SCIENCE: Crystals power the Earth's magnetic field. This is science - Using a diamond anvil and a laser, researchers at Tokyo Tech subjected silicon and oxygen samples to conditions similar to the Earth’s core and concluded that the Earth's magnetic field is powered by the presence of crystalization in the Earth's core. Diamonds were used to squeeze a sample to ultrahigh pressures corresponding to those of the Earth's core (greater than 135 gigapascals). The samples were then heated under pressure to high temperatures of the core (about 4,000 kelvins and higher) by being irradiated by a laser through diamonds. “This result proved important for understanding the energetics and evolution of the core. We were excited because our calculations showed that crystallization of silicon dioxide crystals from the core could provide an immense new energy source for powering the Earth’s magnetic field.” ref: Crystallization of Silicon Dioxide and Compositional Evolution of the Earth’s Core“, Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature21367.html Tokyo Tech News: http://www.titech.ac.jp/english/news/2017/037545.html Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/133791/actual-science-crystals-earths-core-power-magnetic-field/
