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Liquid Structure of Iron and Iron–Nitrogen–Carbon Alloys Within the Cores of Small Terrestrial Bodies
Abstract Nitrogen has been proposed to be stored within planetary cores, but its effects on the structure and density of molten Fe–alloys have not been explored experimentally. Using energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction, we determined the structure of Fe–N(–C) liquids at core conditions (1–7 GPa and 1700–1900°C) within a Paris‐Edinburgh press. Variation of N up to 7 wt.% and C up to 1.5 wt.% results in near‐linear changes in Fe–Fe atom distances and structure factor with increasing light element content. We did not observe a significant pressure‐driven structural transition in Fe–N(–C) liquids. We model the expansion of the Fe–Fe bonds using a modified Birch‐Murnaghan equation of state. With this model, we demonstrate that N or C contamination could lead to an overestimation of the Fe–Fe distances of pure Fe. We observe that the incorporation of 1 wt.% N or C into Fe results in a change in Fe–Fe distances that is twice as significant as the effect of 1 GPa. By approximating the change in volume, we infer that N and C incorporated in liquid iron could contribute to the density deficit observed in the cores of terrestrial bodies.
Bioavailable iron titrations reveal oceanic Synechococcus ecotypes optimized for different iron availabilities
Abstract The trace metal iron (Fe) controls the diversity and activity of phytoplankton across the surface oceans, a paradigm established through decades of in situ and mesocosm experimental studies. Despite widespread Fe-limitation within high-nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) waters, significant contributions of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus to the phytoplankton stock can be found. Correlations among differing strains of Synechococcus across different Fe-regimes have suggested the existence of Fe-adapted ecotypes. However, experimental evidence of high- versus low-Fe adapted strains of Synechococcus is lacking, and so we investigated the transcriptional responses of microbial communities inhabiting the HNLC, sub-Antarctic region of the Southern Ocean during the Spring of 2018. Analysis of metatranscriptomes generated from on-deck incubation experiments reflecting a gradient of Fe-availabilities reveal transcriptomic signatures indicative of co-occurring Synechococcus ecotypes adapted to differing Fe-regimes. Functional analyses comparing low-Fe and high-Fe conditions point to various Fe-acquisition mechanisms that may allow persistence of low-Fe adapted Synechococcus under Fe-limitation. Comparison of in situ surface conditions to the Fe-titrations indicate ecological relevance of these mechanisms as well as persistence of both putative ecotypes within this region. This Fe-titration approach, combined with transcriptomics, highlights the short-term responses of the in situ phytoplankton community to Fe-availability that are often overlooked by examining genomic content or bulk physiological responses alone. These findings expand our knowledge about how phytoplankton in HNLC Southern Ocean waters adapt and respond to changing Fe supply.
Na-Ion storage in iron hydroxide phosphate hydrate through a reversible crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition
Iron( iii ) hydroxide phosphate hydrate Fe 1.13 (PO 4 )(OH) 0.39 (H 2 O) 0.61 is investigated for the first time as a Na-ion battery cathode. The material exhibits similar storage capacities for Na- and Li-ions at relatively low current rates ( i.e. C/10).
A MnO[subscript x] enhanced atomically dispersed iron?nitrogen?carbon catalyst for the oxygen reduct
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Iron Availability within the Leaf Vasculature Determines the Magnitude of Iron Deficiency Responses in Source and Sink Tissues in Arabidopsis
Abstract Iron (Fe) uptake and translocation in plants are fine-tuned by complex mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, local regulation of Fe homeostasis at the root level has been extensively studied and is better understood than the systemic shoot-to-root regulation. While the root system is solely a sink tissue that depends on photosynthates translocated from source tissues, the shoot system is a more complex tissue, where sink and source tissues occur synchronously. In this study, and to gain better insight into the Fe deficiency responses in leaves, we overexpressed Zinc/Iron-regulated transporter-like Protein (ZIP5), an Fe/Zn transporter, in phloem-loading cells (proSUC2::AtZIP5) and determined the timing of Fe deficiency responses in sink (young leaves and roots) and source tissues (leaves). Transgenic lines overexpressing ZIP5 in companion cells displayed increased sensitivity to Fe deficiency in root growth assays. Moreover, young leaves and roots (sink tissues) displayed either delayed or dampened transcriptional responses to Fe deficiency compared to wild-type (WT) plants. We also took advantage of the Arabidopsis mutant nas4x-1 to explore Fe transcriptional responses in the opposite scenario, where Fe is retained in the vasculature but in an unavailable and precipitated form. In contrast to proSUC2::AtZIP5 plants, nas4x-1 young leaves and roots displayed a robust and constitutive Fe deficiency response, while mature leaves showed a delayed and dampened Fe deficiency response compared to WT plants. Altogether, our data provide evidence suggesting that Fe sensing within leaves can also occur locally in a leaf-specific manner.
Integral Experiment Execution of Thermal or Epithermal eXperiments using Plutonium with Polyethylene and Iron, IER 519, TEX-Hanford (-Iron), CED-3b
This report documents the execution of experiments and measurements for IER 519, Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) for Hanford applications, using plutonium Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR) plates moderated by interstitial polyethylene and iron (Fe) absorber plates. Initial hand stack, mass, and dimensional measurements were performed in July 2025. The experiments were completed over three weeks from December 2025 to January 2026 at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) at the Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS). All photos and critical data were provided by NCERC and experimenters in LANL’s NEN-2.
Cooling Delays from Iron Sedimentation and Iron Inner Cores in White Dwarfs
Do white dwarfs have inner cores made of iron? Neutron-rich nuclei like 56 Fe experience a net gravitational force and sediment toward the core. Using new phase diagrams and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that 56 Fe should separate into mesoscopic Fe-rich crystallites due to its large charge relative to the background. At solar abundances, these crystallites rapidly precipitate and form an inner core of order 100 km and 10 -3 M ⊙ that may be detectable with asteroseismology. Associated cooling delays could be up to a Gyr for low-mass white dwarfs but are only ~0.1 Gyr for massive white dwarfs, so while this mechanism may contribute to the Q-branch the heating is insufficient to fully explain it.
The chemical classification of iron meteorites. III - Hexahedrites and other irons with germanium concentrations between 80 and 200 ppm.
Chemical classification of iron meteorites with Ge concentrations between 80 and 200 ppm, reporting concentrations of Ge, Ni, Ga and Ir
Characteristic temperatures of the Mossbauer fraction and thermal-shift measurements in iron and iron salts.
Measurement of Mossbauer spectra in metallic iron, sodium nitroprusside, sodium ferrocyanide, and potassium ferrocyanide absorbers between 78 and 293 K. The temperature dependences of the Mossbauer fraction and the resonant velocity were fitted to Einstein and Debye lattice-vibration models. The characteristic temperatures of the models fitted to the Mossbauer fraction are consistently lower than those fitted to the resonant velocity showing the sensitivity of the Mossbauer fraction to low-frequency modes of vibration. The characteristic temperatures obtained from the resonant velocity are higher for the salts than for the metal, indicating the presence of higher-frequency modes in the salts. This interpretation is verified semiquantitatively by comparing the thermal-shift Debye temperatures of the salts to their infrared absorption frequencies. The Mossbauer fraction of potassium ferrocyanide shows a weaker temperature dependence than that expected for a harmonic solid, which suggests that potassium ferrocyanide is anharmonic in the temperature range studied.
Asteroid size distribution - Implications for the origin of stony-iron and iron meteorites
The diameter-frequency distribution of large asteroids is analyzed, based on polarimetric and radiometric albedo data. The population of carbonaceous objects shows a high degree of fragmentation. But a class of apparently stony-iron asteroids shows a relative excess frequency between diameters of 100 to 200 km. It is proposed that the latter objects are predominantly metallic cores of a group of chemically differentiated planetesimals all of which (except Vesta) have suffered catastrophic collisions. Collision frequencies in the asteroid belt may have been much greater than previously supposed.
The sub-iron to iron ratios and the cosmic ray pathlength distribution
Data on the ratios of nuclei in the 21-25 charge range to iron, from the Danish-French cosmic ray isotope experiment on HEAO 3, are compared with cosmic ray propagation calculations based upon the latest cross sections. The results are incompatible with models in which the path length distribution has a peak at a path length larger than 1 g/sq cm, e.g., those in which there is more than 1 g/sq cm of matter around the cosmic ray source. They are most consistent with models in which the path length distribution includes substantial probabilities of having traversed very little matter.
Testing of the Eagle-Picher nickel-iron, the Globe ISOA lead-acid, and the Westinghouse nickel-iron battery subsystems in an electric-vehicle environment
Three full size developmental batteries were tested with electric vehicles; two nickel-iron batteries and a lead-acid battery. Constant speed and driving schedule tests were done on a chassis dynamometer. Several aspects of battery performance were evaluated for capacity, recharge efficiency, voltage response, and self discharge. Each of these three batteries exhibited some strengths and some weaknesses.
Relative abundances of sub-iron to iron nuclei in low energy (50-250 MeV/N) cosmic rays as observed in the Skylab experiment
A Lexan polycarbonate detector exposed on the exterior of Skylab-3 for 73 days during a solar quiet period was used to study the relative abundances of calcium to nickel ions in low energy cosmic rays of 50 to 250 MeV/N. The method of charge identification is based on the measurement of conelength (L) and residual range (R) of these particles in various Lexan sheets. Since more than one cone (sometimes as many as five) is observed and is measured, the charge accuracy becomes precise and accurate. The ratio of (calcium to manganese) to (iron and cobalt) obtained at three energy intervals of 50 to 80, 80 to 150, 150 to 250 and 50 to 250 MeV/N are 7.6 plus or minus 3.8, 2.7 plus or minus 0.8, 1.4 plus or minus 0.6 and 3.3 plus or minus 0.7 respectively. These data thus indicate a large increase of this ratio with decreasing energy. The origin of this strong energy dependence is not understood at present.
Low temperature phase transformations in the metallic phases of iron and stony-iron meteorites
The nickel content and the structure of kamacite and decomposed taenite (clear taenite 1, CT-1; the cloudy zone, CZ; and clear taenite 2, CT-2) in the metallic phases of meteorites were determined using X-ray microanalysis techniques in the AEM. The kamacite near the CT-1 interface was found to contain about 4 wt pct Ni. The CT-1 structure contains 51.4-45.6 wt pct Ni; it is ordered FeNi with the L1(0) superstructure. The CZ structure consists of two phases: a globular phase (ordered FeNi containing 50.9 wt pct Ni) and a surrounding honeycomb martensitic phase containing 11.7 wt pct Ni. The CT-2 was found in all of the iron meteorite groups studied and in the pallasites, but not in the mesosiderites. Based on the preliminary evidence, this region is believed to be ordered Fe3Ni. Possible mechanisms for the decomposition of taenite are discussed.
Occurrence of Iron Oxides on Cast-iron Engine Surfaces After Operation
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The lake as an iron sink - new insights on the role of iron speciation
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Hydrocarbon Oxidation by an Exposed, Multiply Bonded Iron(III) Oxo Complex
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