{"303681":{"#nid":"303681","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research in Solar Photonics Sets Measurement Standards for the Availability of Water in Solar System Bodies","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearch conducted by former graduate student Alice DeSimone, under the guidance of Professor Thomas Orlando of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, intended to measure the impact of solar photonic action on water molecules on the lunar surface has yielded a set of benchmark measurements that other astrochemists and physicists can use to calculate the likely volumes of water of other solar system bodies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing and in-house built ultra-high pressure vacuum to simulate the atmospheric conditions of space, the team bombarded a lunar sample with ultraviolet (157 nm) photons and recorded the photodesorption of water molecules in the sample. They either came off with a cross section of ~ 6 x 10\u003Csup\u003E\u221219\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026thinsp;cm\u003Csup\u003E2 \u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026nbsp;or broke apart with a cross section of \u0026nbsp;~ 5 \u0026nbsp;x 10\u003Csup\u003E\u221219\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026thinsp;cm\u003Csup\u003E2.\u003C\/sup\u003E. According to the team\u2019s measurements, approximately one in every 1,000 molecules leave the lunar surface simply due to absorption of UV light. This relatively large number establishes that solar UV photons are likely removing water from the moon\u2019s surface.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe cross section is an important number planetary scientists, astrochemists and the astrophysics community need for models regarding the fate of water on comets, moons, asteroids, other airless bodies and interstellar grains,\u201d said Orlando regarding the measurements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information on this research follow \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2014\/06\/16\/solar-photons-drive-water-moon\u0022\u003Ethis link to Georgia Tech Research News\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo read the journal article by DeSimone and Orlando, follow this link to the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/2013JE004599\/abstract\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EJournal of Geophysical Research.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A research team led by Professor Thomas Orlando has discovered that ultraviolet photons emitted by the sun likely cause H2O molecules to quickly desorb or break apart in no to low atmosphere environments."}],"uid":"27863","created_gmt":"2014-06-18 08:44:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Christa Ernst","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"303661":{"id":"303661","type":"image","title":"T Orlando with space vacuum simulator","body":null,"created":"1449244609","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:49","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"T Orlando with space vacuum simulator","file":{"fid":"199626","name":"t_orlando_space_vacuum.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t_orlando_space_vacuum_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t_orlando_space_vacuum_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1177282,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/t_orlando_space_vacuum_0.jpg?itok=EzPjKqDj"}}},"media_ids":["303661"],"groups":[{"id":"1271","name":"NanoTECH"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"95631","name":"Center for Space Technology and Research"},{"id":"12701","name":"Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"169652","name":"solar photons"},{"id":"95521","name":"Thomas Orlando"},{"id":"95611","name":"vacuum simulator"},{"id":"95661","name":"water concentration"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["christa.ernst@ien.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}