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Recent Observations of the Soils on the Moon

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Recent Observations of the Soils on the Moon Lunar Soil for a Myriad of Purposes and Products: Science, Engineering, and Applications LawrenceLawrence A.A. TaylorTaylor PPlanetary Geosciences Institute University of Tennessee Objectives NEW LUNAR SAMPLES UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF LUNAR SOIL NEW LUNAR MINERALS UNIQUE ABILITIES OF MICROWAVE RADIATION MICROWAVE PROCESSING OF LUNAR SOIL PRODUCTS FOR “THE BUSH LUNAR BASE” Newly Recovered Planetary Materials Meteorites from Antarctica Japan and USA Meteorites from Hot Deserts French Entrepreneurs in the Sahara Russian Entrepreneurs in Oman Meteorites as samples of : as well as Mars & Asteroidal Matter SEARCHING FOR METEORITES IN THE OMAN DESERT When viewed with binoculars, the Black Spot in the sand is: a) a ‘coke can’ [alcohol is verboten!]; b) evidence that a camel has stopped there recently; or c) a dark-colored rock [fusion crust on a meteorite]. Meteorite? LunarLunar MeteoritesMeteorites fromfrom OmanOman Dhofar 287 Dhofar 025 (Impact-Melt Breccia) (Basalt + Breccia) Regolith Breccia Dhofar 301 Dhofar 302 Dhofar 303 New Lunar Rocks and Minerals: Farside Samples of the Moon South Pole / Amundsen Site Volcanic Glass Impact-Glass Lunar Mare Soil Bead Bead Agglutinate Rock Chips Impact Glass 1 mm Plagioclase Our Unhappy Moon MicrometeoriteMicrometeorite ImpactsImpacts onon LunarLunar GlassGlass BeadBead 5 µm Impact Craters LunarLunar SoilSoil FormationFormation Comminution, Agglutination, & Vapor Deposition TheThe onlyonly WeatheringWeathering andand EErosionalrosional agentagent onon thethe MoonMoon isis MeteoriteMeteorite andand MicrometeoriteMicrometeorite Impact.Impact. BASIC PROCESSES IN LUNAR SOIL FORMATION ! COMMINUTION: breaking of rocks, minerals, and glasses into smaller particles; ! AGGLUTINATION: welding of rock, mineral, and glass fragments together by micrometeorite-produced, impact- generated melt (quenched to glass); ! SOLAR-WIND SPALLATION AND PARTICLE IMPLANTATI ON: Erosion and vaporization caused by sputtering from impacting high-energy particles; ! IMPACT-MELT VAPORIZATION AND DEPOSITION: Vaporization of volatile components in the micrometeorite- produced, impact- generated melt. Mare-SoilMare-Soil AgglutinateAgglutinate 100 µm Pieces of minerals, rocklets, and glass cemented together by shock-melt glass Mare-SoilMare-Soil AgglutinatesAgglutinates Polished section as viewed in Reflected Light 50 µm SEMSEMSEM BSEBSEBSE-Image--ImageImage ofofof MareMareMare AgglutiniticAgglutiniticAgglutinitic GlassGlassGlass 1 µm 1.0 Feo Metal spheres 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 Cumulative Mass Fraction 0 50 100 150 200 250 Diameter (Å) TEM-measured Size Distribution of Fe Metal Spheres in Agglutinitic Glass of Apollo 11 Soil 10084 FERROMAGNETIC RESONANCE (FMR): 0 ! Measurement of Single-Domain, Nanophase Fe (IS) ! Normalized IS for Iron Content: IS / FeO o ! IS / FeO = amount of total iron that is present as Fe ! IS / FeO is a Function of Agglutinate Abundance ! Agglutinate Abundance is a Function of Maturity IIs // FeOFeO == SoilSoil MaturityMaturity Mare Soil Maturation Taylor and McKay 1992 Basalt P 80 agglutinate a Fragments r mineral fragments t i 60 c Agglutinates l basalt e Mineral 80 % 40 Fragments 20 immature submature mature 20 40 60 80 60 Is /FeO ates % tin glu e Ag l c i t 40 r a P M ine rals Basal 20 t Frag ments Immature Submature Mature 20 40 60 80 Is /FeO WhatWhat areare thethe differencesdifferences betweenbetween LunarLunar SoilsSoils andand thethe RocksRocks fromfrom whichwhich theythey werewere derivedderived ???? Major Difference = ~ 10 X more native Feo in the soil o FORMATIONFORMATIONFORMATION OFOFOF NANOPHASENANOPHASENANOPHASE FeFeFeo ininin AGGLUTINITICAGGLUTINITICAGGLUTINITIC GLASS:GLASS:GLASS: Auto-Reduction Reaction in Impact-Soil Melt 0 “FeOmelt”+ H2 = Fe + H2O Solar-Wind Implanted H+ in Lunar Soil Causes Reduction of Fe2+ to Feo in Micrometeorite-Produced Impact Melt Is/FeO Values Versus Agglutinitic Glass Contents 80 23% Agglutinitic Glass 7% 7% 16% 2 21% 6 15% 60 7% 12 18% 12 15 9 2 23% 18 40 18 * Is/FeO of >250 µm 12030-14* 15071-52* 12001-56* 15041-94* 71061-14* 71501-35* 70181-47* 10084-78* 79221-81* 99 75 117 150 Is / FeO 65 72 65 100 39% 76 88 63% 31% 36% 50 31% 100 19% 42% 56% 79% m m m m m m m m m m µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ µ m m m m m 5 5 5 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 µ µ µ µ µ 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 - - - - - - - - - - 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 <1 <1 <1 < <1 Distribution of Nanophase Feo Basu (2002) Vapor-Deposited Nanophase Feo on Plagioclase SiO2-rich glass 10 nm Plagioclase 100 Å THE PRESENCE of NANOPHASE Fe° in VAPOR- and SPUTTER-DEPOSITED PATINAS (RIMS) on VIRTUALLY ALL GRAINS of a MATURE MARE SOIL PROVIDES an ADDITIONAL and ABUNDANT SOURCE for the GREATLY INCREASED Is / FeO VALUES. Lunar Soil Cycle Micrometeorites Micrometeorites + + S-W Ions S-W Ions Agglutination Melting Vaporization 0 0 Fe SiO2 Si Vapor-Deposited 0 SiO2 + npFe Selective Comminution (especially glass) Course (>100 µm) Grain size Fine (<10µm) FeSi FeSi2 Feo Feo Fe2Si Sio SiO+ o O Fe O O O O O Thermal Dissociation FeO SiO2 Vaporization Micro- Micro- Meteorites Meteorites Lunar Soil NewNew LunarLunar MineralsMinerals Hapkeite SchmittiteSchmittite?? FeFe2SiSi FeSiFeSi 0.5 mm BSE Si Fe Fe2Si 18 % 75 % FeFe2SiSi FeSi 37 % 66 % FeSiFeSi P Ni Ti 3 % 15 % 4.5 % MAGNETICMAGNETIC PROPERTIESPROPERTIES OFOF LUNARLUNAR SOILSSOILS !! Magnetic Susceptibility of Soil Particles Increases as Grain Size Decreases; !! Effects of Vapor-Deposited Nanophase Feo are a Direct Function of Surface Area and Most Pronounced in the Finest Grain Sizes; !! Virtually All <10 µm Particles are Easily Attracted by a Simple Hand-held Magnet, Plg, Pyx, Ol, and Agglutinitic Glass alike. Adverse Lunar Dust Properties must be Addressed before any Commercial Presence on the Moon can be Fully Evaluated. " Abrasiveness, with regards to friction-bearing surfaces; " Potential for coatings, on seals, gaskets, optical lens, windows, electrical components, et cetera; " Potential for settling on all thermal and optical surfaces, such as Solar cells and mirrors; and " Physiological effects on humans, especially with respect to the lungs, the lymph system, and potentially the cardiovascular system, in the case of extremely fine particles. SOLUTION: Magnetic brushes ?? MICROWAVE RADIATION # There is an entire subculture of people who derive pleasure from putting strange things in microwave ovens # Things that microwave oven manufacturers would strenuously suggest should not be put there. In the hands of these people : ! Table grapes produce glowing plasmas; ! Soap bars mutate into abominable soap monsters; ! Compact discs incandesce; ! Even ‘Wet Poodles’ have been known to “explode.” PRINICPLESPRINICPLES OFOF MICROWAVEMICROWAVE RADIATIONRADIATION $ Electromagnetic Field Induces Motion in Free & Bound Charges (e.g., Electrons & Ions) and in Dipoles (e.g., Water); $ Induced Motion is Resisted because it Causes a Departure from the Natural Equilibrium of the System; $ This Resistance, due to Frictional, Elastic, and Inertial Forces, leads to the Dissipation of Energy; $ Result: The Electric Field Associated with the Microwave Radiation is Attenuated and Heating of the Material Occurs. Microwave Principles I in I out CL R I out = f [ ] Total Current Interaction of Materials with Microwaves Reflectant Metal C Transparent Glass L Absorbent Water R Electromagnetic Field Considerations ! Power Density ! Half-Power Depth ! Heating Rate Electromagnetic Field Considerations !Power Density ! Half-Power Depth ! Heating Rate Power Density P = Kf E2k’ tan δ • P – Power / cc • K – Constant • f –Frequency • E – Electric-Field Intensity • k’ – Relative Dielectric Constant • tan δ – Material Loss Tangent Electromagnetic Field Considerations Half-Power Depth ! Power Density !Half-Power Depth of Penetration ! Heating Rate 1 D = S 2πµcf 3λo D = H 8.686π(k’)1/2 tan δ % DS = Depth of penetration in centimeters % DH = Half-Power of penetration in centimeters % µ = Magnetic permeability % c = Electrical conductivity % f = Frequency % λo = Wavelength of incident radiation % k’ = Relative dielectric constant % tan δ = Material loss tangent Electromagnetic Field Considerations ! Power Density Heating Rate ! Half-Power Depth !Heating Rate 8x10-12f E2k’tan δ ∆T ≈ ρCp ∆T is a function of local dielectric properties % ∆Τ - Temperature change in °C / min % f -Frequency % E – Electric-Field Intensity % k’ - Relative Dielectric Constant % tan δ - Material Loss Tangent % ρ - Soil Density (g/cm3) % Cp - Heat Capacity of Soil (cal/ °C) MICROWAVE HEATING: IMPORTANT PARAMETERS FOR MATERIAL RESPONSE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT, εr, AND LOSS TANGENT, TAN δ Loss Tangent Increases with T 0.5 Power density: Increases 0.4 Half-Power Depth: Decreases δ n Heating Rate: Increases a 0.3 T 0.2 0.1 0 200 600 1000 1400 1800 2200 Temperature (°K) TAN δ = Sum of All Losses from All Mechanisms during Microwave Heating Microwave Heating: Experimental System Variables Frequency : 2.45 GHz (λ = 12 cm) Magnetron 60.0 GHz (λ = 0.5 cm) Gyrotron Power : 700 Watts to 6,000 Watts Two Phases with Different Microwave Coupling Characteristics Frequency 1 Frequency 2 A B A C C A B B AA A A C B C B A A Microwave Heating of Lunar Soil: System Conditions NanoPhase Fe0 in Silicate Glass Fe0 grain size is so small as to be below the effective “skin depth” of microwave penetration; System is basically one of : Small conductors of Fe0 insulated by Intervening dielectric glass = GREAT MICROWAVE COUPLING! Sintering Progress of Powder Particles By Microwave Energy Melt Initial heating Introduction of Combination of of particles liquid phase, Solid-State
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