Sandstorms Go Electric - Sandstorms produce oxygen on Mars - Softpedia
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Sandstorms Go Electric
- Sandstorms produce oxygen on Mars
By: Gabriel Gache, Science News Editor
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It seems that wind action alone is not enough to account for the observed effects during sandstorms, thus
scientists went searching for an alternative explanation, which strangely could also lift the mystery hovering
above some weird effects seen on the Red Planet. It is a well-known fact that bodies rubbing against each
other can generate electric charges, by stripping electrons one from the other. The same effect has been
known to exist in sandstorms for years.
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But while observing sandstorms' dynamics, the scientists' keen eyes seemed to have failed to make a
connection between the electrical charge of the mass of sand and the fact that the tough winds were blowing at
relatively high speeds, the grains being lifted sufficiently into the
atmosphere. Grains of sand being blown by mild winds get charged
positively by a process called saltation, while the ground below them
Akron Sand and Gravel
charges negatively, determining the apparition of strong electrical fields.
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The new study made at the University of Michigan reveals that such Large and Small.
electrisation process could determine electric fields, with intensities as high AkronDts.com
as 200,000 volts per meter, at a height of about one centimeter above the
surface, which practically lifts grains of sand up into the air. Furthermore,
the negatively charged sand particles still on the ground are attracted by
the positive charge hovering above them, which triggers even more sand to
lift up.
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As the wind speed increases even further, the electrical field intensity grows View photos of singles in your area We're 100%
even more. Though it doesn't seem to be a very interesting effect, sand free for everything!
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saltation could present crucial information related to the clime.
The same model developed at the University of Michigan could also explain
the increased oxygen emissions observed on Mars, when sand encounters
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water. It seems that the electrical field generated by the movement of the
sand is powerful enough to break up the hydrogen and the oxygen bonds in water molecules, through a process similar to that of
electrolysis.
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10th January 2008, 14:43 GMT | Copyright (c) 2008 Softpedia | Contact:
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Sandstorms Go Electric - Sandstorms produce oxygen on Mars - Softpedia
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