Development of High-Pressure and High-Temperature In Situ X-ray Diffraction Experiments and the Study of the Earth’s Deep Materials

Abstract

This is a review talk presented as a “Bridgman Award Lecture” at the AIRAPT21 held in Catania, Italy, in September 2007. History of the developments of high-pressure and high-temperature experiments to clarify the nature of seismic discontinuities of the Earth’s deep interior is briefly reviewed, together with the scientific contributions of the author. Extension of the pressure range and developments of new techniques, particularly high pressure in situ X-ray diffraction, played important role for better understanding the Earth’s deep interior.