Internal friction of rocks and volatiles on the moonInternal friction quality factors Q up to 2200 have been observed in a strongly outgassed terrestrial analog of lunar basalt. This was accomplished by successively cycling a bar shaped sample vibrating in its fundamental longitudinal mode at 15 kHz to higher and higher temperatures in a vacuum between 100 and 10 nanotorr. After each cycle, Q measured at room temperature in the vacuum was observed to decrease with time suggesting that gas reabsorption was taking place even at these low pressures. A study of the effect of exposing a sample to a variety of gases and vapors showed that of the volatiles most likely to be present in the lunar environment H2O was by far the most effective in lowering Q.
Document ID
19740040236
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Tittmann, B. R.
Housley, R. M.
Cirlin, E. H. (Rockwell International Science Center Thousand Oaks, Calif., United States)