from the it's-raining-diamonds-hallelujah dept.
A new study has found that "diamond rain," a long-hypothesized exotic type of precipitation on ice giant planets, could be more common than previously thought.
In an earlier experiment, researchers mimicked the extreme temperatures and pressures found deep inside ice giants Neptune and Uranus and, for the first time, observed diamond rain as it formed.
[...] The new study provides a more complete picture of how diamond rain forms on other planets and, here on Earth, could lead to a new way of fabricating nanodiamonds, which have a very wide array of applications in drug delivery, medical sensors, noninvasive surgery, sustainable manufacturing, and quantum electronics.
In the previous experiment, the researchers studied a plastic material made from a mixture of hydrogen and carbon, key components of the overall chemical composition of Neptune and Uranus. But in addition to carbon and hydrogen, ice giants contain other elements, such as large amounts of oxygen.
In the more recent experiment, the researchers used PET plastic – often used in food packaging, plastic bottles, and containers – to reproduce the composition of these planets more accurately.
"PET has a good balance between carbon, hydrogen and oxygen to simulate the activity in ice planets," said Dominik Kraus, a physicist at HZDR and professor at the University of Rostock.
[...] The researchers predict that diamonds on Neptune and Uranus would become much larger than the nanodiamonds produced in these experiments – maybe millions of carats in weight. Over thousands of years, the diamonds might slowly sink through the planets' ice layers and assemble into a thick layer of bling around the solid planetary core.
[...] The research also indicates a potential path forward for producing nanodiamonds by laser-driven shock compression of cheap PET plastics. While already included in abrasives and polishing agents, in the future, these tiny gems could potentially be used for quantum sensors, medical contrast agents and reaction accelerators for renewable energy.
Previously: Scientists Create High Pressure "Diamond Rain" Using Lasers
Journal Reference:
Zhiyu He, Melanie Rödel, Julian Lütgert, et al., Diamond formation kinetics in shock-compressed C─H─O samples recorded by small-angle x-ray scattering and x-ray diffraction, Sci Adv, 8, 35, 2022. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo0617
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In an experiment designed to mimic the conditions deep inside the icy giant planets of our solar system, scientists were able to observe "diamond rain" for the first time as it formed in high-pressure conditions. Extremely high pressure squeezes hydrogen and carbon found in the interior of these planets to form solid diamonds that sink slowly down further into the interior.
The glittering precipitation has long been hypothesized to arise more than 5,000 miles below the surface of Uranus and Neptune, created from commonly found mixtures of just hydrogen and carbon. The interiors of these planets are similar—both contain solid cores surrounded by a dense slush of different ices. With the icy planets in our solar system, "ice" refers to hydrogen molecules connected to lighter elements, such as carbon, oxygen and/or nitrogen.
Researchers simulated the environment found inside these planets by creating shock waves in plastic with an intense optical laser at the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's X-ray free-electron laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). SLAC is one of 10 Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science laboratories.
Formation of diamonds in laser-compressed hydrocarbons at planetary interior conditions (DOI: 10.1038/s41550-017-0219-9) (DX)
(Score: -1, Troll) by hachihachido on Wednesday September 14 2022, @08:10AM (2 children)
Why do all these front page stories get so few comments, since the AC purge? One would think that "raining diamonds" would at least give khallow a comment stiffy.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday September 14 2022, @08:18AM
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday September 14 2022, @08:21AM
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday September 14 2022, @12:47PM (1 child)
In other words, all that plastics in the ocean is just preparing the planet for raining diamonds. :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Freeman on Wednesday September 14 2022, @01:39PM
True, but then how would the corporations be able to artificially limit the supply?
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"