Planets orbiting other suns could be made partly of pure diamond, US researchers have claimed.
They think that some ‘extrasolar’ planets – of which more than 100 have now been discovered – may have condensed from gas and dust that is rich in carbon. This could produce worlds made largely of hard carbon compounds such as silicon carbide, otherwise known as the industrial abrasive carborundum.
These planets might have thick crusts of almost pure carbon. Their uppermost crust would consist of graphite, calculate Marc Kuchner of Princeton University in New Jersey and Sara Seager of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. But deeper down, high pressure would transform graphite into the other more glamorous form of carbon: diamond.
Flight School suddenly comes into sharp focus…. If I recall, there’s a Jimmy Neutron episode about this idea.]]>