Abstract
SONETT et al.1 have reported their deductions about the variation in electrical conductivity along the radius of the Moon, based on measurements with a surface magnetometer (Apollo 12) and an orbiting magnetometer (Explorer 35). They deduced an increase from about 10−5 mho m−1 at the surface to 6 × 10−3 mho m−1 at a depth of 250 km, a sharp fall to about 10−5 mho m−1 in the next 100 km and a gradual rise towards the centre. They proposed in explanation a layered structure for the Moon, with an olivine-rich core (1,400 km radius), a transition zone of 100 km and a basaltic mantle.
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References
Sonett, C. P., Colburn, D. S., Dyal, P., Parkin, C. W., Smith, B. F., Schubert, G., and Schwartz, K., Nature, 230, 359 (1971).
Schwerer, F. C., Nagata, T., and Fisher, R. M., The Moon (in the Press).
Nagata, T., Rikitate, T., and Kono, M. Proc. COSPAR Space Science, 10 (1970).
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WRIGHT, D. Electrical Conductivity of Lunar Rock. Nature Physical Science 231, 169–170 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/physci231169a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/physci231169a0