This nearby planet could be full of diamonds. Will we ever access its wealth?
Diamonds Beneath Mercury’s Surface
According to research led by Yanhao Lin from the Center for High-Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Beijing, Mercury's high carbon content suggests extraordinary geological activity.
«Mercury’s extremely high carbon content made me realize that something special probably happened within its interior,» Lin stated. This revelation builds on previous data from NASA’s Messenger spacecraft, which detected graphite, a form of carbon, on Mercury's surface.
Formation From A Lava Ocean
Scientists theorize that Mercury, like other terrestrial planets, formed from the cooling of a hot lava ocean rich in silicate and carbon. As this ocean cooled, metals coalesced to form a central core, while the remaining magma crystallized to create the outer crust and middle mantle.
Initially, it was believed that conditions in Mercury’s mantle favored the formation of graphite. However, a 2019 study indicated that Mercury’s mantle might be deeper than previously thought, increasing the temperature and pressure at the mantle-core boundary, thus creating conditions suitable for diamond formation.
Simulating Mercury’s Interior
To explore this hypothesis, researchers from Belgium and China recreated Mercury’s interior conditions using chemical mixtures that mimic the planet's composition. These mixtures, subjected to pressures of 7 gigapascals (70,000 times Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level), replicated the extreme conditions deep within Mercury.
Computer simulations further
