the ultra-high pressure environment.
German researchers used X-ray free electron laser in the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to simulate the internal environment of these planets. They use strong lasers to create shock waves in plastic.
"We prepared the world's brightest X-ray emission source for this experiment," said Sigfried Glenzel, a photonic science professor at SLAC, who is also a co-author of the paper. "These high-intensity fast pulse X-rays are needed to see the structure of these diamonds - because they only form in the laboratory, and the time is very short."
The nano diamond created in this experiment may help researchers explore the mystery of nuclear fusion - the polymerization of hydrogen atoms to generate helium atoms. In some fusion experiments, two portions of hydrogen fuel were compressed into plastic, similar to the condition inside the planet.
These diamonds lasted less than a second. Under a specific pressure/temperature, a pair of shock waves shoot towards polystyrene molecules, thereby producing diamond microparticles. Polystyrene is composed of a mixture of hydrogen carbons, similar to the chemical composition of Neptune and Uranus.
Researchers 'illuminated' these diamond particles through laser pulse . This is the first time that humans have observed this chemical reaction, which also adds evidence to the theory of "how diamonds are formed inside the planet".
"Before, researchers could only assume that diamonds had formed," Dominic Klaus said. He is a scientist at the Helmholtz Federation and the first author of the paper. "The moment I saw the latest experimental results was one of the best moments in my scientific career."
Understanding the polymerization reaction of various elements under specific temperature and pressure conditions can tell us the internal conditions of the planet and deepen our understanding of the planet. Before, we could only understand them by observing their orbits and sizes.
"We cannot conduct observations deep into these planets. So these laboratory results complement satellite and telescope observations," Klaus said.
Next, the team hopes to use the same method to study other chemical reactions that may occur inside the planet.
"The simulator doesn't really capture what we're observing in this field," Glenzel said. "The research of our colleagues can prove that the aggregation of matter in this type of high-pressure environment is a force that cannot be ignored."
Translation: Yangqiu
Source: Wired
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