Sodium’s high-pressure transformation can tell us about the interiors of stars, planets

Travel deep enough below Earth’s surface or inside the center of the sun, and matter changes on an atomic level.

The mounting pressure within stars and planets can cause metals to become nonconducting insulators. Sodium has been shown to transform from a shiny, gray-colored metal into a transparent, glass-like insulator when squeezed hard enough.

Now, a University at Buffalo-led study has revealed the chemical bonding behind this particular high-pressure phenomenon.

While it’s been theorized that high…