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Chondrule formation in lightning dischargesChondrules represent a significant mass fraction of primitive meteorites. These millimeter-sized glassy droplets appear to be the products of intensive transient heating events. Their size distribution, chemical and mineral composition, texture, isotope composition suggest that chondrules were produced as a result of short-duration melting followed by rapid cooling of solid precursor particles. Gas-dynamics heating, magnetic reconnection, and electrostatic discharges are thought to be the leading candidates to explain chondrule formation. In this paper we summarize our recent theoretical progress on the effects of 'lightning' in the early solar system and also report on preliminary results from our laboratory experiments. Differential settling of various sized dust particles toward the midplane of the nebula is suspected to build large-scale charge separations that episodically relax via the electric breakdown of the nebular gas. The electrostatic discharge os analogous to lightning in the Earth's atmosphere.
Document ID
19950012889
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Horanyi, M.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Inst., Papers Presented to the Conference on Chondrules and the Protoplanetary Disk
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
95N19304
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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