# The ab initio simulation of the Earth's core

@article{Alf2002TheAI,
title={The ab initio simulation of the Earth's core},
author={Dario Alf{\'e} and Michael J. Gillan and Lidunka Vo{\vc}adlo and John P. Brodholt and Geoffrey David Price},
journal={Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences},
year={2002},
volume={360},
pages={1227 - 1244}
}
• Published 15 June 2002
• Materials Science
• Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
The Earth has a liquid outer and solid inner core. It is predominantly composed of Fe, alloyed with small amounts of light elements, such as S, O and Si. The detailed chemical and thermal structure of the core is poorly constrained, and it is difficult to perform experiments to establish the properties of core–forming phases at the pressures (ca. 300 GPa) and temperatures (ca. 5000–6000 K) to be found in the core. Here we present some major advances that have been made in using quantum…

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