BEIJING — Earth’s inner core is neither solid nor liquid, according to a new study in the Nature science journal cited by Science Alert.
It’s in what is known as a superionic state.
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences used computer simulations of how seismic waves would travel through different combinations of elements to calculate that hydrogen, oxygen and carbon in hexagonal close-packed iron become superionic under the intense pressure and high temperatures of the inner core, meaning that while iron atoms remain “solid” in a crystalline lattice structure, the lighter carbon, hydrogen and oxygen molecules diffuse through it, creating a “liquid-like element.” According to Science Alert, this superionic state could also be found at the heart of other planets, in the form of superionic ice.
Here, high temperatures and pressures break apart water molecules, leaving the oxygen ions to form a solid, while the hydrogen ions float around more like a liquid, and it’s speculated that movement of the hydrogen flowing through the oxygen lattice could impact the surrounding electromagnetic field, and perhaps help form a planet's protective magnetosphere.