A Space & astronomy forum. SpaceBanter.com

Go Back   Home » SpaceBanter.com forum » Space Science » Science
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Lunar lavatubes



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 9th 03, 12:35 PM
Alan Erskine
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Lunar lavatubes

What of the lower gravity (mentioned in "Peter's Commentary" here
www.lunar-reclamation.org/lavatube_pix.htm)? Would the lower gravity cause
the gases that form in the lavatubes in the first place be able to escape
more readily than is the case on Earth (lower gravity and also no atmosphere
'outside')?

Would that cause structural problems (reducing the strength of the tubes)?
--
Alan Erskine
alanerskine(at)optusnet.com.au
Did John Howard lie to the people of Australia?




  #2  
Old July 11th 03, 12:06 AM
Thomas Billings
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Lunar lavatubes

In article ,
"Alan Erskine" wrote:

What of the lower gravity (mentioned in "Peter's Commentary" here
www.lunar-reclamation.org/lavatube_pix.htm)? Would the lower gravity cause
the gases that form in the lavatubes in the first place be able to escape
more readily than is the case on Earth (lower gravity and also no atmosphere
'outside')?

Would that cause structural problems (reducing the strength of the tubes)?


Gases are not the major cause of weakening lava basalts that are fluid
enough to form lavatubes. A much more important factor is water. Highly
siliceous material, like basalt, has microcracks. The polarized molecule
of liquid water gets into the tips of these cracks, and levers their
extension, weakening the material. This means that the extremely dry
conditions on the Moon have possibly resulted in *stronger* basalts
than we see here on Earth.

This correlates strongly with the difference between the calculated
largest size for lunar lavatubes, based soley on gravity differences
(about 385 meters in diameter, by Horz, 1988, in ' Lunar Bases and Space
Actvities of the 21st Century') and the search of lunar photo
observations by Coombs and Hawke, which indicated at least one tube of
1050 meters diameter, and several kilometers in length, with many larger
than 385 meters diameter.

Regards,

Tom Billings
  #3  
Old July 11th 03, 04:00 AM
trakar
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Lunar lavatubes

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 23:06:33 GMT, Thomas Billings
wrote:

This correlates strongly with the difference between the calculated
largest size for lunar lavatubes, based soley on gravity differences
(about 385 meters in diameter, by Horz, 1988, in ' Lunar Bases and Space
Actvities of the 21st Century') and the search of lunar photo
observations by Coombs and Hawke, which indicated at least one tube of
1050 meters diameter, and several kilometers in length, with many larger
than 385 meters diameter.


Well that answers part of my question, how conclusive is this data ?
Sounds like an interesting place to send a rover. Do you have any
links that list coordinates? ISTR, from ancient cobwebs that there
were a few suspected tubes near or in the northern polar region.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Lunar base and space manufacturing books for sale Martin Bayer Space Shuttle 0 May 1st 04 04:57 PM
Need an exact description (blue prints ?) of the Lunar Laserreflectors left by Apollo. Igor Carron Space Science Misc 10 March 12th 04 03:29 PM
20040308224949-20252: Need an exact description (blue prints ?) of the Lunar Laser reflectors left by Apollo. Rusty Barton Space Science Misc 0 March 9th 04 07:49 AM
Bush's plan, future of ISS and lunar transit Peter Altschuler Space Station 3 January 16th 04 02:02 AM
Replacement ISS "Lunar Space Elevator hauls lunar rodents to/from LSE-CM/ISS" Brad Guth Space Station 2 November 19th 03 10:07 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:48 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SpaceBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.