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Science 31 October 1997:
Vol. 278. no. 5339, pp. 821 - 822
DOI: 10.1126/science.278.5339.821
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Perspectives

HIGH-PRESSURE GEOPHYSICS:
Iron: Beta Phase Frays

Orson L. Anderson

Earth's core is almost entirely iron, so geoscientists are keenly interested in the properties of this element at high temperature and pressure. In his Perspective, Anderson discusses the results reported in the same issue by Andrault et al. in which they identify a controversial phase of iron--the b phase. The existence and structure of this phase has been debated since it was first reported by a group at Uppsala University. The measurements of Andrault et al., taken with a synchrotron at Grenoble, support the existence of this phase but suggest that it has a different structure than first believed. Anderson reviews the controversy and discusses the latest experimental findings.

The author is at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics and Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1361 USA. E-mail: olanderson{at}adam.igpp.ucla.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Density of Phonon States in Iron at High Pressure.
R. Lübbers, H. F. Grünsteudel, A. I. Chumakov, and G. Wortmann (2000)
Science 287, 1250-1253
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Calculated melting curves for phases of iron.
O. L. Anderson and D. G. Isaak (2000)
American Mineralogist 85, 376-385
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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