Melting Iron at Core Conditions (4 of 5) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Melting Iron at Core Conditions (4 of 5)

Caption

A very thin beam of synchrotron X-ray is used to detect whether solid iron has started to melt. This will change the crystalline structure, in turn modifying the "diffraction pattern" of deflected X-rays behind the sample. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the April 26, 2013, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by Simone Anzellini at French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in Arpajon, France, and colleagues was titled, "Melting of Iron at Earth's Inner Core Boundary Based on Fast X-ray Diffraction."

Credit

[Image courtesy of ESRF/Denis Andrault]

Usage Restrictions

Please cite the owner of the image when publishing. This image may be freely used by reporters as part of news coverage, with proper attribution. Non-reporters must contact <i>Science</i> for permission.

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.