Phase Transitions in the Earth's Interior
MIT OpenCourseWare's graduate seminar examines how phase transitions in mantle and core materials shape the Earth's deep structure. Students work through the physics of transitions at high pressure and temperature, connecting them to seismic discontinuities and mantle convection patterns. The course centers on close reading of key mineral physics, seismology, and geodynamics papers, asking why only a handful of known phase transitions have actually been incorporated into geophysical models. Materials include the reading list and course notes published by MIT, with no tuition required to access them. The approach suits students who already have a background in geophysics or mineral physics and want a focused, literature-driven treatment of how pressure and temperature changes deep inside the planet get translated into observable signals like seismic wave behavior.