DEPARTMENT COLLOQUIUM | Make Diamonds and Break Diamonds to Probe Earth’s Deep Secrets

This seminar will begin with an introduction of how high-pressure material research contribute to our understanding of the nature and dynamics of planetary interiors. I will focus on presenting new experimental results that support the hypothesis of hidden carbon in Earth’s inner core and discuss the implications for the Earth’s magnetic field. Brief comparisons will be made to the Moon and Mercury, touching upon possible causes for the extinction of the lunar dynamo and the origin of Mercury’s weak magnetic field.