The dynamic structure of the lunar atmosphere

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1968

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Abstract

In this thesis the time dependent behavior of lunar gas sources is analyzed. The differential equations describing non-isotropic diffusion are derived from a consideration of elementary probability theory. Two dimensional, thin-film, isotropic diffusion solutions are then obtained as a special case of non-isotropic diffusion. This solution is then evaluated for axially symmetric point sources. The validity of the point source assumption is investigated for thermally subliming sources and a general expression is obtained for the surface density distribution of particle ejecta from a point source. For an impulse point source the characteristic density decay time [tau][lowered epsilon] is derived and found to be [tau][lowered epsilon]= [pi][raised 2, lowered 0]/D where [pi][raised 2, lowered 0] and D are the lunar radius and diffusion coefficient respectively. Further topics for research are proposed.

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