Ball milling of forsterite (Mg2SiO4) was carried out to mimic mechanical weathering processes on Mars. The defective forsterite structure models, capable of describing both long-range and short-range order, are deduced by density functional theory assisted pair distribution function analysis.

The position- and time-resolved monitoring of a mechanochemical reaction using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction revealed a position-independent increase rate of product in the jar of a shaker mill.

This article was originally published in the Cosmos Print Magazine, September 2024. THE DEVICE CAN recycle batteries and solar panels, make magnets and pharmaceuticals, and pull individual gas molecules...