Formation of the lunar crust - An electrical source of heating

A model for formation of the lunar crust based on heating by electrical induction is explored, while adherence is maintained to certain constraints associated with existing models of the solar system. The heating mechanism is based on eddy current induction from disordered magnetic fields swept outwards by an intense (T Tauri-like) plasma flow from the sun. The electrical theory is an alternative to intense short-period accretion as a source of heat for the evolution of lunar maria and highlands, provided that long-lived radioactives are not swept to the surface from too large a melt volume during the initial thermal episode. This formation of the lunar highlands does not intrinsically require rapid accretion, nor on this basis is the time of formation of the planets generally restricted to a very short time. The threshold temperature for eddy current heating is attained by either a solar nebula at 300-400 C during formation of the moon or a very low energy long-period accumulation of the moon, both leading to melting in ten to the fifth to ten to the seventh power years.