By Geoffrey Landis? - I've long been meaning to check that out, thanks for reminding me.
What is the surface of Uranus like?
- Thread starter Urge
- Start date
So Arthur C. Clarke's idea that at the center of a gas giant there resides a enormous diamond is false? Damn.
If a gas giant doesn't ultimately have a solid iron/nickel core similar to Earth's, then how could the planet possess its own magnetic field?
Or could a solid core of "metallic hydrogen" generate a magnetic field?
^ I didn't take Christopher's description to imply that it's liquid at the core, just all liquid in a range of depths below the transition from gas to liquid.
No, I didn't mean "all liquid" as in "all the way down," just that the water at that particular depth and pressure is entirely liquid rather than a mix of liquid and vapor.
However, diamond cores would be more likely to be found in a Jupiter-sized planet. Planetary scientists today tend to put Uranus and Neptune into their own distinct category, "ice giants," which are smaller and different in composition from Jovian "gas giants."
Wikipedia: Diagram of the interior of Uranus
Poor planet; it just won't stop, will it!
Knight Templar
Commodore
That's the one.
Also check out "Into the Miranda Rift" I believe its called (might be G. David Nordley) that is of course about four explorers like mountain climbers or cave spelunkers of today trying to climb their way through this odd moon of Uranus.
