Livermore scientists discover iron melting point at Earth's core

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory physicists Jeffrey Nguyen and Neil Holmes said they have determined that iron in Earth-core conditions melts at more than 8,700 degrees Fahrenheit.

Their research, detailed in a Jan. 22 Nature article, said the information is crucial in the study of the Earth's temperature. "By determining the melting point of iron, we can estimate the temperature at the core boundaries," Nguyen said.

The scientists used Livermore's two-stage gas gun - which is capable of generating pressures as high as 400 GPa (58 million psi) in the iron sample, a pressure that exceeds the center of the Earth (361 GPa) - to show that a shocked sample of iron crosses the melt line at a pressure between those of the core-mantle boundary and the inner-outer core boundary.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is operated by the University of California.

To read the Livermore news release, click here.

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