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    SLAC’s X-ray laser and Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument tagged posts

    Scientists create ‘Diamond Rain’ that forms in the Interior of Icy Giant Planets

    August 22, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    By conducting experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source -- one of the world's most powerful X-ray lasers -- an international team of researchers led by HZDR physicist Dr. Dominik Kraus was able to demonstrate that hydrocarbon compounds split into carbon and hydrogen inside ice giants such as Neptune, shown here. The carbon turns into a "diamond shower." Credit: Greg Stewart / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

    By conducting experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source — one of the world’s most powerful X-ray lasers — an international team of researchers led by HZDR physicist Dr. Dominik Kraus was able to demonstrate that hydrocarbon compounds split into carbon and hydrogen inside ice giants such as Neptune, shown here. The carbon turns into a “diamond shower.” Credit: Greg Stewart / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

    SLAC’s X-ray laser and Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument allow researchers to examine the exotic precipitation in real-time as it materializes in the laboratory. In an experiment designed to mimic the conditions deep inside the icy giant planets of our solar system, scientists were able to observe “diamond rain” for the first time as it formed in high-pressure conditions...

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