A post shared on social media purports that the men’s swim team has refused to compete with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Verdict: False The claim stems from a satirical article. Fact Check: Thomas recently lost the case for trans women to be allowed to compete in the women’s division of the Olympics, according to NBC News. The Court […]

'Charge from the United States government'

'the current structure makes it possible for illegal immigrants and non-citizens to vote'

News Red One Christmas Is Going to Get Ruined in Red One You leave the Yule Cat out of this, you hear me? By Molly Templeton | Published on June 25, 2024 Screenshot: Netflix Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: Netflix On what can we blame the recent uptick in “edgy” holiday films? I’m looking at you, Violent Night. And I’m definitely looking at you, Red One, the latest dubious-looking Netflix movie with a title that begins with “Red.” Is this set in the Red Notice Cinematic Universe? Red One begins with a jacked-up Santa (J.K. Simmons, what are you doing here) doing 500 bench presses because he’s TOUGH, he is MANLY, he’s not your good old jolly Saint Nick. He probably didn’t even eat those cookies you left out for him. He’s got an even tougher security detail in the form of The Rock and an animated polar bear, but they are apparently useless when someone—gasp—kidnaps Santa. Is Christmas in danger? If it is, it’s because of the blatant product placement and weirdly aggressive and militaristic vibe here, but anyway. Chris Evans plays a dude who’s level four on the naughty list but is, nevertheless, the only man who can help find Santa (what good did all those bench presses do, anyway?). Krampus’s good name gets dragged into this, along with some snowmen. The rest of the cast includes Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju (that you under the Krampus makeup?), and Nick Kroll. Jake Kasdan, who directed the weirdly charming Zero Effect in the ’90s but has since moved on to the likes of the Jumanji remakes, directs. The screenplay is by Hiram Garcia and Chris Morgan, which makes me sad, because once upon a time Chris Morgan was the most reliable writer in the Fast and/or Furious franchise. And now he’s here. Writing about jacked Santa. Red One alights on Netflix on November 15th. Maybe it’ll be more fun than it looks.[end-mark] The post Christmas Is Going to Get Ruined in <i>Red One</i> appeared first on Reactor.

Books Front Lines and Frontiers Graduate or Perish: Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein We’ve now discussed all 12 of Heinlein’s juveniles–where does this tale of off-world survival fall in the rankings? By Alan Brown | Published on June 25, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as “alarums and excursions”: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement. Today we’ll be discussing Tunnel in the Sky, first published in 1955, and one of the best of Robert A. Heinlein’s juveniles. Heinlein drops a group of high school students into the wilds of an alien planet for a survival test that is supposed to last only a few days. But there is a freak astronomical event, and the students find themselves abandoned; they must build a community from scratch and survive all types of threats, including swarms of vicious creatures that are almost unstoppable. I first reviewed a Heinlein juvenile for Reactor (then Tor.com) back in 2017 by looking at my favorite, Have Spacesuit Will Travel. And now I am finishing the series on juveniles with my second favorite, Tunnel in the Sky. It has been an interesting experience watching how Heinlein’s style evolved, and how his stories moved humanity from the moon, and then to the planets, to the stars, and finally, beyond our galaxy. I used three copies of the book for this review. The first was an Ace paperback I’d bought in high school and brought with me when I entered the Coast Guard (my name and serial number is inscribed inside the cover), and read until the cover was in tatters, the pages a pile of mostly unglued paper. The second was a Del Rey paperback edition from 1981, purchased at a B. Dalton bookstore, which I probably bought because I was tired of chasing the loose pages from my original copy. And the third copy is contained in a Science Fiction Book Club omnibus edition entitled Infinite Possibilities. This is also another Heinlein juvenile that I’ve enjoyed as an audio drama from Full Cast Audio. Reviews of this book that I found on the internet were generally positive, although more recent reviews focused on the archaic gender roles portrayed in the story. Many of the reviewers could not avoid mentioning William Golding’s 1954 book The Lord of the Flies, which also looks at a group of young people stranded in a survival situation, but with a view of human nature that is almost the exact opposite of Heinlein’s. However, I could not find evidence Heinlein had read that book, let alone intended his own work as a counterpoint to it. In my youth, I was fascinated by survival stories, with a favorite being My Side of the Mountain by Jean George, which I also read into tatters. The idea of being able to survive on my own in the wild, and being completely independent of other people, was compelling. So the theme of Tunnel in the Sky, which dropped a group of young people into an untamed alien wilderness, grabbed me right from the start. About the Author Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) was one of America’s most widely known science fiction authors, frequently referred to as the Dean of Science Fiction. I have often discussed his work in this column, including Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, “Destination Moon” (contained in the collection Three Times Infinity), The Pursuit of the Pankera/The Number of the Beast, and Glory Road. From 1947 to 1958, he also wrote a series of a dozen juvenile novels for Charles Scribner’s Sons, a firm interested in publishing science fiction novels targeted toward young boys. These novels include a wide variety of tales, and contain some of Heinlein’s best work (the books I’ve already reviewed in this column contain links to the relevant article): Rocket Ship Galileo, Space Cadet, Red Planet, Farmer in the Sky, Between Planets, The Rolling Stones, Starman Jones, The Star Beast, Tunnel in the Sky, Time for the Stars, Citizen of the Galaxy, and Have Spacesuit—Will Travel. This is not the first time Tunnel in the Sky has been discussed on Tor.com, as Jo Walton reviewed it in 2011. Tunnel in the Sky Rod Walker is a high school student who dreams of working on another planet. Technology makes the trip possible through teleportation in the form of portals called Ramsbotham gates, which can be opened not only between points on a single world, but also between worlds even light-years apart. The hurdle Rod faces in pursuing his dream is passing the final exam of his Advanced Survival course, which involves students being dropped into the wilderness of an alien world for two to ten days. If they survive, they pass, and are able to work in offworld professions, but if they die, they fail. And failures do happen. Participants not only have to worry about alien creatures, but also the other students, as there are no rules preventing them from stealing from each other, or even committing violence. While it is only implied by the text of the book, probably due to editorial intervention, Heinlein, whose juveniles often stressed diversity, intended Rod to be Black. And the text is clear in describing the other students to be from a variety of nations, races, and religions. Rod’s instructor is “Deacon” Matson, a tough customer with an eyepatch and a history of surviving offworld expeditions. Matson is one of those characters that Heinlein uses throughout his work as a conduit for the author to pontificate and share his philosophy. Matson even suggests that Rod may not be cut out for offworld survival, but Rod ignores him, showing the determination, or stubborn streak, which is his strongest personality trait. His friend Jimmy decides not to take the exam at the last minute, and while Rod’s parents are not happy about him taking the exam, he gets advice from his sister, a professional soldier in an “Amazon” unit. On his way home from school through the gate system, Rod pauses to watch the gates in operation. He sees settlers leaving for other worlds, and in one case, a stream of people from a growing Chinese empire, which despite conquering other nations, still does not have enough room for its people. The obsession with overpopulation as a source of impending doom, so prominent throughout Heinlein’s juvenile series, is on full display here. Rod is warned to “beware of stobor,” which he imagines is some sort of fierce beast, steps through the gate into a forest environment, and survives his first night in a tree. But during the next day, someone jumps him from behind, knocks him out, and steals everything he carries except for his shorts and a spare knife he had strapped to his leg under a bandage. Soon, he is gaunt from hunger and feverish from wounds. And he has completely lost track of time. He meets a slender young man named Jack, and they talk about teaming up, but Rod is on guard from the start because Jack is using his favorite knife, stolen by whoever jumped him. Jack explains that that the latest date for their recall gate to open has come and gone, which indicates something is terribly wrong with the exam process. He also explains that he collected Rod’s knife off a corpse, so whoever attacked Jack has found a crude form of justice. The two come across Rod’s friend Jimmy, who had changed his mind, and taken the exam after all. Jimmy has not been doing well, but is alert enough to see something Rod missed; Jack is Jacqueline, a girl (Rod shares the cluelessness toward romance that marks so many other Heinlein juvenile protagonists). And over time, their little group begins to grow, with Rod becoming a competent outdoorsman and hunter. Eventually they encounter other groups, some of them consisting of college students, and before long Rod finds himself answering to elected leaders who majored in government. This sets up a standard plot for a lot of science fiction stories from the mid- to late 20th century: a warrior or person of action warns against complacency, concerned by possible threats, only to be ignored by political leaders, with disastrous results (Jerry Pournelle was especially fond of this premise). Students begin to pair off, marrying and even having children. A Zulu girl named Caroline becomes a compelling character, and had it not been for editorial direction to avoid romance, the reader imagines that Rod and Caroline could have become a couple. The colony builds a base in a spot that is comfortable, but not easily defensible. And when a normally docile creature turns out to be seasonally violent, the students think they have finally found the “stobor” they were warned about. The struggle to survive is vividly portrayed, and the book contains some of the most compelling passages in Heinlein’s juveniles. At one point, Heinlein effectively uses the epistolary form of a diary to keep the reader guessing, and show the passage of time. Rod’s determination and sense of duty serve him well during the colony’s time of testing. Months become years, and the students begin to think they will never see their homes again. But the real test comes when the inhabitants of a colony who have grown into adulthood are finally brought back in touch with civilization, a place where they are still considered children. At this point, Rod’s stubborn nature, which served him so well in the wilderness, becomes a stumbling block. The book is compelling from beginning to end, and a constant sense of jeopardy keeps the reader turning pages. The characters are well-drawn, the conflict with nature and between people is plausible, and the building of a new community is a fascinating endeavor. All in all, this is one of the best of Heinlein’s juveniles. Rating the Heinlein Juveniles Heinlein’s juveniles were an important part of the science fiction’s coming of age as a serious genre. Unlike other science fiction books written for young readers, they treated scientific issues with respect, and didn’t shy away from showing readers how things might work as humanity moved out into space. While exposition sometimes bogs down narratives, Heinlein had a gift for making scientific explanations come to life, and these passages often feature as one of the most interesting parts of the story. You don’t have to look far to find engineers and scientists who were inspired to join their fields because of Heinlein’s work. There is a lot in the stories that has held up well over the years. Much of the science is solid, although new discoveries about the solar system have made Heinlein’s ideas about the other worlds obsolete. And the explosion of electronic communications and computing devices makes some of his projections feel quaint and outdated. Where the stories feel the most dated, however, are in gender roles. The books were written about and for boys at a time when the sexes were segregated in many ways. Heinlein’s portrayals of submissive wives and mothers felt over the top even when I read them back in my youth, and feel especially jarring today, in a world where gender roles are more equal. There are some who argue those attitudes make the books unreadable, but I feel that, with some discussion and context provided by parents, there is still much in them that today’s younger readers will enjoy and learn from. It is ironic that the juveniles, where the protagonists were barred from even thinking about sex and romance by editorial dictates, almost all contain plots driven by the threat of overpopulation, the consequences on the macro level of the very procreation Heinlein was prevented from discussing in relation to his characters and their lives. I’ve enjoyed re-reading the juveniles as an adult, and in filling in the gaps by catching up on those I had missed. They made me feel like a kid again, reliving the excitement and sense of wonder they evoked the first time around. As an older reader, however, some of those older characters that deliver Heinlein’s authorial lectures, and who seemed so wise in my youth, felt a bit smug and condescending. Today’s adult readers can still find much in the stories to enjoy. To me, the juveniles are among Heinlein’s best works, and are preferrable to many of his later works, which suffered from self-indulgence and a lack of firm editorial guidance. Heinlein might have chafed at those editors when the juveniles were written, but they goaded him into producing some of the finest work of his career. At this point, I can’t resist the temptation to rank the books based entirely on my own preferences. This was a highly subjective process, especially as I only encountered half of the books in my youth, and those that I read first tend to fall higher on the list. I find that the books I prefer tended to have some sort of physical challenge to overcome, and treks to survive in hostile environments are among the most memorable scenes. I also find that books that feature battles or revolutions caught my attention, although Heinlein had a knack to make even subjects like farming interesting and quite compelling. There were some instances where particular themes and situations were shared and repeated between books—such as finding out that an alien pet was more than it appeared to be, or an encounter with an enigmatic alien race that turned hostile—and I generally tend to prefer the first book I’d encountered whenever that sort of repetition occurred. I’ll also note that on occasion the strength of a single fascinating character (like the competent bureaucrat Mr. Kiku) moved a book up a few notches in my estimation. After reading all the juveniles, I can now appreciate the overall arc of the tales. While they are not strictly sequels, and not all set in the same future history, the books do start with a trip to the moon, and end with a trip outside our galaxy, showing humanity moving farther out from Earth. There’s also a diversity of characters and situations that keep the stories interesting. Without further ado, here is my ranking of the twelve juvenile books published by Scribners: Have Spacesuit Will Travel Tunnel in the Sky Red Planet Between Planets Citizen of the Galaxy Farmer in the Sky Starman Jones Space Cadet The Rolling Stones The Star Beast Rocket Ship Galileo Time for the Stars Final Thoughts Tunnel in the Sky stands as one of Heinlein’s best juveniles, and one of his best books overall, for that matter. It features a lot of action and adventure, but also gives the reader something to think about regarding human nature. It is what we in New England call a “wicked good story.” Now, I’m interested in what you have to say about Tunnel in the Sky in particular and Heinlein’s juveniles in general. And how would you rank the books yourself?[end-mark] The post Graduate or Perish: <i>Tunnel in the Sky</i> by Robert A. Heinlein appeared first on Reactor.

A former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan says today’s conservatives have much to learn from the 40th president. Peter Robinson addressed what he sees as misconceptions about Reagan’s leadership in an interview with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts—beginning with the claim that Reagan supposedly supported open borders.  Robinson recounted young conservatives as saying, “‘Well, Ronald Reagan signed an amnesty for illegal aliens. He’d be on [President] Joe Biden’s side on the border.’” But he called that “nonsense,” pointing to strict enforcement provisions against illegal border crossers in the 1986 amnesty bill Reagan signed into law.  On Reagan’s reputation for soft-spokenness, Robinson noted how that differs markedly from his historic “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” speech near Soviet-occupied East Berlin in 1987, which he helped draft for the president, referring to then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Robinson recalled that “the State Department and the National Security Council wanted that line out of the speech because it was ‘too provocative.’”  “That guy [Reagan] had the steel to stand up to the entire foreign policy apparatus of the United States and say, ‘No, I’m calling on him to tear down the wall,’” Robinson told Roberts on “The Kevin Roberts Show” podcast.   “There was a toughness, even an aggressiveness about that man,” added Robinson, a Murdoch Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution.  However, Robinson emphasized that conservatives face “a new moment” in history and “don’t have as much time” as Reagan had to turn America in the right direction.  Watch the full episode of “The Kevin Roberts Show” to hear Reagan’s close ally discuss the 40th president’s enduring legacy:  The post What Today’s Conservatives Get Wrong About Ronald Reagan, According to His Speechwriter appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Obama-appointed federal judges blocked parts of the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan on Monday in response to Republican states’ lawsuits. Judge John A. Ross of Missouri and Judge Daniel Crabtree of Kansas blocked parts of the administration’s SAVE Plan, which was an income-driven repayment program intended to lower monthly costs for borrowers. The court rulings prohibit the Department of Education from further lowering payments or eliminating more debt through the program, Politico reported. Ross ruled that the “defendants are preliminarily enjoined from any further loan forgiveness for borrowers” under the plan until the case is fully considered by the court, and Crabtree temporarily blocked parts of the program that would further lower monthly payments for some borrowers, according to the court documents. Ross’ order takes effect immediately and the other will take effect June 30, giving the administration time to appeal. “We strongly disagree with the Kansas and Missouri District Court rulings, which block components of the SAVE Plan that help student loan borrowers have affordable monthly payments and stay out of default. The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed the lawsuit in March, while Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed in April, both of which stemmed from the loan forgiveness program being deemed unconstitutional. “The President does not get to thwart the Constitution when it suits his political agenda. I’m filing suit to halt his brazen attempt to curry favor with some citizens by forcing others to shoulder their debts. The Constitution will continue to mean something as long as I’m Attorney General,” Bailey said in a press release when the initial suit was filed. In June 2023, the Supreme Court shot down the administration’s student loan forgiveness plan for nearly 40 million Americans using executive power. President Joe Biden introduced the SAVE Plan soon after the Supreme Court ruling, which would limit student loan repayments to 5% of a borrower’s monthly income from the limit of 10%. The Missouri and Kansas attorneys general offices did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation The post Obama-Appointed Judges Strike Down Parts of Biden’s Student Loan Repayment Plan appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. CNN has threatened to take legal action against any creators and streamers who attempt to broadcast and add commentary to their upcoming debate stream. As the host of the upcoming first presidential debate this Thursday, CNN has notified livestreamers that live-streaming the debate with additional commentary is not permissible. CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will host the Thursday debate. The network has made it clear that they will not allow the use of their debate footage outside of their own network, claiming copyright infringement. The decision has been met with criticism from many who argue that commentary and criticism of the debate fall under the fair use doctrine, which allows for the use of copyrighted material under certain circumstances. Critics contend that the public has a right to see and discuss the debate in whatever format they choose, and that CNN’s decision to restrict commentary on the debate is an overreach. Tim Pool, a popular commentator, has been particularly vocal in his opposition to CNN’s stance. “Commentary on a presidential debate is the epitome of fair use and we fully intend to provide insight and real time fact checking Thursday LIVE,” Pool posted on X. A CNN spokesperson informed Pool: “Confirming that we are offering digital platforms the ability to stream the debate only via CNN YouTube. We are not granting digital entities the right to stream the debate on their own YouTube channels. I hope that helps.” Breaking Points host Saager Enjeti confirmed the same. The controversy comes just days before the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, which is set to take place on June 27. The debate will be hosted by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and will feature President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Fair use is a doctrine embedded in US copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the rights holders. This includes uses such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. The principle aims to balance the interests of copyright holders with the broader public interest, promoting freedom of expression and innovation in the process. Why Debate Commentary Should Be Considered Fair Use Nature of the Content: The content in question—presidential debates—is of undeniable public importance. These debates are pivotal in shaping public opinion and informing voters about where candidates stand on critical issues. Purpose and Character of the Use: Commentary and live analysis of debates add significant value through educational insights, critical analysis, and fact-checking. This transformational use differs markedly from simply rebroadcasting the debate. It serves an educational purpose and often uses only as much of the original work as is necessary to provide effective commentary. Effect on the Work’s Value: Commentary and critique are unlikely to replace the original debate broadcast but rather complement it by broadening its audience and enhancing public understanding. This use does not diminish the market for the original; instead, it could arguably increase audience engagement with the debate itself. The Public’s Right to Engage Critics, such as commentator Tim Pool, argue that restricting commentary infringes on the public’s right to engage in political discourse—a fundamental element of a healthy democracy. Pool contends that offering real-time insights and fact-checking during a debate is quintessential fair use, driven by a need to inform and educate, rather than profit from the original broadcast. Elon Musk has made his stance clear on the issue. He has stated that the public has a right to see Presidential debates however they would like, and that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) does not apply in this case. Specifically, he tweeted: “The public has a right to see Presidential debates however they would like. DMCA does not apply.” This statement indicates that Musk believes that commentary and criticism of the debate fall under the fair use doctrine, and that CNN’s attempt to restrict commentary on the debate is an overreach. He has also indicated that his platform, X, will not comply with DMCA takedown requests from CNN related to the debate. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post CNN’s Crackdown on Presidential Debate Commentary Sparks Backlash appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Humanity is upping the stakes on its deadly game of nuclear poker once again. The world spent a combined total of $91,393,404,739 on nuclear weapons in 2023 – that’s around $250 million each year, $173,884 per minute, or $2,898 a second.Nine countries possess nukes – the US, Russia, France, China, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea – and all of them increased the amount of money they put into their atomic arsenals last year. 2023's spending is $10.7 billion higher than in 2022, a trend that was primarily driven by the US, which accounted for 80 percent of the surge. Last year, the North American superpower spent more than all the other nuclear-armed countries put together with a total expenditure of $51.5 billion. The next biggest spender was China, which forked out over $11.8 billion on their nuclear weapons arsenal, followed by Russia with an expenditure of $8.3 billion. The UK and France were not far behind, spending $8.1 billion and $6.1 billion, respectively.All of this data comes from a new report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), who described the lavish spending as an “unacceptable misallocation of public funds.”“The acceleration of spending on these inhumane and destructive weapons over the past five years is not improving global security but posing a global threat,” Alicia Sanders-Zakre, Policy and Research Coordinator at ICAN who co-authored the report, said in a statement.The billions upon billions of dollars were spent modernizing and maintaining current nuclear arsenals or, in some cases, even expanding them.Governments and militaries are just half of the story, though. The new report shines a light on 20 corporations that amassed over $30 billion for work on developing, manufacturing, sustaining, and producing nuclear weapons.The nuclear weapons industry received at least $7.9 billion in new contracts in 2023, as per the ICAN report. The top earner was Honeywell International, which raked in around $6.2 billion through nuclear weapons work, followed by Northrop Grumman ($5.9 billion), BAE Systems ($3.3 billion), Lockheed Martin ($2.89 billion) and General Dynamics ($2.7 billion).All of this was facilitated through lobbyist groups, which spent more than $118 million courting governments in 2023.This is without mentioning the nuclear weapons work of certain state-controlled organizations – such as Bharat Dynamics Limited (India), China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), or Rostec (Russia) – which are known to contribute significantly to their country’s nuclear arsenals, but do not publicly disclose much of their data. Don’t expect any changes in the years ahead, either. At least five companies – BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Peraton – have contracts that continue through 2039. Let's hope twitchy fingers stay off the buttons and we make it that far!

Carbon on the planet Mercury could have been compressed to form a layer of diamond beneath the crust kilometers thick, modeling suggests. When the nursery rhyme compares a star to a “diamond in the sky”, it might be accurate for one planet frequently confused with a star.Mercury can shine quite brightly, but that’s because it is so close to the Sun a great deal of light hits it. The proportion reflected off is low, just 9 percent. The MESSENGER spacecraft revealed this is because much of the surface has plenty of graphite. Even though carbon makes up only 1-4 percent by weight, that’s about a hundred times greater than Earth, and enough to darken most of the planet. The distribution of the graphite has led planetary scientists to conclude the carbon was there at Mercury’s formation, rather than having arrived on comets or asteroids. Yongjiang Xu of China’s Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research has been investigating what is likely to have happened to all that carbon during the period where Mercury differentiated into core and crust from the original hot mess.Mercury probably started off with even more carbon than it has now. However, back when its surface was a magma ocean, gases like carbon dioxide and methane would have degassed and escaped from the planet’s low gravity.Nevertheless, Xu and co-authors write; “The abundance of graphite in the Mercurian crust indicates that the planet remained saturated in a carbon phase during metal-silicate differentiation, core formation, and the entirety of magma ocean crystallization.”It’s not just carbon that makes diamonds, however – you need pressure as well. Mercury is a smaller planet with less gravity than Earth, and the pressure in its ancient magma ocean and mantle was thought insufficient to make the gems. Instead, carbon that was not bonded to anything else was thought to have all been in the form of graphite, which floated to the surface. New models of Mercury’s gravity field call this into question. This inspired the authors of this paper to expose samples of the elements that might have been present in Mercury at the time to 7 gigapascals of pressure at almost 2,000° C (3,600° F).There are two scenarios where diamonds could have been formed. Either they were produced from the magma ocean, a stage thought to have been common to all the inner planets, or they were squeezed out of the core as it crystallized.The first scenario is only possible if Mercury had quite a lot of sulfur in its magma ocean, the authors found, as this would have changed the chemistry to the point where diamond production was possible. Even if sulfur was abundant, the authors consider large-scale diamond production improbable, although not impossible.However, they consider the core scenario much more likely. As the solid inner core formed, carbon would have been forced out, leading to a diamond layer kilometers thick. High temperatures could have burned the outer parts of this layer back to graphite. How much would have been lost this way is unclear,  but much of it could survive, sitting between Mercury’s core and its silicate mantle. The conductivity of this diamond layer might contribute to Mercury’s magnetic field.The layer is probably not a single shell kilometers thick, but senior author Dr Bernard Charlier of the University of Liege told New Scientist. “Let’s be honest,” he says, “We have no idea about the potential size of those diamonds.”The study is published open access in the journal Nature Communications.