2023-09-25 06:09:45
According to new research, diamonds fall from the mantle of Neptune, but not from the mantle of Uranus, despite previous research. The results may explain a decade-long controversy. The liquid material beneath the icy hydrogen-helium atmospheres of Neptune and Uranus is rich in water, ammonia, methane, and perhaps something far more dazzling, diamonds. Scientists have long suspected that these gems may have plunged from the ice giants’ mantles into their rocky cores. The theoretical results, published Feb. 27 in the journal Nature Communications, suggest that while Neptune’s mantle may have ideal diamond-forming conditions, Uranus may not. However, the interior of the ice giants is still extremely mysterious. A number of additional missions are needed to confidently predict diamond showers. “Planets with the mass of Uranus and Neptune are quite common in the galaxy,” said Ravit Helled, a researcher at the University of Zurich. The researcher added that understanding the processes taking place inside ice giants is “very important in terms of characterizing exoplanets and understanding our own origins”. According to previous research, there are large quantities of diamonds not only on the mentioned planets, but also on the surface of Mercury. The origin of this might be that rocks from space crashing into the graphite covering the planet’s surface might have crushed the surface layer into diamond shards. DIAMONDS IN THE SKY? In the 1980s, following Voyager 2 flew past the planets, scientists noticed that Neptune glows from its own internal heat, while Uranus only reflects energy from the Sun. Scientists have been struggling to explain this difference ever since. “For the past few decades, the game with these planets has been trying to figure out why they’re really different, since they look so similar,” said researcher Jonathan Fortney. According to a new study led by Bingqing Cheng, the diamond rain may be one piece of the puzzle. As the gems fall through the mantle, they release gravitational energy in the form of heat. Although less dramatic than an asteroid igniting in our atmosphere, the principle is similar. Meteorites (or diamonds) rub once morest the medium they pass through and this friction releases heat. When Cheng’s team calculated the “freezing point” of carbon under conditions like those found on Neptune and Uranus. They discovered that there is a narrow range of temperatures and pressures that are ideal for the formation of diamonds. Under these conditions, carbon and hydrogen separate from each other and the carbon concentrates into a carbon-rich liquid that is perfect for diamond formation. This concentrated liquid can freeze as diamond rain. According to Cheng and his colleagues, while this diamond rain is possible on Neptune, the conditions on Uranus are not suitable. If this is true, then the research might provide an explanation for the planet’s mysteriously dim light. UNSOLVED MYSTERIES Another study by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory revealed more details regarding diamonds. The results provide a more complete picture of how diamond showers form on other planets. The discoveries here on Earth might also lead to new ways of producing nanodiamonds. If the results are correct, very broad application possibilities can be revealed. The research can bring innovation in pharmaceuticals, medical sensors, non-invasive surgery, sustainable manufacturing and quantum electronics. In addition, according to the researchers, the diamonds on Neptune and Uranus may be much larger than the nanodiamonds produced in these experiments, perhaps weighing several million carats. Over thousands of years, diamonds can slowly sink through the planets’ ice layers and form a thick layer of mica around the solid planetary core. Despite the research, both Fortney and Helled caution that scientists still don’t have a very good idea of what it might be like inside ice giants. Humanity has had the only close-up looks at Uranus and Neptune so far, during the Voyager 2 flybys. Until we return to the outer solar system, it will be difficult to say for sure whether any of the planets have gems falling from the sky.
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