New computer simulations suggest that Earth's hot and highly pressurized inner core could exist in a "superionic state" — a whirling mix of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon molecules, continuously sloshing through a grid-like lattice of iron. (View Highlight)
"We find that hydrogen, oxygen and carbon in hexagonal close-packed iron transform to a superionic state under the inner core conditions, showing high diffusion coefficients like a liquid," the researchers wrote in their paper. "This suggests that the inner core can be in a superionic state rather than a normal solid state." (View Highlight)
If the simulation lines up with reality, the constant swilling of the mushy superionic materials could help to explain why the inner core's structure seems to change so much over time, and even how the powerful convection currents responsible for creating Earth's magnetic field are generated. But first, the model will have to be proven. (View Highlight)