Even more remarkable, the helium remained stable inside the iron’s crystal lattice even after pressure was reduced, suggesting it could stay locked in Earth’s core for billions of years.

Earth’s core could contain helium from the early solar system. The noble gas tucks into gaps in iron crystals under high pressure and temperature.

The discovery that inert helium can form bonds with iron may reshape our understanding of Earth’s history. Researchers from ...

These results suggest that similar reactions between helium and iron may have occurred within Earth’s core shortly after its formation, trapping much of the primordial helium-3 in the material that ...

The diamond anvil crushed iron and helium together under conditions mimicking those inside the Earth, to create a new compound. These compounds remained stable when pressures were reduced.

The discovery that helium and iron can mix at the temperatures and pressures found at the center of Earth could settle a long-standing debate over how our planet formed. Primordial helium from the ...

Iron can form compounds with helium at pressures as low as 5GPa – about 50,000 atmospheres – researchers in Japan report.

But for helium extraction, it’s ideal because it’s very stable. In fact, he adds, “nobody thought that a [geological] system like this could exist.” Topaz site. Abraham-Jones hopes that by ...