2024-07-25 11:59:47
Beijing: Scientists have explored the possibility of the presence of large amounts of diamonds in the first planet of our solar system. A recent study suggests that there may be a thick layer of diamonds under the surface of Mercury. Live Science has given this information in one of its reports. Yanhao Lin, a staff scientist at the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Research in Beijing and co-author of the study, said that Mercury’s extremely high carbon content suggests that something special has probably happened inside this planet. He told that Mercury has a magnetic field. However, it is much weaker than that of the Earth. Along with this, NASA’s Messenger spacecraft has discovered unusually dark areas on the surface of Mercury in its study. It has been identified as graphite. The study published in the journal Nature Communications shows that the structure of the planet and sheds light on the unusual magnetic field. Scientists believe that the planets were probably formed by the cooling of a hot lava ocean. This is how other terrestrial planets developed. Mercury was probably composed of silicates and carbon. The planet’s outer crust and middle mantle formed as magma crystallized, while metals first solidified within it to form a central core.
This is the reason for the formation of diamond
For many years, scientists believed the temperature and pressure in the mantle were right for carbon to form graphite. Being lighter than the mantle, it floats on the surface. However, a 2019 study suggests that Mercury’s mantle may be up to 80 kilometers deeper than previously thought. This would significantly increase the temperature and pressure at the mantle-core boundary, resulting in conditions where carbon could crystallize into diamond.
Pressure condition of the planet prepared in the lab
To look at this possibility, a team of researchers from Belgium and China created chemical mixtures using carbon, silica and iron. The researchers added varying concentrations of iron sulfide to these mixtures. Using a multiple-anvil press, the scientists subjected the chemical mixtures to a pressure of 7 gigapascals. This amount of pressure is 70,000 times more than Earth’s atmospheric pressure at sea level. These harsh conditions reflect conditions found deep within Mercury. They used computer models to make precise measurements of temperatures and pressures near Mercury’s core-mantle boundary.
These computer simulations provide insight into the conditions inside the planet. The research found that the chemical mixture solidifies at a higher temperature when only sulfur is added. In such a situation, diamonds are more likely to form. The team’s computer model suggested that diamonds could form during the solidification of Mercury’s inner core under these changed conditions. However, despite the presence of diamonds, mining them is not possible. Apart from the extremely high temperatures on the planet, diamonds are located about 485 km below the surface, making them impossible to extract.