Shutterstock
Here on Earth, lab made diamond engagement rings are a big thing, and now a lab experiment suggests that diamonds may form on the two planets known as “ice giants” and rain from the skies of Neptune and Uranus.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds? It might be a reality. But not on Earth.
Under the chilly exterior of the two “ice giant” planets of Neptune and Uranus, the temperatures and pressure are so high that it can create incredible physical reactions, scientists say.
A recent experiment suggests that because of the unusual atmospheres of these two planets, diamonds can form and rain from the skies of Neptune and Uranus.
This incredible finding has been published in the journal Nature Communication, IFL Science reports.
This discovery was made by researchers using the SLAC (the US DoE’s National Accelerator Laboratory) Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to examine how a hydrocarbon might behave under the pressure and temperatures expected at about 6,200 miles (10,000 kilometers ) inside Neptune.
At that location, the temperature is 8,540°F (4,730°C ) and the pressure is roughly 1.5 million atmospheres. Under these conditions, hydrocarbon separates into two elemental constituents: Carbon and hydrogen.
The test found that at least 25 percent of the carbon clusters together. And within those clusters, the carbon turns into its sturdiest arrangement: Diamonds.
“In the case of the ice giants we now know that the carbon almost exclusively forms diamonds when it separates and does not take on a fluid transitional form,” said lead author Dr. Dominik Kraus, of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf.
“This research provides data on a phenomenon that is very difficult to model computationally: the ‘miscibility’ of two elements, or how they combine when mixed,” said LCLS Director Mike Dunne in a statement.
“Here they see how two elements separate, like getting mayonnaise to separate back into oil and vinegar.”
According to the researchers, the diamonds that rain from the skies on Neptune and Uranus play an important role in the planetary energy balance.
The scientists say that the newly formed diamonds would sink, and as they rub against the dense material around them, it would generate heat. The result of this as it would keep the interior of these “ice giant” planets warm.
