The Iron of Earth's Inner Core Could Be in a Strange 'Superionic' State, Study Finds

Science Alert ^ | 14 FEBRUARY 2022 | JACINTA BOWLER

[BenLurkin]

We know from seismic wave data that the inner core is soft, with a low shear-wave velocity, meaning it can't just be solid iron or iron alloy. Some scientists think there could be a second inner inner core, while others think that due to the lighter density than would be expected by pure iron alone, there could be some light elements as an alloy.

But a new study, led by Yu He from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has now investigated the potential phase of matter this mix of elements may exist in down, arriving at the suggestion that the 'solid' state of the core might really be a superionic state instead.

Superionic is another state of matter – alongside solid, liquid, and gas – but with distinct differences. In superionic water – which was recently made in a lab – extremely high temperatures and pressures break apart each water molecule, leaving the oxygen ions to form a solid, while the hydrogen ions float around more like a liquid.

In the hot inner core of Earth, the team used computer simulations of how seismic waves would travel through different combinations of elements, and discovered that alloys of iron with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen could work the same way as superionic water.

The iron atoms were 'solid' in the crystalline lattice structure, whereas the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules would diffuse through the medium, creating the liquid-like element.

[Bullish]

Kinda’ like cooking crack.

[paint_your_wagon]

Some say that the Northern Lights are the glare of the Arctic ice and snow;

And some that it’s electricity, and nobody seems to know.
But I’ll tell you now—and if I lie, may my lips be stricken dumb—
It’s a mine, a mine of the precious stuff that men call radium.
It’s a million dollars a pound, they say, and there’s tons and tons in sight.
You can see it gleam in a golden stream in the solitudes of night.
And it’s mine, all mine—and say! if you have a hundred plunks to spare,
I’ll let you have the chance of your life, I’ll sell you a quarter share.