2024-07-19 14:09:18
A study published in the journal Nature Communications suggests that hundreds of kilometres below Mercury’s surface lies a layer of diamonds about 15 kilometres thick.
Live Science reports this.
These results may shed light on the composition of the smallest planet in the solar system and help unravel the mysteries of its magnetic field. Mercury still holds many secrets, remaining the least studied planet in the solar system. For example, despite its small size and lack of geological activity, this planet has a global magnetic field, although it is significantly weaker than the Earth’s. This phenomenon came as a surprise to scientists.
Another mystery is the dark spots on Mercury’s surface, which have been identified as pockets of graphite, a form of carbon. Although Mercury is considered an unusual planet, scientists believe it formed in a similar way to Earth, Venus, and Mars, through the cooling of a hot magma ocean.
This magma ocean is thought to have been rich in carbon and silicon. The planet’s metallic core formed first, followed by the mantle and crust. For many years, scientists believed that Mercury’s mantle had temperatures and pressures high enough to allow carbon to form graphite, which could then fall to the planet’s surface.
Five years ago, researchers discovered that Mercury’s mantle is 50 kilometers thicker than previously thought. This means that the pressure and temperature at the boundary between the core and the mantle could be so high that diamonds could form from carbon.
The authors of the study decided to test the hypothesis about the formation of diamonds on Mercury. To do this, they recreated the chemical composition of magma characteristic of early Mercury and subjected it to pressure 70,000 times greater than Earth’s atmospheric pressure.
The researchers also heated the mass to temperatures close to 2,000 degrees Celsius. They say this allowed them to recreate conditions that might have existed deep beneath the surface of the first planet from the Sun. The study confirmed that such conditions are indeed favorable for diamond formation.
Scientists have concluded that during the formation of Mercury’s core, carbon could have turned into diamonds. According to their calculations, a layer of diamonds about 15 kilometers thick could be hidden in the depths of Mercury. However, mining these diamonds seems almost impossible.
In addition to the extreme conditions on Mercury, the diamond layer is located at a significant depth. Scientists estimate that these gems are located about 300 miles (485 kilometers) below the planet’s surface. The diamonds may facilitate the transfer of heat between the core and the mantle, creating a temperature gradient that causes the liquid iron in the outer part of the core to circulate. This circulation, in turn, generates a magnetic field.
Earlier, Cursor wrote that new research by scientists from Stanford University showed that diamonds occasionally fall on the gas giants Uranus and Neptune.
2024-07-19 14:09:18