english.jpnn.com, CHINA - A group of Chinese researchers from the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGCAS) has made new claims about the Earth's core.
According to the team led by Prof. HE Yu, the earth's core is characterized by very high pressure and temperature.
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The innermost part of the planet (earth) consists of a liquid outer core and a solid inner core. That is, the earth's core is not normally solid, but consists of a solid and liquid-like metal (iron/Fe) sublattice.
This unique composition is a light element which is also known as the superionic state. Light elements, such as liquids, are highly diffusive in the metal sublattice under deep core conditions.
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The inner core is formed and grows due to the solidification of the molten metal at the boundary of the inner core.
Meanwhile, the inner core is not as dense as pure metal and some light elements are believed to be present in the inner core.
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Superionic is a transitional state between solid and liquid, mostly found in the interior of the planet.
Using high-pressure and high-temperature computational simulations based on the theory of quantum mechanics, researchers from IGCAS and the Center for High Pressure Science & Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR) found that some alloys of Fe-H, Fe-C, and Fe-O turned into a superionic state under inner core condition.
In superionic metal alloys, light elements become disorganized and diffuse like liquids in a lattice, while Fe atoms remain organized and vibrate around the lattice, forming a solid metal framework. The diffusion coefficients of C, H, and O in superionic metal alloys are the same as in molten Fe.
"It is quite abnormal. The solidification of iron at the inner core boundary does not change the mobility of these light elements, and the convection of light elements is continuous in the inner core," said Prof. HE Yu, lead author and correspondent of the study.
One of the old mysteries about the inner core is that it is quite malleable with fairly low shear wave velocities.
The researchers calculated the seismic velocities in these superionic metal alloys and found a significant decrease in the shear wave velocities.
"Our results fit well with seismological observations. It is the liquid-like elements that make the inner core soften," said another IGCAS researcher, SUN Shichuan.
Highly diffused light elements can affect seismic velocities, providing important clues for understanding other mysteries in the inner core. (scitech daily/ant/mcr20/jpnn)
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