{
  "id": 4313290,
  "title": "Scientists melted a diamond and cracked a secret of ice giants",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/scientists-melted-a-diamond-and-cracked-a-secret-of-ice-giants",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-30T00:30:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-diamond-secret-ice-giants.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have recreated the process that forms diamonds inside ice giants like Neptune and Uranus. By subjecting a diamond sample to extreme pressures and temperatures, researchers were able to observe how the solid material transitioned into a liquid state, a phenomenon known as \"diamond rain.\" This discovery not only resolves a 20-year-old scientific mystery but also has implications for increasing the efficiency of nuclear fusion reactors. The experiment, conducted at the University of Rochester's Omega Laser Facility, involved vaporizing the outer layer of the diamond sample and using X-ray diffraction to monitor the interior's response to a shock wave. The resulting pressures were more than three times that of Earth's core, with temperatures equivalent to the surface of the sun. The key finding was that solid diamond is less dense than liquid metallic carbon, supporting the idea of diamond precipitation in the interiors of ice giants. This could potentially lead to a new weather phenomenon in these planets, where diamond raindrops generate friction and heat, contributing to the planets' excess energy. Furthermore, the research suggests that diamonds may be more prevalent in the deep interiors of planets than previously thought, with billions of tons of them hidden away. The findings from this experiment could also help LLNL refine the conditions required for nuclear fusion reactions, potentially increasing the energy yield by up to three times in their fusion target experiments.",
  "summary": "Some of the strangest weather in the solar system doesn't happen on Earth or even in Jupiter's Great Red Spot—it happens in the interiors of ice giants like Neptune and Uranus. Specifically, scientists have long believed that, at certain pressures and temperatures, it literally rains diamonds inside these planets. For the first time, scientists have mimicked the process they believe creates this…",
  "key_points": [
    "Scientists recreated diamond formation process in ice giants",
    "Extreme pressures and temperatures observed in lab experiment",
    "Finding suggests diamond rain could generate heat in ice giants"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The discovery that solid diamond is less dense than liquid metallic carbon sheds light on the internal dynamics of ice giants and could also significantly enhance the efficiency of nuclear fusion reactors.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}