Geochemical detectives use lab mimicry to look back in time

New work contains some unexpected findings about iron chemistry under high-pressure conditions, such as those likely found in the Earth’s core, where iron predominates and creates our planet’s life-shielding magnetic field. The results could shed light on Earth’s early days when the core was formed through a process called differentiation — when the denser materials, like iron, sunk inward toward the center, creating the layered composition the planet has today.