Liquid Metallic Hydrogen

Liquid metallic hydrogen, which the planets Jupiter and Saturn are made of, is not an earthly substance. Even so, we might be able to get an idea of what it is from another substance called Mercury. Mercury is what is found in a thermometer.

As shown in this picture, the element Mercury, at room temperature is a metallic liquid.

At temperatures within the giant planets of 10,000 degrees , the element hydrogen, which is normally a gas, becomes a metallic liquid.

Since the environment within a giant planet cannot be duplicated on earth, we may never be able to see liquid metallic hydrogen. But it may look very much like Mercury does in this picture.


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