EPSS Colloquium spring-2016

Stable Isoptope Evidence for Planetary Differentiation

Planetary differentiation is the largest scale physical process that a planetary body experiences and one which occurred very early in solar system history. The conditions surrounding this process will very much influence the outcome and thereby create a unique planet, moon or asteroid. In this talk, I will present experimental data that enable us to understand how isotopes partition between metal and silicate, and thereby predict the likely composition of planetary cores.