Compression limit for iron based on seismological data

It is found that there exists a limit of maximum compression for each material. The formulation of the potential energy of a compressed solid yields a value of maximum compression which is related to the stability of the solid in a given phase. The necessary condition for the stability of a compressed material used in the present study is based on the fundamental concept that its potential energy must remain attractive (negative). An expression for the potential energy of a compressed material is obtained by using the Taylor series expansion in powers of compression x=1-(V/V0) retaining terms up to fifth order (x5). The equilibrium value of potential energy for uncompressed material has been determined by using the potential function due to Rydberg. The results for the bulk modulus and its pressure derivatives derived from the seismological data have been used to obtain the compression limit for iron. This limit is found to be close to the value of compression for iron in the inner core of the earth.