Plasma Water Theory

Or why the Earth is wet and Mars isn't By Christopher Yukna

Science General

Ecole des Mines Saint Etienne

yukna(at)emse.fr

Premise: Water is found where electromagnetic effects deposit Oxygen and Hydrogen ions or alpha particles slam into Nitrogen atoms.

• Thus, our planet is wet because it has an oxygen and nitrogen atmosphere and an active magnetosphere

• The solar wind provides protons and alpha particles to sustain homeostasis.

• Without these aspects the Earth would be as dry as Mars and Venus.• This is far simpler than existing explanations as to why the Earth is

wet and explains other areas where water exists in our solar system• There are precedents with ions “electroplating” atmospheres in

explaining Jupiter's dark spot.• As with any new theory there will be lots of holes and errors so any

help or suggestions are appreciated

Let’s look at how water has been thought of in the past

All the water that will ever be is, right now National Geographic, October 1993

This is a static view in a universe which is dynamic and constantly in flux

True or False?

Far underground within the Earth at 20 kilometers deep or more millions or even billions of tons of water are being destroyed every day.

True Serpentine and serpentinization

: A link between planet formation and life

Hydrogen released during serpentinization is of vital importance for the emergence of life because it acts as an energy source for metabolism

What is even more surprising is that there exist a vast reservoir of hydrogen under our feet!Hydrogen found in Earth's crust is 'limitless fuel supply' –as much as 1,000 litres of hydrogen may be trapped in each cubic metre of rock.

The Goldilocks Theory(or why Earth has oceans)

Not too hot

Not too cold

But just right for liquid water

But should fairy tales be taken SERIOUSLY?

Okay, Goldilocks is why we can have water, but where did it come from?

"The origin of the oceans goes back to the time of the earth's formation 4. 6 billion years ago, when our planet was forming through the accumulation of smaller objects, called planetesimals. There are basically three possible sources for the water. It could have (1) separated out from the rocks that make up the bulk of the earth; (2) arrived as part of a late-accreting veneer of water- rich meteorites, similar to the carbonaceous chondrites that we see today; or (3) arrived as part of a late-accreting veneer of icy planetesimals, that is, comets. Scientific American

Turning an idea on its head

Or what’s life got to do with it?

AstrobiologyCan be thought of as the search for life giving

water in outer space, because H2O is considered as the necessary precursor for any

carbon based life

Without liquid water, life as we know it cannot exist.

"That the only solvent (water) with the refinement needed for nature's most intimate machinations happens to be the one that covers two thirds of our planet is surely something to take away and marvel at.".

From Life's Matrix by Philip Ball

Wouldn't it be neat if instead of looking for life where you find water you should look for water where you find life?

Hydrogen and oxygen are the most and third most common elements in the universe respectively, and lots of water has been found in interstellar space

so what's the problem?

HydrogenOxygen

The amount!

If the Earth was a perfect sphere and there were no oceanic troughs or continents and mountains how

deep would the ocean be?

sretemolik rouf tuobA

But this is not the case for the other terrestrial planets

MercuryAlmost non existent

Venus

(maybe a meter)

Mars (perhaps 3 meters)

Yet they were made in the same manner as the Earth shouldn’t they have ta similar amount of water?

In the past, Mars and Venus were not considered within the habitable zone (remember Goldilocks), today they are often pictured there. So what is so special about Earth?

See: Kepler Has Found the First Earth-Sized Exoplanet in a Habitable Zone!

Let's back up, we saw little water on the other terestrial planets What about Jupiter?

Galileo probe measurements, while subject to scientific debate, suggest a (water) level near that of the Sun. Scientists are left to wonder, Where is the oxygen? Where is the water?Hmm... Oxygen?

Where did the water go?• Mars, Venus, and Mercury lost water due to photo-disassociation.• In addition once their magnetic fields were effectively dissipated,

the solar wind would have played havoc with any chemical bonds, or Radiolysis

• BTW Venus, Mars, and the Earth are still losing water to these processes today as well as atmosphere.

• There is some debate on Earth's protective magnetic field's effect.• Farther out in the solar system, there is less light and temperatures

are colder so water is less likely to disassociate.• The lack of photo-disassociation “enlightens” why some sunless

craters on the Moon and perhaps Mercury contain water• See more on Venus magnetic surprise or Solar Wind at Mars

Venus is losing it• Did you know that Venus has a comet's tail of plasma that

extends past the orbit of our planet?• Or that there is a faint Venusian ozone layer?• Plus, Hydrogen loss was detected from the atmosphere on

Venus' day side,• or the side facing the sun.• A great deal of atmosphere

and water is lost daily.

Mars may have had more water than the Arctic Ocean!

• However Mars lost 87 % of it to space• Three slight Martian ozone layers• The solar wind strikes the surface of the planet

The Earth is losing water?

• Some studies suggest a fourth of our planet's supply of water has been lost

• The Earth is losing a ton of atmosphere to the solar wind every hour.

Is it possible that the Earth replenishes its water from space?

• Before satellites, we believed that Earth's magnetosphere was

supplied only with particles from the solar wind.• Today we are starting to understand just how many interactions

can take place between the solar wind and the atmosphere. • Over the poles all sorts of nuclei are accelerated into space . • It maybe that much of our magnetosphere’s ions come our from

our atmosphere • So, what is does the solar wind supply?• How much plasma strikes the Earth?

Plasma Theory of Water as it applies to life on Earth

« Protons and alpha particles strike oxygen and nitrogen atoms, respectively and are converted to water mostly over the poles. »

Christopher YUKNA

Since the nitrogen and oxygen gases in our atmosphere are biological in origin, the water too is, at least maintained or created, thanks to life itself. These processes seem to be a corollary to the Gaia principle.A proton is a hydrogen atom. Therefore it is relatively easy to see that combining protons with either molecules of oxygen, atomic oxygen, and ozone, the end result is H2O or water.What is trickier is to see any relation of water formation to alpha particles or helium, an inert gas, and nitrogen not one of the most reactive of gases.For that we will have to leave chemistry and enter the world of nuclear alchemy.

Ernest Rutherford the world’s first successful Alchemist!

In 1919, Rutherford was able to accomplish transmutation of nitrogen into oxygen, using alpha particles directed at nitrogen 14N + α → 17O + p. Thus, helium, when stripped of its elections or in a plasma state and accelerated towards an atom of Nitrogen will produce an atom of oxygen and one of hydrogen. These are the components for one of the ions of water OH.Remember, there will be plenty of water’s other ion H. Even more so if that 17O loses a neutron in the highly energetic environment of the upper atmosphere for a neutron quickly decays into a hydrogen atom.

Let’s backtrack a bit and look at ozone in the atmosphere to see if there is any evidence for ozone being turned into water.

Let's look at Oxygen and Ozone in our atmosphere and how these may produce water

Ozone Production

• Ultraviolet radiation from the sun continuously strikes the upper atmosphere and splits O2 and N2 into separate atoms O & N

• The resulting atoms react quickly to with oxygen gas to form ozone.

• X-rays can also produce atmospheric ozone.• Ozone too can lose a oxygen atom in this process

• Since there is so much O2 around the ozone reforms rapidly.• Of course this process and the resulting ozone layer protects life

on Earth from the harmful effects of this highly energetic light.

•

Ozone Destruction

• So ozone can lose a atom to high energy light but reforms unless there is something other than oxygen to react with.

• Protons (hydrogen) bombard the atmosphere during solar storms .

• These particles can knock off a oxygen atom too. (Radiolysis)

• Since hydrogen forms OH easily with atomic oxygen this readily this stops the reformation of ozone.

• OH produced? Thus, all over the planet water is being produced.

• See: a violent sun can effect the Earth's overall ozone

So tiny amounts of water can come from space

• Big deal ...so what? • How much water is typically created and is it enough to offset daily losses?• What percentage of hydrogen is extraterrestrial?• If you look only at the Birkeland currents flowing along geomagnetic field

lines that connect the Earth's magnetosphere to the upper reaches of the ionosphere over the poles, then this looks a lot like a Bussard ramjet.

Nota Bene: Cosmic Rays are something like 80% protons and would also be captured hydrogen in an oxygen atmosphere. Free Hydrogen has a half life of ______ in an atmosphere rich in oxygen.

Bussard Ramjet• Invented by

Dr. Robert W. Bussard• Works by magnetically scooping

interstellar hydrogen into the spacecraft for use as propellant

The Earth’s magnetic field is more complicated than these images or a ramjet but the principle is still the same hydrogen would be acquired. Thus, how to quantify the amount of water produced?

Space Weather is fascinating

Coronal mass ejectionAurores form when plasma strikes the

atmosphere

The Solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. This plasma consists of mostly electrons, protons and alpha particles.

When the ejection is directed towards Earth (ICME), the shock wave of the traveling mass of solar energetic particles causes a geomagnetic storm that may disrupt Earth's magnetosphere.

Solar Wind, Solar Flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections

• The solar wind has an average density of 7.1 atoms/cm3 “not too many. »• Solar Flares can produce streams of highly energetic particles in the solar wind,

known as a solar proton event. These particles can impact the Earth's magnetosphere. So better.

Coronal Mass Ejections are massive events, an average CME has about the mass of Mount Everest and stays more of less intact as it moves through the solar system. “When the ejection is directed towards Earth and reaches it as an interplanetary CME (ICME), the shock wave of the traveling mass of solar energetic particles causes a geomagnetic storm …When the magnetosphere reconnects on the nightside, it releases power on the order of terawatt scale, which is directed back toward Earth's upper atmosphere”. Wikipedia An Everest’s mass in hydrogen!

Proton Aurora

On June 28, 2000, IMAGE watched a complicated and shifting ballet between electron and proton currents as they entered the atmosphere from space above the Arctic Region of Earth.

Proton auroras remain relatively unknown in comparison with the better known electron one. Their light is in the UV or higher and thus were only discovered when the right type of camera was used.

Note: the light is generated by collusions between atoms in the upper atmosphere and the protons. There is no possibility of chemical reactions at such high energies.. However, there is no reason to suppose that those protons stop at high altitudes but would in fact continue to follow the magnetic lines of force down to the planet’s surface losing energy as they do. At some point in time those particles will be able to interact chemically with the Oxygen, Ozone, or Nitrogen.This is not the case for alpha particles (helium nuclei) and nitrogen which could produce OH molecules at any time via transmutation as long as the ions have enough speed.For example other than water Nitric acid would be easy to fabricate in this high energy environment as its composition is NHO3. If hydrogen sulfide ejected into the stratosphere by volcanoes or via the solar wind then its conversion to sulphuric acid H₂SO₄ with two OHs & two Os and a sulphur atom in the center seems facile as well.

If protons and alpha particles are concentrated over the poles then shouldn't there be some evidence of water forming too?There are mysterious Polar Mesospheric Clouds & Noctilucent clouds high up over the poles.

The mystery is how did the water get up to an altitude of 85 or so kilometers? However, long- term behaviour of polar mesospheric cloud frequency has been found to vary inversely with solar activity nor is there any evidence of a dependence on auroral activity (Thomas and Olivero, 1989). Probably at that height protons and other ions are going too fast and have too much energy to form chemical bonds.

But this would not be the case for atomic transmution. Alpha particles striking nitrogen should produce water at that altitude. Perhaps some of the water for those clouds comes from helium nitrogen transmutation.The question then is why only in summer and when solar activity is at its lowest? Could it be that increased levels of Radiolysis would break up most ice molecules during solar storms?Anyway, as the protons and ions follow the magnetic lines of force towards the Earth's surface like colliding billard balls they would lose energy and at some point chemical bonds could form which brings us to:

Polar stratospheric clouds or PSCs, also known as nacreous clouds (/ˈneɪkriː.əs/, from nacre, or mother of pearl, due to its iridescence), are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15,000–25,000 meters and contain water, nitric acid and/or sulfuric acid .

Polar stratospheric clouds

Here is a good case for the creation of these clouds from the ionic polar conditions . Their composition, H2O, HNO3 , & H2SO4 almost begs for a solarwind source. Especially interesting since these clouds, PSCs, have been implicated in the destruction of ozone and of increasing the severity of the Ozone Hole. Might it be the protons and/or ions converting ozone into water and other compounds. Sure the hole could still be completely the fault of (CFCs) but it becomes unlikelier.

Annual Antarctic ozone hole larger and formed later in 2015Which was the fourth largest in history, this after the banning of ozone-depleting chemicals in 20th century has yet to produce detectable improvements in the Antarctic ozone hole. Perhaps, Chlorofluorocarbons are not the whole problem.

Above in 2015 the largest ozone in years & Solar Flares and Sun Storms of 2015 Is there a link ?

In Nature: “60% of ozone destruction at the poles seems to be due to an unknown mechanism” Markus Rex at AWI

Enough with the ozone controversy already!Water’s weird properties & deuterium are key to ascertaining this concept.

One of the great problems facing most theories of the origin of Earth’s oceans is the characteristic ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in our water. Water on Earth is low in deuterium. Venus and Mars are a lot higher.Magnetically, there are two things you need to know about the ions of water:• H and OH are incredibly mobile in magnetic fields. They move much more rapidly

than anticipated. (Would Hydrogen Sulfide’s ions H and HS move accordingly?)• Deuterium and DH are not very effected when exposed to magnetic fields in other

words they move slowly or t least a lot slower than the more common isotope hydrogen. They resist photodisassociation better too. Ergo:

In a plasma magnetically created oceans, the acquistion of hydrogen would be favored over deuterium.

BTW The abundance of deuterium in the atmosphere of Jupiter measured by the Galileo space probe as 26 atoms per million hydrogen atoms. ISO-SWS observations find 22 atoms per million hydrogen atoms in Jupiter.[12] This is about 17% of the terrestrial deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio of 156 deuterium atoms per million hydrogen atoms. This is evidence again that Earth is losing water in a dynamic system.

Earth’s Water Is Older Than the Sun

As the article cited and this artist’s conception seem to suggest: a certain percentage of the Earth’s water already came from outer space. However, if you read this article then notice that interstellar ice has a higher ratio of deuterium to hydrogen than found on Earth.

Craters on our Moon and Mercury contain water

Video of areas on the Moon that never recieve sunlight

How is this possible? Originally lunar water was thought to be from the bombardment ofcomets and left in the bottom of craters never exposed to sunlight. Now we know that water continuously produced on the surface by hydrogen ions (protons) of the solar wind impacting oxygen-bearing minerals.[15] The same is true for Mercury.

If you just use occam's razor and realize that if plasma bombardment of protons produces water on our nearest neighbor the Moon from oxides then it stands to reason that you do not need another theory to explain water on Earth with its ample supply of oxygen.Just keep it simple.

Gaea’s Plasma Water’s Implications for Mars and Terraforming in general.

If photosynthesis could be established on Mars.:• There would be an increase in Oxygen which would be transformed initially to

Ozone thus providing more protection against UV light.• The atmosphere would be « stickier » and water would begin to accumulate

and less would be destroyed.• This is not as farfetched as it sounds. Lichen can survive outside the space

station so Mars could be an even less hostile spot.• There is the possibility that other ions like nitrogen, sulphur, carbon, etc could

also be acquired as levels of UV light and Radiolysis drop.• There is some evidence that protons especially over the poles recapture oxygen

atoms separated from water by UV light.

That wraps it up for Earth’s semi-biological origin of water.

If an oxygen atmosphere and magnetic field are necessary for water formation then when leaving Earth there should be other evidence for this idea besides Mercury and the Moon. So we will explore more closely the water in rest of the solar system. The next section again deals with the idea of ion bombardment of surfaces. Could water and other componds be plasma coated onto surfaces? Obviously, water is more stable the farther you are from the Sun, but some features seem to require more of an explanation.

Some Questions to resolve:

• Why after billions of years is there still water on Venus?• Okay Earth & Lunar water have intrinsic oxygen sources are there waysto concentrate and paste oxygen and hydrogen onto a surface?• Why are the rings of Saturn white?• Why does Europa have such a smooth surface?• Why is Io so sulphur rich?• Why does the surface of Enceladus seem to be recent?

Venus has very little water. However,It has an induced magnetosphereas well as a very faint ozone layer.Without an intrinsic magnetic field, the atmosphere is bombarded with ions and electrons from the solar wind.Most of the atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide and about 3.5 nitrogen. Therefore, like on Earth water should be produced when protons have lost enough energy to

chemically connect with Oxygen or Ozone and again when alpha particles collide with nitrogen atoms as long as they are traveling fast enough. Could this explain why Venus still has water to lose? (The loss of significant amounts of hydrogen is proved by a very high D/H ratio measured in the Venusian atmosphere compared to the solar norm.) And these losses are on going. Sulphur ions could also capture and trap hydrogen or atomic oxygen. H2S and Sulphric acid are trace elements in the Venusian atmosphere. Including the effects of ion bombardment might go along way in explaining the mystery of sulphur dioxide layer in the upper atmosphere.

Some Examples of Water and Oxygen in our solar system

Hubble finds evidence of oygen atmosphere on Jupiter’s

moon Europa

Tenuous Oxygen atmosphere

on Ganymede

Martian Ice Caps have ozone layers

Oxygen found in Saturn’s E ring

Ganymede extremely thin atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide and probably molecular oxygen with an ozone layer

atmosphere of Enceladus is composed of 91% water vapor, 4% nitrogen, 3.2% carbon dioxide, and 1.7% methane

Water ice seems to be ubiquitous on the surface of Callisto. The atmosphere is mostly CO2 with perhaps some molecular oxygen

A brief look at abiotic processes for the formation of water in the Outer solar system.Remember:The basic premise is that some ions needed to form water are brought together to create or deposit water on a surface. Plasma enhanced vapor deposition in vacuum is quite a common industrial process so it seems reasonable that in space similar processes would work . See ion bombardment of surfaces as well.

Water ice can be found in many places and the farther from the Sun the better. The following are good candidates for plasma created or maintained water: (just remember water ions abnormal property in magnetic fields)

• Europa (Induced magnetic field)• Io (Induced magnetic field)• Ganymede (magnetosphere) Ozone layer Aurorae• Callisto (Induced magnetic field)• Rings of Saturn• Mars• Enceladus Electrical Circuit Between Saturn and Enceladus

Titan Saturn’s largest moon is the odd man out, strangely water is absent andwhile not having a magnetic field it is often magnetized by Saturn this maybe a bit like Venus..

Why is Europia smooth ?

This moon has an oxygen atmosphereand an induced magnetic field;More importantly, Europa’s orbit is within the magnetosphere of Jupiter. It is constantly bombarded with radiation and charged particles. Faint ultraviolet light from an aurora were detected recently at the Europa’s South Pole. Its surface is strangely smooth, could this be because the surface is constanly being bombarded and consequently coated by ions and protons?

Would this deposit layer after layer of compounds like water or hydrogen sullfide over « geologic » time? Jupiter’s magnetic field is 20,000 times the strength of the Earth’s. It has all of the features of earth’s magnetosphere so perhaps a look at the composition of our planet’s magnetic field.

Jupiter’svariable radiation belts

Plasmaspheres, Van Allen Belts, & Ring Currents or Plasma Clouds

The plasmasphere,, is a region of the Earth's magnetosphere consisting of low energy (cool) plasma. It is located above the ionosphere.. Traditionally, the plasmasphere has been regarded as a well behaved cold plasma with particle motion dominated entirely by the geomagnetic field and hence corotating with the Earth.

Van Allen BeltsEncircling the our planet and extending to latitudes nearly as far as the Arctic Circle, the Van Allen belts form two, nested donuts of particles. The inner belt contains 10 million-volt, high-energy protons, oxygen nuclei, and alpha particles with the outer belt containing mostly electrons. If it were cold enoughwould an object traveling in this inner zone be coated with ice?

The Ring CurrentThe third component of near-Earth space is the ring current which overlaps both the Van Allen belts and the plasmasphere from 8,000 to 30,000 kilometers from Earth. Ring current particles carry energies of several thousand volts, but unlike Saturn's rings, they do not flow in a complete ring around Earth. It is more prominent on the night time side of Earth, and it is at its strongest, carrying the most particles, during severe solar storm events which shake Earth's magnetosphere

Jupiter's extensive magnetosphere envelops its ring system and the orbits of all four Galilean satellites. The energetic particles break water (radiolysis ) into oxygen and hydrogen, maintaining the thin oxygen atmospheres of three of these icy moons.Europa creates a torus (Io does too)of these ions in Jupiter’s magnetosphere of mostly protons and water ions. Io’s torus contains sulphur. Also, Io creates a glowing auroral footprint near Jupiter’s north and south poles.

Plasma tori created by Io and Europa

If we turn this idea on its head, could Jupiter’s magnetosphere capture from the solar wind then replenish these tori of charged particles and be responsible for the coating of these four moons?If you remember, the Earth’s Van Allen Belts were organized roughly according to mass, with the lighter electrons comprising the outer ring and the heavier nuclei the inner ring.

Since an atom of Sulfur is more massive than Oxygen wouldn’t its distribution in the magnetic field tend to be towards the interior or nearer to Jupiter? To say it in a different way. The more massive the nuclei the more likely that its “orbit” would be affected by gravity and the closer it would be to the planet. In many ways this is concept is similar to paper chromography?

This might explain why most of Io's surface is composed of extensive plains coated with sulfur and sulfur dioxide frost. This would clarify why there is very little water on Io compared to the other three moons. Note: Io is a geologically active world with the most active volcanoes in the solar system. Sulphur on Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto has been attributed to Io’s vocanic emissions so ions get around.

Europa, Ganymede, Io, and even Callisto leave glowing auroral footprints on Jupiter near the pole.

It would seem that there is evidence for "electroplating" of water and sulfur compounds in the Jovian system.

Why are Saturn’s rings white or ice covered?

This does not seem to be an intriguing question till you look at the other rings

The Jovian ring system is faint and consists mainly of dust, having four main components: a thick inner torus of particles known as the "halo ring"; a relatively bright, exceptionally thin "main ring"; and two wide, thick and faint outer "gossamer rings“. The rings of Neptune are made of extremely dark material, likely organic compounds processed by radiation, similar to that found in the rings of Uranus. The exception? A minor planet and centaur Chariklo, with a diameter of about 250 kilometres, is the smallest object with rings and the fifth ringed object ever discovered in the Solar System Its bright ring system consists of two narrow and dense bands.

Fun Saturn Facts

• Its rings are close in, near or within the Roche limit• The magnetic poles and rotational poles are aligned, in other words its north pole

and magnetic north pole are identical.• Saturn has the third largest Magentosphere in the solar system• There is a hexagon at the pole.• Saturn has an electrical circuit with one of its moons Enceladus, but not with an

even closer moon Mimas.

Could ion bombardment coat dust particles in Saturn’s rings with water ice?This appears to be pretty likely since unlike dark rings of Uranus and Neptune, Saturn’s rings are in close to the planet and are inside its Van Allen Belts. There is a dynamic rotating ring current around Saturn.The main particle populations in Saturn's magnetosphere that contribute to the density and pressures in this ring are the warm (few tens to few hundreds eV) and hot (few keV to few hundred keV) water ions and protons. Or perhaps Enceladus is implicated.

Enceladus There is an atmosphere composed of 91% water vapor, 4% nitrogen, 3.2% carbon dioxide, and 1.7% methane. Plus there are auroras, and an electrical circuit from the moon to the magnetic poles of Saturn.Is it just electrons or are protons and other heavier ions being conveyed to the satellite’s surface as well? expels around 250 kg of water vapour every second, through a collection of jets from the south polar region known as the Tiger Stripes .

Like the rings Enceladus is within or enters the Van Allen Belts and Ring Current of its parent planet’ magnetosphere. This satellite also creates a water torus around its planet and even rains water down on Saturn’s atmosphere. Does this water also coat Saturn’s rings?

Enceladus ‘ water torus. Water ions from this moon appear to dominate all of Saturn’s Magnetosphere.

When you simplify a scientific problem a lot of other mysteries are resolved as well.

Occam’s Razor does not prove theories but sometimes it shows us where to dig

This seems to be the case with the plasma water theory. If nothing else the hypotheses associated with this concept are intriguing.

Some pertinent sites

Earlier Work:Why is Mars Dry?The Original Water Cycle

Follow the links in this presentation.Even most of the images have hyperlinks associated with them.

About the author:Chris Yukna was bornin the antediluvian 50s,had a paper route at 9,sold Christmas cards doorto door at 11, and washeddishes at 14. All theseenriching work experiences convinced him early on that he was totally unsuited to working and therefore should become a space cadet, mad scientist, or teacher.He has three websites that he tries to update periodically:Science General (fun with science)Business Emporium (Esl business lessons & quizzes)Totally Unorthodox (where he puts everything else)

Pertinent Vocabulary• Protons = hydrogen atoms stripped of their electrons• Protium = most common isotope of hydrogen• Deuterium = heavier isotope of hydrogen with a neutron in the

nucleus, and less reactive in magnetic fields.• Alpha Particle = a particle identical to a helium nucleus (wikipedia)• Solar wind = mostly composed electrons, protons, and alpha particles• Homeostasis is the property of a system in which variables are

regulated so that conditions remain stable and relatively constant.• Radiolysis the breaking of chemical bonds by radiation.• Photo-disassociation