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Surface Chemistry in Interstellar Space

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 April 2003, 06:00 CDT

Frozen pitches, miniature players and chemical free kicks…Astronomers, Chemists, and Physicists get reactive over surface chemistry in interstellar space

Royal Astronomical Society -- Water ice is found all over the place in our universe…even in the dark patches of the night sky where nothing appears to be happening at all. In fact right there where there is apparently nothing to be seen, huge star forming factories are at work.

In dark clouds, that are thousands of times bigger than our own solar system, a turbulent cauldron of gases and icy dust particles start to collapse under their own gravitation force, to form new stars, planets, and eventually possibly even new life.

The gas consists of over 120 different molecules, predominantly hydrogen. A large proportion of these molecules wouldn't form at all if the dust wasn't there - this stardust is the chemical nerve centre of our molecular universe. Molecules condense on these dust grains in the clouds, forming ice.

However, this water ice is not in a form we are familiar with on Earth, but a very porous amorphous form, rather like a bath sponge! You wouldn't want to try skating on it!

Bruce Kay and his co-workers, from Pacific Northwest Laboratories near Seattle, Washington, have recently shown that this ice is so porous that an icy interstellar dust grain, not even visible to the naked eye, has a surface area at least as big as a football field!

Hundred and thousands of nano-sized icy grains might be present in just one dark cloud, and on these thousands of frozen football pitches there's plenty of action!

The ice surfaces are covered other molecules and atoms, from the interstellar gas, that collide with the grain and "stick" to the icy surface. Provided they have enough energy, just like miniature football players, the molecules and atoms can move about the 'pitch' occasionally bumping into each other, and sometimes reacting together to form new molecules.

Its rather like a chemical free kick, the goal being to form another, new and more complex molecule. In fact, from the simplest molecule, Hydrogen, via molecules like carbon dioxide, methanol and formic acid, to the complex organic species that are the basic building blocks of life itself, surface chemistry is vital to the formation of molecules in space.

Later, these molecules directly influence the prevailing physical conditions in dark, turbulent clouds, playing a key role in the onset of gravitational collapse and star formation.

These chemical reactions, the molecules they form, and the implications for star formation are the key themes in a international workshop on "Solid State Chemistry in Star Forming Regions" to be held at the Lorentz Centre, in Leiden University, the Netherlands from 14th - 17th April 2003.

Over 60 astronomers, chemists and physicists from all over the world will gather to discuss what is on the horizon for Astrochemistry research, aided by presentations of their latest results from fundamental laboratory experiments, theoretical computer modelling and the latest observations from the new 8 m class telescopes.

The meeting has been organized on behalf of the Astrophysical Chemistry Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Royal Astronomical Society. It has been generously sponsored by the Lorentz Funds, NOVA (The Dutch Research School for Astronomy), the RSC, the RAS, the Astrophysical Chemistry Group, Varian, Pfeiffer, Hositrad Holland and Dutch Space.

Ten places have been specially funded and competitively awarded to young researchers, not yet in a permanent position, to allow them to benefit from attending this meeting.

The Lorentz Centre is an international study and visitors centre for research in astronomy, mathematics, physics and computer science. The aim of the centre is to bring scientists from different disciplines together in a congenial atmosphere for collaboration, discussions and stimulating interactions.

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