Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#1

Post by pseudolus » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 12:59 AM UTC

Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields
quantamagazine.org

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#2

Post by cletus » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 2:13 AM UTC

That's an interesting idea. A couple of thoughts spring to mind.

First is that the heaviest of the "natural" fusion byproducts is iron. Iron is magnetic. How significant is that? Does that make it more likely iron will form into clumps? Given the seeming importance of iron to an industrialized society, at least based on our own experience, this bears more investigation.

The second is that you know other substance has a whole bunch of magnetic properties, particularly at low temperatures and/or high pressures? Oxygen.

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#3

Post by topspin » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 2:33 AM UTC

cletus wrote: post #2

That's an interesting idea. A couple of thoughts spring to mind. First is that the heaviest of the "natural" fusion byproducts is iron. Iron is magnetic. How significant is that? Does that make it more likely iron will form into clumps? Given the seeming importance of iron to an industrialized society, at least based on our own experience, this bears more investigation. The second is that you know other substance has…

"Does that make it more likely iron will form into clumps?"

Anyone that's seen iron filings line up on magnetic field lines can answer that. Iron drifting around in space will react readily to magnetic fields.

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#4

Post by kf1023 » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 2:33 AM UTC

Kill Fauci!

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#5

Post by tamaharbor » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 2:52 AM UTC

This seems like something smart people should have come up with a long time ago.

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#6

Post by tacticalmook » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 3:28 AM UTC

tamaharbor wrote: post #5

This seems like something smart people should have come up with a long time ago.

The article explains this.

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#7

Post by wyattpeak » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 3:29 AM UTC

tamaharbor wrote: post #5

This seems like something smart people should have come up with a long time ago.

The article seems to suggest that they did, but lacking sufficiently powerful simulations couldn't make progress on the idea.

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#8

Post by w33dwizrd » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 4:21 AM UTC

ah yes, the standard fallback answer in graduate level astro classes. If you can't explain something... magnetic fields?

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#9

Post by madqntareader » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 4:39 AM UTC

Does anyone have a link to the original article?

Quanta and outfits like it (eg Atlas) have this incredibly sad tactic of explaining around research and quoting the authors without ever citing the paper.

Re: Astronomers Find Secret Planet-Making Ingredient: Magnetic Fields

#10

Post by rendall » Tue, Jun 08, 2021, 4:56 AM UTC

madqntareader wrote: post #9

Does anyone have a link to the original article? Quanta and outfits like it (eg Atlas) have this incredibly sad tactic of explaining around research and quoting the authors without ever citing the paper.

The article links to the original paper.

> A new study, however, published in [Nature Astronomy in February](link to paper)...