A recent study led by the physicist Haruki Takezawa of the University of Tokyo has shown that the terrestrial nucleus can contain huge quantities of heliumcoming from primordial nebula From which the Solar System originated and therefore also our planet. Elio is a very volatile and inert gas that would have had to come out on the surface over time, but the researchers proved that at extremely high pressure and temperatures typical of terrestrial nucleus And able to bind to iron which constitutes this layer, being trapped. This feature has important implications in the knowledge of the nucleus and its origin. In particular, the fact would testify that the earth It was formed faster than you thought.
The discovery of the behavior of the Elio in the nucleus
Noble gases like helium have always been considered chemically inertsince they cannot form stable bonds in normal conditions. However, a new study has revealed that the helium can bind to iron if subjected to the pressure and extreme temperatures present in the terrestrial nucleus. In particular, in these conditions, instead of remaining separate from iron, it can be incorporated in its crystalline structure originating compounds. Even if it had already been hypothesized that helium could be incorporated into metals in the presence of these temperatures and pressures, an experimental confirmation had never been obtained. Also, it has been seen that these iron compounds can contain up to 3.3% of heliummuch more than you thought based on previous studies. The discovery was made by exposing iron and helium to pressure between 5 and 55 gigapascal in the laboratory (from 50,000 to 550,000 times the atmospheric pressure) and temperatures between 1000 and almost 3000 Kelvin. In addition, the chemical analyzes were performed by keeping the champions at very low temperatures in order to avoid the escape of Elio from the iron, since this gas is dispersed very easily. Thus it was possible to intercept greater quantities of helium than what had been done in past studies and therefore understand that the nucleus may have captured a lot.
The implications in the knowledge of the terrestrial nucleus and its origin
The study leads to assuming that the helium is in enormous quantities in the terrestrial nucleus in the form of Elio-3 isotopecharacterized by two protons and a neutron. Elio-3 is not formed on earth but comes from primordial nebula From which our planet originated. This nebula was made up of powders and gasesof which 90% was hydrogen and 9% helium. The helium would have been captured in the early stages of the formation of our planet. It was already known that the interior of the earth contained Elio, since it comes out on the surface through volcanic eruptions. However, until now it was believed that the helium was stored in the cloak, trapped in ancient rocks. It was not known how, being so light and inert, after billions of years it could still be inside our planet. Furthermore, it is known that the primordial nebula retained the helium-3 only for a few million years due to its volatility. Consequently, prove that the nucleus contains a lot of Elio-3 is equivalent to demonstrate that The land formed in a few million yearsonce shorter than what has been hypothesized in the past.
