  Dynamic compression has been used to synthesize liquid metallic hydrogen at
140 GPa (1.4 million bar) and experimental data and theory predict Al2O3 might
be a metallic glass at ~300 GPa. The mechanism of metallization in both cases
is probably a Mott-like transition. The strength of sapphire causes shock
dissipation to be split differently in the strong solid and soft fluid. Once
the 4.5-eV H-H and Al-O bonds are broken at sufficiently high pressures in
liquid H2 and in sapphire (single-crystal Al2O3), electrons are delocalized,
which leads to formation of energy bands in fluid H and probably in amorphous
Al2O3. The high strength of sapphire causes shock dissipation to be absorbed
primarily in entropy up to ~400 GPa, which also causes the 300-K isotherm and
Hugoniot to be virtually coincident in this pressure range. Above ~400 GPa
shock dissipation must go primarily into temperature, which is observed
experimentally as a rapid increase in shock pressure above ~400 GPa. The
metallization of glassy Al2O3, if verified, is expected to be general in strong
oxide insulators. Implications for Super Earths are discussed.
