On Earth, the BC8 phase of carbon doesn’t naturally exist, but it is thought that in outer space in the highly-pressurised environments inside exoplanets, it may do. Physicist Jon Eggert ...

“We predicted that the post-diamond BC8 phase would be experimentally accessible only within a narrow high-pressure, high-temperature region of the carbon phase diagram.” Getting to even this ...

"Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the properties of the BC8 carbon phase becomes critical for the development of accurate interior models of these exoplanets." In the new research ...

Diamond is one of the hardest materials on Earth, as its super-strong carbon lattice structure makes it incredibly resistant to compression. Theoretical predictions suggest there is another structural ...

The eight-atom body-centered cubic (BC8) crystal doesn't technically count as a diamond but is a distinct carbon phase that requires even higher temperatures and pressure to form. The Frontier ...

"But the carbon bonds that make up a diamond are so strong, we have to melt the diamond in order to transform it into a new BC8 crystalline phase. So that adds another layer to this process with ...

Researchers are evaluating several paths to create super diamonds, scientifically known as eight-atom body-centred cubic (BC8) crystals. A recent paper in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters ...