Raymond Jeanloz Colloquium Abstract (Dec 2, 2015)

From Earth to Stars: Planetary Interiors and a New Chemistry

Lasers and diamonds are providing experimental access to the conditions existing deep inside terrestrial, giant and super-giant planets, revealing the material properties that control the state and evolution of planetary interiors. With pressures exceeding the forces defining the familiar structure of atoms, a new regime of chemical bonding (kilovolt chemistry) is being explored at conditions relevant to understanding the transition between planets and stars.