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Sparks on the Moon by Andrew Jordan from University of New Hampshire

Putnam Science Center - 375
Tuesday, · -

Unlike the Earth, the Moon has no atmosphere, so its surface is exposed to different weathering processes. One possible process, however, has been overlooked until recently: dielectric breakdown, or sparking. In space, breakdown is often caused by energetic charged particles, which can penetrate electrical insulators, or dielectrics, and generate strong electric fields. If the electric fields are strong enough, they rapidly form small channels, or sparks, in the dielectric. This process is the leading cause of anomalies on spacecraft in Earth’s radiation belt. The conditions for breakdown are well-understood, so we can predict that it occurs in the coldest regions on the Moon when the Sun sporadically generates large fluxes of energetic protons and electrons. This “breakdown weathering” may have played an important role in how some of the lunar soil has evolved, and it may occur on other airless bodies throughout the Solar System.

Contact:
Sarah McGregor
Sarah.McGregor@keene.edu
603-358-2583
Event Dates:

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