All articles tagged with #carbon
Astronomers have spotted PicII-503, an ancient Population II star inside the 10+ billion-year-old dwarf galaxy Pictor II. This star is unusually rich in carbon relative to iron, a clue that carbon—crucial for life—was synthesized in early supernovae and distributed throughout the universe, helping explain why carbon is so widespread.
Chinese researchers at Zhengzhou University report the first laboratory-made pure hexagonal diamond (lonsdaleite), a carbon form that is harder and more oxidation-resistant than cubic natural diamond; produced by compressing graphite under extreme pressure and heat and confirmed by spectroscopy and simulations, with potential applications in cutting tools, abrasives, heat management and quantum sensing, and published in Nature in March 2026.
Chinese researchers report synthesizing millimetre-sized bulk hexagonal diamond from oriented graphite under about 20 GPa and 1,300–1,900°C, with diffraction confirming a pure hexagonal carbon phase. They measured a hardness around 114 GPa, slightly higher than typical natural cubic diamond (~110 GPa), and highlight high thermal stability, addressing long-standing debate over hexagonal diamond and suggesting potential for advanced technological uses.
Chinese researchers synthesized millimetre-sized, phase-pure hexagonal diamond in the lab by compressing highly ordered graphite between tungsten-carbide anvils at 20 gigapascals and heating to 1,300–1,900°C, yielding a material with about 114 gigapascals hardness—slightly tougher than natural cubic diamond—which could enable new technologies and settles long‑standing debates about the phase’s existence.
Chinese researchers report millimeter-sized samples of hexagonal diamond (lonsdaleite) produced by compressing graphite at ~20 GPa and 1300–1900 °C, with X-ray diffraction peaks that conclusively confirm the hexagonal structure; tests show the material is stiffer, more oxidation resistant, and slightly harder than conventional cubic diamond, marking the strongest evidence to date in decades-long debates and offering potential uses in tools, thermal management, and quantum sensing.
Scientists from Oxford, Leeds, and UCL discovered that carbon played a crucial role in Earth's inner core formation, reducing supercooling requirements and potentially more abundant than previously thought, which impacts our understanding of Earth's magnetic field and interior dynamics.
A new study suggests that the presence of about 4% carbon in Earth's core allowed the iron to solidify under high pressure and temperature conditions, explaining how the planet's inner core froze and providing insights into Earth's geological history.
Chinese researchers discovered natural multilayer graphene in moon dust samples from the Chang'e-5 mission, challenging previous beliefs about the Moon's dryness and carbon content, and opening new avenues for understanding lunar formation and resource utilization.
A new study suggests that collisions in space can produce and preserve carbon on dwarf planets like Ceres, which may hold clues to the origins of life. The research highlights the importance of future sample return missions to analyze organic materials on Ceres, especially in light of its potential subsurface ocean and the challenges posed by shock metamorphism during impacts. Funding and mission planning are critical for advancing this research.
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected carbon in a galaxy observed just 350 million years after the big bang, suggesting that the conditions for life may have been present much earlier than previously thought. This discovery indicates that vast amounts of carbon were released by the first generation of stars exploding in supernovae, challenging previous beliefs that carbon enrichment occurred about 1 billion years after the big bang. The findings, which will be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, highlight the potential for early life-forming conditions in the universe.
A UdeM doctoral student in physics, Emmanuel Bourret, has led an international team of scientists to successfully demonstrate the existence of C130 fullertubes, molecules made up of 130 carbon atoms, which had previously only existed in theory. Using principles of quantum mechanics, the team isolated these rare molecules from soot and calculated their electronic structure. The discovery, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could have potential applications in green hydrogen production.
Scientists have long theorized that an ultra-dense form of carbon called BC8 could be even harder than diamond and may exist on carbon-rich exoplanets. Using supercomputer simulations, researchers have now gained insight into the narrow pressure and temperature conditions under which BC8 can form. This discovery could have significant implications for various industries. Previous attempts to observe BC8's atomic structure have been unsuccessful, but the recent simulations provide a potential pathway for creating BC8 and understanding its properties.
Scientists have used a supercomputer to simulate the creation of BC8, an elusive and superstrong form of carbon that could be 30% tougher than diamonds. This theoretical material has never been observed and may only exist in the extreme conditions found in the center of exoplanets. The simulations revealed that BC8 can be stable at very high pressures and ambient temperatures, and researchers are now attempting to synthesize it in the lab using methods involving shocking diamonds and compressing them under enormous pressures.
A supercomputer has modeled the existence of "super-diamonds," a theoretical material made of carbon atoms that could be even harder than regular diamonds and potentially exist in the extreme pressure environments of carbon-rich exoplanets. The supercomputer predicted that this specific phase of carbon, called BC8, is 30% more resistant to compression than regular diamonds. While it has yet to be observed, researchers believe it may exist in space and could be synthesized in Earth laboratories in the future, with potential implications for understanding the interiors of exoplanets.
Physicists have used supercomputing to simulate the behavior of diamond under high pressure and temperature, revealing new insights into the elusive BC8 phase of carbon, which is expected to be even harder than diamond. The simulations provide clues on the conditions needed to push carbon atoms into this unusual structure, potentially paving the way for its synthesis in a lab. The BC8 phase, thought to exist in high-pressure environments deep inside exoplanets, could open up new research and material application possibilities if stabilized closer to home. Despite previous difficulties in synthesizing BC8 carbon, the simulations have identified the specific high-pressure, high-temperature conditions required for its formation, offering hope for its eventual achievement.