Crystal Core Discovered in Dying Star

[meteor]

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994692

"A crystal the size of our Moon has been revealed hidden at the centre of a dying star, after an analysis of pulsations in the star's brightness.

The measurement confirms indirect evidence that the cores of all such dying stars - called white dwarfs - solidify as they cool. The discovery may improve age estimates of our galaxy, of which white dwarfs provide an important constraint.

Astronomers led by Travis Metcalfe of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, studied the white dwarf BPM 37093, the only known pulsating white dwarf in our galaxy thought likely to have produced a crystal core."

I think like I'm hearing now the song of Blondie

 

[marcus]

Originally posted by meteor
... pulsating white dwarf in our galaxy thought likely to have produced a crystal core."

I think like I'm hearing now the song of Blondie

there is a venezuelan popular song "Alma Llanera" with the lines

"...y por eso tengo el alma...de cristal.."

not sure about words or spelling but something like this


EDIT: I found the words on web

Introducción:

Yo nací en esta ribera del Arauca vibrador
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas de las rosas
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas de las rosas
Y del sol y del sol.

Me arrulló la viva diana de la brisa en el palmar
Y por eso tengo el alma
Como el alma primorosa
Y por eso tengo el alma
Como el alma primorosa
De cristal de cristal.

Estribillo:
Amo, río, canto, sueño
Con claveles de pasión
Con claveles de pasión.
Para aunar las rubias crines
Para aunar las rubias crines
Del potro que monto yo.
Yo nací en esta ribera
Del Arauca vibrador
Soy hermano de la espuma
De las garzas de las rosas y del sol.

 

[russ_watters]

Your title says glass, but the article says crystallized oxygen and carbon (like diamond).

 

[marcus]

Originally posted by russ_watters
Your title says glass, but the article says crystallized oxygen and carbon...

in a spanish-english dictionary it is very possible that
the spanish word "cristal" is translated "glass"
at least I think so.

had a question but the new scientist article answered it

 

[russ_watters]

Originally posted by marcus
in a spanish-english dictionary it is very possible that
the spanish word "cristal" is translated "glass"
at least I think so.

That would surprise me as "crystal" and "glass" are near exact opposites.

edit: well, ok, there is a common definition of "crystal" that is a type of glass, but I'm not sure where that comes from. Scientifically, a glass is amorphous and a crystal is, well, a crystal.

 

[marcus]

Originally posted by russ_watters
That would surprise me as "crystal" and "glass" are near exact opposites.

edit: well, ok, there is a common definition of "crystal" that is a type of glass, but I'm not sure where that comes from. Scientifically, a glass is amorphous and a crystal is, well, a crystal.

Im hip that "real glass" glass is amorphous, that is to say
technically-speaking a glass, or even a very viscous liquid by some peoples defs


it seems as if this physical confusion may be embedded in some
important world languages

not sure about this

 

[marcus]

I looked in an 1881 edition of the Cassell's French-English Dictionary
(pages getting a bit yellowed with age, old leather binding)

and learned that a
glass factory could be called a "cristallerie"
and a glass cutter could be called a "cristallier"

but it is more correct, at least nowadays, to say
"verrerie" and "verrier"
(my modern French dictionary does not allow the mistake
contained in the older dictionary)

so now
someone please tell me the correct translation of
this line from the popular LatinAmerican song
Alma Llanera

"y por eso tengo el alma como el alma primarosa
de cristal, de cristal"

is it "like the pristine heart of a crystal"
or is it "like the pristine heart of glass"


also the text I pasted in was from the first
website I found that had the words to that song and
I think it may have mistakes. if you can supply
different words or correct these please do so.

 

[LURCH]

Originally posted by russ_watters
Your title says glass, but the article says crystallized oxygen and carbon (like diamond).

I seem to recall reading that this was also noce suspected to be the core of Jupiter and possibly Saturn. Carbon in the gass giants was thought to have settled to the center, where the extreme pressure crystalized it, forming diamonds possibly the size of the Moon! This theory no longer appears to be held in the mainstream.