Now scientists have discovered the melting temperature and other key properties of silica when the substance is exposed to a pressure of 500 gigapascals. This pressure is nearly twice that of the Earths core, and is comparable to the pressure that exists at the boundary of the core and mantle in a super-Earth that is five times Earths mass, researchers said. This is also the level of pressure generated by the giant impacts seen in the violent, final stages of planet formation. [Formation of Planets in a Protoplanetary Disk (Video)] By looking at matter at high pressures and temperatures, we provide insight to people trying to understand the structure and evolution of planets, Millot said. Were not able to drill deep into planets, so to understand the interiors of planets, we recreate planetary interiors in the laboratory. To learn more about how silica behaves at 500 gigapascals, the researchers started with crystals of a very dense form of silica known as stishovite, which is usually found only in minute amounts near meteor-impact craters. The team synthesized this stishovite using special high-pressure crystal growth techniques that involved temperatures of 2,780 degrees Fahrenheit (1,525 degrees Celsius) and pressures of 13.5 gigapascals.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 22:36:32 +0000
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