Rocky Cosmic Crashes Can Forge Space Crystals, Laser Test Suggests

When rocky bodies collide in space, they produce a tremendous shock wave, abruptly increasing the pressure on the minerals within. In a new study, researchers zapped a main component of rocky planets with a laser and discovered something unexpected: Instead of simply melting under suddenly high temperature and pressure, crystals form in liquid as well. Forsterite is a mineral made from magnesium, silicon and oxygen, and it's extremely common on rocky planets: Earth's upper mantle is 70 percent t