hydrogen solubility in metals is a new holy grail

Categories: Comparisons, Idioms

An example of the use of a metaphor which could be considered an English idiom:

"It is conceivable within such a model that hydrogen might be rejected into the outer core as the inner core crystallised. The mismatch of concentrations with the mantle would then encourage hydrogen to diffuse into the magma where solubility changes for different temperatures and pressure could cause it to degas from the solution. However, this all hinges on guesswork around the solubility of hydrogen in metals at the relevant temperatures and pressures, which experiments struggle to verify, since the equipment needed to achieve those conditions is incompatible with taking direct measurements. 'Hydrogen solubility in metal as a function of temperature and pressure is one of the new holy grails, I would say, of planetary research,' says Young [Edward Young at the University of California in Los Angeles]."

Demming, A. (2023, September). The hunt for natural hydrogen reserves. Chemistry World, 20(9), 48-51. https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/the-hunt-for-natural-hydrogen-reserves/4017747.article

Read about communicating science through idioms

Author: Keith

Former school and college science teacher, teacher educator, research supervisor, and research methods lecturer. Emeritus Professor of Science Education at the University of Cambridge.