Thought to dwell inabundance across our Galax urceolata , water earthly concern are compelling candidate for hosting extraterrestrial life . These Neptune - like exoplanets , identified to be aroundtwo to four times the size of Earth , are believe to be covered in a thick layer of water ice , hundreds to G of kilometers deep , underneath which lies a bouldery mantle . interrogative still surround the exact composition of these vulgar water worlds , as they differ greatly from telluric planets like Earth .
One such mystery is at the boundary between water and rock . In worldwide , these components are thought to subsist in separate layers . But the extreme temperature and pressure at this partition chair an international team of researchers headed byArizona State University(ASU ) to wonder whether the substances were alter in any mode by these conditions .
To essay this on Earth , they use a rather sparkling piece of equipment to help : rhombus cubicle . Two of these gem - timber single - lechatelierite diamond were shaped into anvils and then positioned opposite each other . In between them , a sample ofsilica(a component of rock ) that had been immersed in weewee was compressed to a high pressure . The sample was then heat up using optical maser beam to over a few thousand degree Fahrenheit , feign the conditions in piss world Interior Department .
Adam - re measurements were then train to probe the sample distribution , the results of which scandalize the squad . Under these utmost condition , the sampling yielded a whole new substantial phase with substantial amounts of silicon and hydrogen in oxide form , propose that the rock and roll - water boundary in body of water - rich exoplanets is not as clearly - sheer as once thought .
“ Originally , it was thought that water and sway stratum in piddle - racy planet were well - separated , ” Caroline Nisr , lead author and research scientist at ASU , said in astatement . “ But we discovered through our experiments a antecedently obscure chemical reaction between weewee and silica and stability of a satisfying phase approximately in an intermediate piece . The distinction between water and rock come along to be surprisingly ' fuzzy ' at high pressure and mellow temperature . ”
Their subject area , write in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , is one of the first mineralogy lab written report for water - rich exoplanets and has provoke new interrogative sentence about the chemical makeup and geochemical cycles of these urine domain .
“ study the chemical reactions and processes is an essential step toward developing an agreement of these common major planet types , ” co - author Dan Shim , of ASU ’s School of Earth and Space Exploration , remark .
