TPOD: Asteroids

[faust]

TPOD poses an alternate explanation for craters on asteroids: electrical discharges. For comparison, a link to pittting caused by arc d/c in the lab is shown. But the pits shown have cleanly excavated edges, compared with craters which often have elevated rims. Can electrical d/c mimic the elevated rims?

[Osmosis]

Does the sharpness of the pit walls, depend on the initial gas pressure? Or density of the plasma, at time of arc discharge?

[faust]

Maybe I expressed myself badly. My concern is not the steepness of the sides (which probably would be a function of plasma characteristics and time), but the heaped-up "rims" often found on craters. Every picture of electrical pitting I can find (small scale, usually in motors) shows a cleanly excavated hole - there is no surrounding area of increased elevation, there's just a hole. Makes sense, as molecules are accelerated away from the surface by the potential difference.

Craters, OTOH, often have an elevated rim. How is that explained electrically? Is it because there's so MUCH stuff being torn away that some of it spills back onto the surface?

[The Great Dog]

The Great Dog understands their formation to be caused by electrodynamic forces. Surface material is pulled out and then accelerated into space, or thrown great distances as ultra-fine dust.

Tractus Fossae in 3D