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(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly transforming to a more dense liquid with increasing pressure. The research provides insight into planet formation.

The spreading of a liquid drop on a solid surface is a simple, everyday phenomenon. And while it is known that when a drop of oil is placed on a solid surface, its radius increases as its thickness decreases, the mechanisms underlying the process are still not well understood on a microscopic level, particularly at the moving edge between the liquid and solid, which is known as the "contact line" region.