A bizarre new state of matter may be hiding inside Uranus and Neptune

Advanced simulations reveal a strange hybrid state of matter, part solid and part fluid, that could unlock the secrets of the ice giants' interiors and magnetic fields. | Contesto: cronaca

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• A bizarre new state of matter may be hiding inside Uranus and Neptune

Contesto

Scientists probing the interiors of Uranus and Neptune have uncovered evidence for a bizarre new state of matter, a hybrid phase where atoms behave in ways that defy conventional classification. Advanced computer simulations indicate that under the extreme pressures and temperatures found deep within these distant planets, common elements like carbon and hydrogen can form a structure that is simultaneously solid and fluid. In this state, hydrogen atoms flow freely like a liquid through a rigid, crystalline lattice of carbon, creating a material with unique conductive properties. The discovery centers on a phase of matter termed "superionic," which has been theorized and observed in other contexts, such as water ice under extreme conditions. However, the specific configuration predicted for the interiors of Uranus and Neptune—a carbon framework with liquid hydrogen—represents a novel and exotic form. This structure is neither a traditional solid, where atoms are locked in place, nor a conventional liquid, where all atoms move freely. Instead, it exists in a strange middle ground, a finding that challenges fundamental understandings of material science and planetary physics. This superionic material is believed to form in the deep mantles of the ice giants, where pressures are millions of times greater than Earth's atmosphere and temperatures soar to thousands of degrees. The simulations suggest that the carbon, likely from methane molecules broken apart by the intense conditions, arranges itself into a stable, diamond-like structure. Meanwhile, the hydrogen ions become disassociated and gain enough energy to move rapidly through this solid carbon scaffold, creating an electrically conductive fluid within a solid matrix. The existence of such a material has profound implications for explaining the long-standing mysteries of Uranus and Neptune, particularly their unusual and off-center magnetic fields. Unlike Earth's relatively orderly magnetic field, which is generated by a rotating core of molten iron, the magnetic fields of the ice giants are complex, lopsided, and do not align neatly with their axes of rotation. The superionic phase, with its ability to...

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Categoria: cronaca