Beijing: Scientists have discovered the possibility of the presence of large amounts of diamonds in the first planet of our solar system. A recent study suggests that there may be a thick layer of diamonds under the surface of Mercury. Live Science has given this information in one of its reports. Yanhao Lin, a staff scientist at the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Research in Beijing and co-author of the study, said that Mercury’s extremely high carbon content suggests that something special has probably happened inside this planet. He told that Mercury has a magnetic field. However, it is much weaker than Earth.
Along with this, NASA’s Messenger spacecraft has discovered unusually dark areas on the surface of Mercury in its study. It has been identified as graphite. The study published in the journal Nature Communications shows that the structure of the planet and the unusual magnetic field shed light on it. Scientists believe that the planets were probably formed by the cooling of a hot lava ocean. This is how other terrestrial planets developed. Mercury is said to have been probably full of silicate and carbon. The planet’s outer layer and middle mantle were formed by magma turning into crystals, while metals first solidified within it to form a central core.
This is the reason for the formation of diamonds
For many years, scientists considered the temperature and pressure in the mantle to be right for carbon, in which graphite is formed. Being lighter than the mantle, it floats on the surface. However, a 2019 study suggests that Mercury’s mantle may be 80 kilometers deeper than previously thought. This would significantly increase the temperature and pressure at the mantle-core boundary, resulting in conditions where carbon could crystallize into diamonds.
Pressure conditions of the planet prepared in the lab
A team of researchers from Belgium and China prepared chemical mixtures using carbon, silica and iron to look at this possibility. The researchers added different concentrations of iron sulfide to these mixtures. Using a multiple-anvil press, the scientists applied a pressure of 7 gigapascals to the chemical mixtures. This amount of pressure is 70,000 times more than Earth’s atmospheric pressure at sea level. These harsh conditions reflect the conditions found deep inside Mercury. Computer models were used to accurately measure the temperature and pressure near Mercury’s core-mantle boundary.
These computer simulations provide information about the conditions inside the planet. The research found that the chemical mixture solidifies at a higher temperature when only sulfur is added. In such a situation, diamonds are more likely to form. The team’s computer model suggested that diamonds could form during the solidification of Mercury’s inner core under these changed conditions. However, despite the presence of diamonds, it is not possible to mine them. In addition to the extremely high temperatures on the planet, diamonds are located about 485 km below the surface, making it impossible to extract them.
