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N2O and CO production by electric discharge - Atmospheric implicationsEnhanced levels of N2O and CO were measured in tropospheric air samples exposed to a 17,500-J laboratory discharge. These enhanced levels correspond to an N2O production rate of about 4 trillion molecules/J and a CO production rate of about 10 to the 14th molecules/J. The CO measurements suggest that the primary region of chemical production in the discharge is the shocked air surrounding the lightning channel, as opposed to the slower-cooling inner core. Additional experiments in a simulated Venus atmosphere (CO2 - 95%, N2 - 5%, at one atmosphere) indicate an enhancement of CO from less than 0.1 ppm prior to the laboratory discharge to more than 2000 ppm after the discharge. Comparison with theoretical calculations appears to confirm the ability of a shock-wave/thermochemical model to predict the rate of production of trace species by an electrical discharge.
Document ID
19790061866
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Levine, J. S.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Howell, W. E.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, Va., United States)
Hughes, R. E.
(Bionetics Corp. Hampton, Va., United States)
Chameides, W. L.
(Florida, University Gainesville, Fla., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1979
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 6
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
79A45879
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF ATM-77-20179
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSG-1600
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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