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Extreme conditions of pressure and temperature can create exotic states of matter and turn coal into diamonds. Actually, 90% of the matter in the universe exists at pressures over one million times atmospheric pressure and understanding how matter behaves under these conditions is crucial in understanding how the planets in our universe formed, what they are made of and how we can use pressure in the design of novel materials. However, creating these extreme conditions in the laboratory is very complicated - join us as we discover how experimental and computational techniques are being improve…
Making Boring Molecules Interesting: Ices Under Pressure
Dr John Loveday
(Reader)
Water, Ammonia and Methane are collectively called ‘ices’. These simple molecules look on face value rather boring. However, the ices play extremely important roles in natural phenomena like, the origins and function of life, the processes in the interior of the Earth and other planets, and the quantum nature of hydrogen atoms in solids.
This talk will explore some of the exotic behaviour found when ices are subjected to high pressure, and what can be learned from this.
This talk will explore some of the exotic behaviour found when ices are subjected to high pressure, and what can be learned from this.
Metallic Hydrogen
Professor Graeme Ackland
(Professor of Computer Simulation )
What’s the most common material in the solar system?
The answer is metallic hydrogen, and yet it has probably never been made on earth. Some people saw light reflected back from a nanogram sample squeezed between two diamonds, other people spent a billion dollars on lasers trying to zap it into to existence.
Why is it so difficult to make the most commonplace stuff, and what does it have to do with MRI scanners? Buy Graeme a pint, and he’ll tell you.
The answer is metallic hydrogen, and yet it has probably never been made on earth. Some people saw light reflected back from a nanogram sample squeezed between two diamonds, other people spent a billion dollars on lasers trying to zap it into to existence.
Why is it so difficult to make the most commonplace stuff, and what does it have to do with MRI scanners? Buy Graeme a pint, and he’ll tell you.
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Other The Outhouse events
2024-05-15
The Physics of Everyday Life
The Outhouse
12A Broughton St Ln, Edinburgh, EH1 3LY, United Kingdom
2024-05-14
Particles! Looking for Exotic Reactions in Stars and Colliders
The Outhouse
12A Broughton St Ln, Edinburgh, EH1 3LY, United Kingdom