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Data collected by NASA’s Messenger orbiter indicate that Mercury is rich in carbon, an element necessary for the formation of diamonds. This carbon, found in the form of graphite on the planet’s surface, likely extends throughout its interior, although its exact shape depends on the temperature and pressure at a particular location.
To verify this theory, scientists from the University of Liège, led by Bernard Charlier, conducted an experiment simulating the conditions inside Mercury about 4 billion years ago. At that time, the planet consisted of a vast ocean of magma surrounding a small metal core.
Charlier and his team placed a mixture of chemicals found on Mercury inside a graphite anvil piston, then subjected it to a pressure of 7 GPa and heated it to nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius. Find out The sample melted completely at a temperature of about 1900 °Cwhich indicates that in such circumstances Diamonds could have formed.
Diamonds on Mercury
What surprised the scientists was that the melting point was lower than expected. High temperatures will produce graphite, not diamond. As Charlier points out:
According to the researchers, once these diamonds formed in the core, they could have floated through Mercury’s interior and become lodged between its dense metallic core and its less dense silicate mantle. Over millions of years, the thickness of the diamond layer may have increased, and this may be the case now Up to 200 metres It constitutes about 1% of the planet’s total mass.
Charlier points out that individual diamonds in this layer may be much larger than those found on Earth, but this is just a theory at the moment. “Let’s be honest, we have no idea how big these diamonds might be,” the scientist admits.
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