Mendeleev first formulated a basic periodic table, by placing elements in order of increasing atomic weight. This table has been referred to in most scientific explorations since, however it is fundamentally anthropocentric in nature with the elements only ordered in their appearance at Earth's conditions. Over 99.9% of all matter exists at extremely high temperatures and under extremely high pressures, at these conditions elements act completely differently. It is well known that under pressures at 30,000-50,000 atm carbon's structure changes to that of a diamond. This is the same for all elements. Oxygen at a pressure of 950,000 atm turns into a solid metal and if it is cooled it can become a super conductor, conducting electricity with no resistance. Hydrogen at a disputed pressure of 2.6 million atm becomes metallic, and would also become a super conductor, a metallic hydrogen could feasibly exist at room temperature, as carbon maintains its structure as a diamond. Thee implications of this being created would allow electricity to be transported at lower costs, and form the basis of revolutionary fuel technology. Complex life is believed to be unable to survie after a pressure of 7,000 atm due to complex molecules vital to cell function start to disintegrate. However simple bacteria can survive pressures of up to five times the amount complex life can survive. Seeds more impressively can still function after being exerted to pressures of up to 75,000 atm. This could explain where the origins of life could come come from with bacteria seemingly able to survive asteroid impacts.
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May 2016
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