Scientists measure temperature under shock conditions Temperature is tough to measure, especially in

Scientists measure temperature under shock conditions

Temperature is tough to measure, especially in shock compression experiments. A big challenge is having to account for thermal transport—the flow of energy in the form of heat.

To better understand this challenge, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have taken important steps to show that thermal conduction is important and measurable at high pressureandtemperature conditions in these types of experiments, according to a paper recently published in the Journal of Applied Physics. The paper’s authors are David Brantley, Ryan Crum and Minta Akin.

“We need better temperature measurements because understanding rocky-type planetary materials’ high temperature and pressure behavior is key to developing better models of Earth and other terrestrial exoplanets,” said David Brantley, LLNL physicist and lead author of the paper.

Brantley said that depending on how iron conducts heat at Earth’s core pressure and temperatures, the planet’s solid inner core could be around 500 million to several billion years old.

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