by Chris Peterson » Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:09 pm
orin stepanek wrote:Thanks Chris! Just out of curiosity what would it take? Perhaps a star forming in the region? Do the hydrogen and oxygen atoms just float around at random until some catalytic event happens? :? I'm sure the conditions would have to be just right + I imagine the concentration levels would also have to be up. :?
Since this is a supernova remnant, the material is getting less dense. Probably not the sort of conditions where bulk material forms at all, and anything volatile will evaporate, if it hasn't already. Note that water molecules are not volatile, and there is no reason that they won't form as the result of collisional processes in a region containing both H and O. But they can be dissociated back into H and O when they absorb a high energy particle.
In order for bulk material to form (including ice) I'd expect you'd need a gravitationally dense region, such as a developing star system, where material densities are high enough that you get actual clumping.
[quote="orin stepanek"]Thanks Chris! Just out of curiosity what would it take? Perhaps a star forming in the region? Do the hydrogen and oxygen atoms just float around at random until some catalytic event happens? :? I'm sure the conditions would have to be just right + I imagine the concentration levels would also have to be up. :?[/quote]
Since this is a supernova remnant, the material is getting less dense. Probably not the sort of conditions where bulk material forms at all, and anything volatile will evaporate, if it hasn't already. Note that water molecules are not volatile, and there is no reason that they won't form as the result of collisional processes in a region containing both H and O. But they can be dissociated back into H and O when they absorb a high energy particle.
In order for bulk material to form (including ice) I'd expect you'd need a gravitationally dense region, such as a developing star system, where material densities are high enough that you get actual clumping.