On the Mechanism of Comet Outburst and the Chemical Composition of Comets. (original) (raw)
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Abstract
We propose that the more prominent comet activity arises from explosive chemical reactions involving free radicals or unstable molecules. This requires a modification of the icy-conglomerate comet model to include a mixture of both stable molecules and reactive species. Such a model is consistent with recent laboratory experiments on the behavior of free radicals at low temperatures. A brief description of the possible course of the reaction, which could be triggered by solar-particle radiation, is given. Very high ejection velocities found according to mechanical theories of comet shapes would be difficult to account for. An observational test of the reaction hypothesis is suggested.
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal
Pub Date:
March 1956
DOI:
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