Peering into Planetary Interiors: Liquid Carbon Measured for the First Time

Structure of liquid carbon measured

In a groundbreaking achievement published in Nature, researchers have experimentally observed the structure of liquid carbon for the very first time. Conducted at the European XFEL near Hamburg and led by the University of Rostock in collaboration with Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), this experiment offers vital insights into the behavior of carbon under extreme conditions—conditions that mirror the interior of planets and high-energy systems like fusion reactors.

Why Liquid Carbon Matters

Carbon is one of the most abundant and versatile elements in the universe, forming the basis of both life and advanced materials. Yet until now, understanding its liquid phase remained elusive. Under normal conditions, carbon sublimates directly from solid to gas—bypassing the liquid phase entirely. Only under pressures of several gigapascals and temperatures near 4,500°C—the highest melting point of any known material—does it become a liquid. This made lab-based observation practically impossible… until now.

The Breakthrough Setup: Lasers, X-rays, and Nanoseconds

To capture the fleeting state of liquid carbon, the researchers used the DIPOLE100-X laser to compress solid carbon into a liquid for mere nanoseconds. In that instant, they fired ultrashort X-ray pulses from the European XFEL, which allowed them to analyze how X-rays diffract off the atoms in the liquefied carbon.

By repeating the experiment thousands of times with slightly different timings and conditions, the team effectively created a time-resolved atomic-level "movie" of carbon transitioning from solid to liquid.

Diamond-Like Liquid: A Water-Like Mystery

The diffraction patterns revealed a fascinating structure: each carbon atom in the liquid maintained four close neighbors, mimicking the tetrahedral bonding found in diamond. This water-like local ordering is unusual for a liquid and had previously only been theorized. “We are looking at a complex form of liquid, comparable to water, that has very special structural properties,” said Prof. Dominik Kraus, who led the Carbon Working Group.

Defining the Melting Point with Precision

For decades, scientists debated the melting point of carbon under pressure. Thanks to this experiment, the team was able to accurately determine the transition temperature with experimental evidence—resolving discrepancies in prior computational models. This data is vital for planetary modeling and future energy technologies like inertial confinement fusion.

A New Era in High-Pressure Science

Beyond carbon, the experiment marks the dawn of a new era in ultrafast, high-energy-density science. According to Dr. Ulf Zastrau, head of the HED group at European XFEL, this fusion of ultrashort laser pulses and femtosecond X-ray diagnostics opens up possibilities to characterize matter at previously unreachable extremes—in mere seconds rather than hours.

The Future: Fusion, Planetology, and Material Frontiers

This pioneering work doesn't just deepen our understanding of carbon. It builds the foundation for breakthroughs in:

  • Nuclear fusion: Modeling and improving high-temperature materials and plasma interactions.
  • Exoplanet science: Predicting the internal structure of carbon-rich planetary bodies.
  • Advanced materials: Informing the creation of novel carbon-based materials with tunable properties.

Original article source: Phys.org – "Structure of liquid carbon measured for the first time"

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#LiquidCarbon #HighPressurePhysics #MaterialsScience #EuropeanXFEL #CarbonStructure #UltrafastXrays #FusionEnergy #PlanetaryInteriors #LaserCompression #ScienceBreakthrough #QuantumServerNetworks #NaturePaper #CarbonMeltingPoint

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