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Related Experiment Videos

Core formation in planetesimals triggered by permeable flow.

Takashi Yoshino1, Michael J Walter, Tomoo Katsura

  • 1Institute for Study of the Earth's Interior, Okayama University, Yamada 827, Misasa, Tottori-ken 682-0193, Japan. tyoshino@misasa.okayama-u.ac.jp

Nature
|March 14, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Early planetesimal core formation, driven by radioactive heating, occurred rapidly. This process, enabled by iron-sulfur melt percolation, suggests terrestrial planets formed from pre-differentiated building blocks.

Area of Science:

  • Planetary Science
  • Geophysics
  • Cosmochemistry

Background:

  • Tungsten isotopes in meteorites suggest rapid core formation in early planetesimals.
  • Metal-silicate segregation requires overcoming wetting limitations in olivine-rich matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the percolation threshold for molten iron-sulfur in solid olivine.
  • To explain the rapid timescale of core formation in early Solar System bodies.

Main Methods:

  • In situ electrical conductivity measurements at high pressure and temperature.
  • Investigating molten iron-sulfur (Fe-S) compounds in olivine matrix.

Main Results:

  • The percolation threshold for molten iron-sulfur in olivine was found to be approximately 5 vol.%.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Radioactive decay heating can sufficiently raise temperatures to exceed the Fe-S melting point (~1,000°C).

    • Conclusions:

    • Early planetesimals (>30 km radius) and larger planetary embryos likely formed differentiated cores rapidly.
    • The Earth and other terrestrial planets likely accreted from these pre-differentiated planetesimals, forming a composite core.