What do you think Jupiter's core is made of?

[Sun]

Choose a poll option above, and discuss this below.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Sun

[KASASpace]

It's been theorized that the immense pressures would create solid Hydrogen. So that seems most likely.

[Kerbart]

Cheese is not an option?

[NASAFanboy]

Many speculation about a abundance of diamonds at th core.

Might want to add that

[Kerbin Dallas Multipass]

I believe it is solid hot iron and heavier elements, quite exactly what earth is made of, in similar amounts even.

Outside of that there's metallic hydrogen core I would guess.

[Seret]

Where's the option for "we don't really know yet"?

[bsalis]

Persistent Unicorns.

That's only speculation though. I could be wrong.

[Brotoro]

Computer models of Jupiter's interior show that it can not be hydrogen/helium all the way to the center (you don't get the right diameter/mass combination), so we expect that under the thick atmosphere, liquid hydrogen/helium mantle, and liquid metallic hydrogen layer, there must be a core of ice/rock/metal…maybe 24 Earth masses worth (but that amount varies quite a bit from model to model).

[Galacticruler]

Solid metalic hydrogen.

Pressure = heat

Pressure + heat + hydrogen = explosion OR metalic hydrogen.

[ihtoit]

Choose a poll option above, and discuss this below.

None of the above, I'm with Clarke on this: forever inaccessible to my wife, a diamond as big as the Earth!

[Palladium Corp]

My hypothesis is a solid rocky/metal core with the layer of liquid hydrogen surrounding that.

[sal_vager]

None of the above, I'm with Clarke on this: forever inaccessible to my wife, a diamond as big as the Earth!

I'm also going for this, a carbon core under immense pressure with the heat that goes with it, the largest diamond in the solar system, forever beyond the reach of man or wives

[lajoswinkler]

It contains similar atoms just like Earth below its lithosphere. Its composition is similar to typical asteroids because all planets were initially made of such material which clumped together. Jupiter was larger and far enough to keep its permanent gas (hydrogen and helium) atmosphere.

So it's basically rock, meaning heavy elements like carbon, iron, nickel, uranium.

The state of it... probably some kind of degenerate matter. No compounds. Just plasma so compressed it might be solid. I don't think scientists did any actual experiments outside computer simulations, and it might be that nobody even did some decent simulations of it.

It might have a crust of carbon in the diamond form, but the actual core must be made of heavier elements.

So I'll vote for "exotic matter" because that's the closest explanation, but it's undoubtedly rock by composition. It can't be hydrogen.

Edited February 16, 2014 by lajoswinkler

[jwenting]

Jupiter couldn't care less what I think about it. And as we'll never be able to mine it, I don't worry about what it's made it.

[nhnifong]

I'm also going for this, a carbon core under immense pressure with the heat that goes with it, the largest diamond in the solar system, forever beyond the reach of man or wives

Man invented Cubic Zirconium gemstones for a reason...

[Palladium Corp]

Zircon crystals are actually more thermodynamically stable than diamond is. diamond, given enough time, will decompose into graphite.

[DonLorenzo]

I like how there's an option for Hot rocks AND Ice in your poll