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How Water Forms in Interstellar Space at 10K

KentuckyFC writes "Water is the most abundant solid material in space. But although astronomers see it on planets, moons, in comets and in interstellar clouds, nobody has been able to show how it forms. In theory, it should form easily when oxygen and atomic hydrogen meet. The problem is that there is not enough of it floating around as gas in interstellar dust clouds. So instead, the thinking is that water must form when atomic hydrogen interacts with frozen solid oxygen on the surface of dust grains in these clouds. Now Japanese astronomers have demonstrated this process for the first time in the lab in conditions that simulate interstellar space. That's cool because all the water in the solar system, including almost every drop you drink on Earth today, must have formed in exactly this way more than 5 billion years ago in a pre-solar dustcloud (abstract)."

3 of 270 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And the next question will be.... by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes. All (OK, for the pendants, MOST OF) the post-hydrogen elements come from stellar fusion. In oxygen's case, from helium fusion.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  2. How water forms by suso · · Score: 5, Funny

    You don't have to try it figure it out. God just creates it. No scientific explaination needed. Now wasn't that easy.

  3. Re:And the next question will be.... by kmcrober · · Score: 5, Funny

    Pedant, not pendant. A "pendant" is a piece of jewelry or some other hanging object. A "pedant" is the sort of person who corrects someone who mistakenly writes "pendant" when they mean "pedant."