Scientists have now measured the atomic structure of liquid carbon while it existed, using in-situ X-ray diffraction under extreme pressure and heat. The results, published in Nature on 21 May 2025, describe a complex fluid in which each carbon atom had about four nearest neighbours on average.
What did researchers discover about liquid carbon?
The team found that liquid carbon is a complex fluid with transient bonding and an average of approximately four nearest neighbours around each carbon atom. The study’s authors summarize the result: “Our results show a complex fluid with transient bonding and approximately four nearest neighbours on average.” The Nature paper reports the measurement and finds that the observed structure agrees with quantum molecular dynamics simulations.
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A Nature research briefing describes the local arrangement as “water-like,” referring to the roughly four neighbouring atoms. That is a limited structural analogy: liquid carbon is not water in composition or ordinary behaviour.
How did scientists make and measure liquid carbon?
In an experimental campaign described by Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf as taking place in 2023, an international collaboration led by the University of Rostock and HZDR used the UK-developed DiPOLE 100-X high-energy laser with the European XFEL near Hamburg. The laser drove compression waves through a solid carbon sample, briefly creating liquid carbon. The HZDR summary says the liquid state lasted nanoseconds.
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While the sample was liquid, researchers used in-situ X-ray diffraction to determine how its atoms were arranged. The technique let them examine the structure during the short-lived state rather than infer it from a sample after the conditions had ended. The STFC Central Laser Facility announcement describes the laser’s role in producing the conditions for the experiment.
What conditions does liquid carbon require?
Carbon does not simply melt into a stable liquid at ordinary pressure. Producing liquid carbon in a laboratory requires extreme heat and pressure. The Nature paper says liquid carbon requires temperatures above 4,000 K and pressures of at least several megapascals; these are broad requirements, not a single threshold that applies across the entire carbon phase diagram.
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For this experiment, Nature reported pressures around one million atmospheres, while its research briefing gave a temperature of about 7,000 kelvin. These figures describe the study’s experimental conditions, not a recipe for making liquid carbon under ordinary laboratory conditions.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesWhy does measuring its structure matter?
Liquid carbon occurs in settings researchers cannot easily reproduce or observe directly, including planetary interiors and white-dwarf atmospheres. Measuring its structure under extreme conditions gives scientists data with which to test models of carbon’s behaviour, including models of its melting line. The agreement with quantum molecular dynamics simulations also provides a check on calculations used to describe matter under these conditions.
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The work may inform research on advanced carbon materials, inertial-confinement-fusion implosions and other extreme-condition phenomena. These are scientific motivations, not demonstrated near-term commercial applications. The authors say the experimental method could also open a path to comparable measurements of light-element liquids at extreme conditions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the experiment does not establish
- It does not show that liquid carbon had never been created before. The novelty is the in-situ experimental characterization of its structure.
- It does not determine every physical property of liquid carbon or settle the complete carbon phase diagram.
- It does not demonstrate a practical product made from liquid carbon, or a way to keep it liquid under ordinary conditions.
The primary paper, “The structure of liquid carbon elucidated by in situ X-ray diffraction,” was published in Nature on 21 May 2025. Institutional accounts from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and UK Research and Innovation also describe the work and its significance.
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