It may be more appropriately regarded as "radiolysis."starbiter wrote:viscount aero wrote:Consider a comet to be a "slow motion" bolide that never hits the ground.starbiter wrote: Thanks for Your response Viscount.
I don't think Earth's water came from comets. I don't think comets are ice balls.
On the other hand, is it safe to say comets are bone dry with no H20, in Your opinion?
michael
Based on the available evidence from Rosetta and all prior cometary data including Shoemaker/Levy, comets are geologic debris. To get an idea of 67P's interior, look at the neck region. That is what the interior looks like.
Moreover, the Chelyabinsk meteor exhibited a water vapor trail:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/12356
http://www.meteorites.ru/menu/publicati ... _4_275.pdf
Any evolution of water is result of chemical reactions with the Sun's atmosphere and the comet's body. There is no giant ice core in a comet. There is no evidence for it. A piece of rock debris will not have a differentiated mantle and core. That the establishment is not willing to consider photolysis or electrolysis is result of tunnel vision and "scientism."
I agree about the neck of 67P showing no signs of water and looking a lot like rock.
That being stipulated to, there still appears to be H20 associated with comets. Your invoking of photolysis or electrolysis seems fine with me.
Thanks again
from:
http://www.pnas.org/content/111/5/1732
"Significance
Whether water is produced by solar wind (SW) radiolysis has been debated for more than four decades. In this paper, we exploit the high spatial resolution of electron microscopy and sensitivity of valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy to detect water (liquid or vapor) in vesicles within (SW-produced) space-weathered rims on interplanetary dust particle (IDP) surfaces. Water in the rims has implications for the origin of water on airless bodies like the Moon and asteroids, the delivery of water to the surfaces of terrestrial planets, and the production of water in other astrophysical environments. In particular, water and organic carbon were likely delivered simultaneously by the high flux of IDPs accreted by the early Earth and other terrestrial planets."
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A host of interesting molecules have been detected at the comet. Some of whose origins may include the following processes:
From: http://www.space.com/24422-solar-wind-m ... -dust.html
"The process of solar-wind hydrogen ions reacting with oxygen in silicate minerals is ubiquitous throughout our solar system, and we can expect that any other star producing a stellar wind with hydrogen ions will be irradiating silicate minerals in dust and on airless bodies in its vicinity, also," Ishii said. "Thus, solar-wind–produced water in dust containing organics can be expected to reach other planets in systems similar to ours."
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from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_vapo ... _reactions
"Chemical reactions
A number of chemical reactions have water as a product. If the reactions take place at temperatures higher than the dew point of the surrounding air the water will be formed as vapor and increase the local humidity, if below the dew point local condensation will occur. Typical reactions that result in water formation are the burning of hydrogen or many other hydrocarbons in air itself or in combination with oxygen or other oxidisers.
In a similar fashion other chemical or physical reactions can take place in the presence of water vapor resulting in new chemicals forming such as rust on iron or steel, polymerisation occurring (certain polyurethane foams and cyanoacrylate glues cure with exposure to atmospheric humidity) or forms changing such as where anhydrous chemicals may absorb enough vapor to form a crystalline structure or alter an existing one, sometimes resulting in characteristic color changes that can be used for measurement."
From: http://www.ric.edu/faculty/ptiskus/reactions/
Combustion Reaction
In a combustion reaction, a substance combines with oxygen, releasing a large amount of energy in the form of light and heat. For organic compounds, such as hydrocarbons, the products of the combustion reaction are carbon dioxide and water.
CH4 (methane) + 2 O2 (oxygen) ---> CO2 (carbon dioxide) + 2 H2O (water)
Hydrogen and Oxygen
Reaction II
The combustion of hydrogen yields water vapor as a reaction product. Three balloons of hydrogen and one balloon mixed with hydrogen and oxygen form an explosive mixture
Various Substances with Oxygen
Reactions with Oxygen. Magnesium, steel wool, white phosphorous, and sulfur are burned in oxygen. The resulting reactions are combination reactions in which two substances react to form one product. The products formed in these reactions are MgO, Fe2O3, P4O10 and SO2. All of these combustion reactions are very exothermic.
Phosphorous and Oxygen
The combustion of yellow phosphorus occurs in an oxygen atmosphere. The main product of this reaction is phosphorus pentoxide.