New Kind of Metal Theorized To Be In the Earth's Lower Mantle 117
slew writes "This article talks about a study accepted to Physical Review Letters which theorizes that iron oxide goes through an insulator/metal phase change with high temperature and pressure. Originally it was thought to be a crystalline structure change, but now apparently it is theorized to be a new type of metallic state. This discovery might offer new insight on how the earth's magnetic field operates."
Re:Why don't they just ... (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm guessing it would be easier to simulate the pressure and temperature of this part of the core than to actually go there...
Re:Why don't they just ... (Score:4, Interesting)
scrooge got to the middle. and saved the earth..
Re:How to experimentally verify? (Score:5, Interesting)
Ho hum... (Score:2, Interesting)
This is a *press release* folks. It describes in detail what was and was not found and what part of that is new. The answer is NOT MUCH NEW HERE. What's unfortunate is that when the press picks something like this up, they strip off the "boring stuff" and make it into the breakthrough it's not. Read the release: The metalizaiton of iron oxide at high pressure was known. What is new is the its crystal structure does not change. That's why it's in Phys Rev B and not Nature.
Re:Why don't they just ... (Score:4, Interesting)
I also read about it in Tarzan at the Earths core by Edgar Rice Burroughs. That book describes how the Earth is hollow, with openings to the inhabitable inner world at the north and south poles.
In that book, Jason Gridley decided to build a rigid airship, using helium, with sufficient range to fly through the polar opening to the inner world and back. But, he was unsure how to build a hull that was sufficiently strong and light that could survive the conditions along the way. Not sure how to solve that problem, he traveled to the jungles of Africa to ask Tarzan for his advice. Fortunately, Tarzan had recently heard about a nearby lake-dwelling tribe that was using canoes made of a metal that was as strong as steel and as light as cork.
The book said that inner world had accidentally been discovered previously by David Innes and Abner Perry who had been planning to look for anthracite coal with their newly invented mechanical prospector. But, on their trial voyage, their steering mechanism jammed and they accidentally drilled 500 miles down into the Earth's core, reaching the hollow inner world. Perry remained behind, while Innes made the difficult trip back to the surface. The book does not mention them having any problems with the drilling mechanism becoming too hot.
Jason and Tarzan went on to build their 997 foot long airship from harbenite. Jason knew that Tarzan's skills would prove useful one the reached the Earth's core.