* Astronomy

Largest laser gives diamond a record-setting squeeze

Diamond has been subjected to the wrath of the world's largest laser, which compressed the stone to greater pressures than it has ever experienced on Earth. The results hint at the mysterious conditions deep inside giant planets.
The dense atmospheres of gas giants Jupiter and Saturn contain carbon. Chemical modelling suggests pressure deep inside the planets would crush it into a rain of diamond chips and perhaps create chunks of diamond large enough to impress even the Kardashians. But until now, no one had been able to replicate such pressures on Earth and test the notion.
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