2014 年 56 巻 3 号 p. 166-172
History of the study of the Earth's deep interior was reviewed. In order to understand Earth's deep interior from the view point of materials science, X-ray diffraction under high pressure and high temperature played very important role. Use of synchrotron radiation dramatically advanced this experimental technique and it is now possible to make precise X-ray study under the P-T conditions corresponding even to the center of the Earth. In order to clarify the behavior of light elements such as hydrogen, however, studies using neutron diffraction are also required. A new neutron beam line dedicated for high-pressure science is constructed at J-PARC and is now ready for use.