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| Planetary scientists think the interior of Jupiter is largely made of phase V hydrogen. NASA Voyager |
Topics: Astrophysics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Planetary Science
By crushing Earth's lightest element with mind-boggling pressures, scientists have revealed an entirely new state of matter: phase V hydrogen.
The squished hydrogen is a precursor to a state of matter first proposed in the 1930s, called atomic solid metallic hydrogen. When cooled to low enough temperatures, hydrogen (which on Earth is usually found as a gas) can become a solid; at high enough pressures, when the element solidifies, it turns into a metal. Planetary scientists think the interior of Jupiter is largely made of the stuff.
And so, in crushing hydrogen at such high pressures, the physicists also got a glimpse of the inner atmosphere of a gas giant, where pressures reach millions of (Earth) atmospheres. [Elementary, My Dear: 8 Elements You've Never Heard Of]
Scientific American: Strange New State of Hydrogen Created, Jesse Emspak, Live Science
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