Planetary Science Seminar winter-2013

The Earth’s dynamics are a consequence of its composition, degree of differentiation into core and mantle, and the budget of heat producing elements in the interior. The physical behavior of planetary materials is controlled by the pressures and temperatures of planetary interiors. With central pressures and temperatures of ~6000K and 3.6 Mbar, the dynamical processes of the Earth's deep interior are a consequence of its composition, mineralogy, and viscosity. This talk presents new methods for measuring transport properties under the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions of the Earth’s core, combining synchrotron-based X-ray experiments at high pressure and temperature with post-run focused-ion beam milling and transmission electron microscopy. Expanding outward to extrasolar planets, the very same approach helps us constrain the dynamical and compositional possibilities of terrestrial planets forming about stars with distinct compositions