Solar wind may contain some hydrogen and oxygen atoms which is the composition of water, some of them may move to the poles of earth, my question is, is solar wind also a source of water in earth?
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1$\begingroup$ The solar wind probably blows more hydrogen away from the earth than it adds, so the net effect is probably a loss, not a gain, but I think it's likely that most of the hydrogen earth receives form solar wind end up as water and a corresponding amount of oxygen is lost. There's probably not much oxygen in solar wind. Source: astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/11823/… $\endgroup$– userLTKJan 7, 2016 at 7:06
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$\begingroup$ Generally solar winds are credited as a force that blows atmospheric gasses -away- from planets and out into the solar system proper. I don't doubt the odd handful of atoms and molecules in the solar wind make their way into earth's atmosphere and settle down, but earth makes net losses in mass in the form of gas escaping every year. If it weren't for our magnetosphere the majority of our atmosphere would have been blown away by now. $\endgroup$– LoganJun 2, 2016 at 13:17
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8$\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? How much water on the earth is made from hydrogen comes with solar wind? $\endgroup$– Chappo Hasn't Forgotten MonicaApr 6, 2021 at 3:12
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$\begingroup$ Yes. Search for works by M. Bose, and lots from L. Piani. And there’s stuff from F. McCubbin and C. M. O. Alexander too, plus others I can’t recall just sitting here. $\endgroup$– caInstrumentAug 1, 2022 at 22:38
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$\begingroup$ The solar wind may not provide a lot of water to Earth, but it is believed to be at least one of the sources of water on the Moon. The hydrogen ions in the solar wind are thought to bond with oxygen in the lunar regolith, creating water molecules that then bounce around on the moon until they land in cold traps and stick there, or until they dissociate again and the hydrogen is lost to space. $\endgroup$– Dan HansonAug 5, 2022 at 19:16
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2 Answers
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Perhaps I have always been misunderstanding the concept of space weather, rain from space now that's a cool idea.
Seriously though, the solar wind particles are at such a a high temperature that molecules cannot form, instead it is an ionised gas containing mainly Hydrogen and Helium and only very tiny traces of other elements.
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$\begingroup$ “ molecules cannot form” Oh yes they can. Implantation of protons is better superthermal, not worse. Protons in silicate equals reduced tetrahedra-that is, water. $\endgroup$ Aug 2, 2022 at 0:06
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As awesome as space rain would be, the sun does not deposit any water molecules on earth. Solar wind consists of ionized particles propelled into space from the sun, and while some of these particles are hydrogen, and some are oxygen (http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=35448), these are ionized particles therefore incapable of bonding with each other in the manner necessary to create water. Furthermore, even if these particles did lose enough kinetic energy to reach the energy level low enough to bond to one another, it is unlikely that they would be able to do so because their high velocity, coupled with the incredibly high chance of them missing the earth and the deflective prowess of the magnetosphere would preclude such processes. If somehow enough hydrogen and oxygen atoms were low energy enough and did arrive at the poles, I doubt that they would bond, because the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to form water requires activation energy.
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1$\begingroup$ *The friction between the atmosphere and the hydrogen might be enough to start the reaction, but that's assuming the much denser oxygen sticks around the hydrogen long enough. $\endgroup$ Apr 19, 2016 at 22:51
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$\begingroup$ The hydrogen arrived before, during and shortly after accretion. Furthermore, kinetic energy was lost penetrating silicate, to form e. g., substitutions, hydrogarnet (H4O4 pseudo-tetrahedra), and to second order phyllosilicates and monolayers. $\endgroup$ Aug 2, 2022 at 0:12