Originally Posted By: paul


I did find this , and if this is correct, then a close approximation
of the weight of the surface dust can be found.

note: these figures are associated with moon atmosphere.
I'm going to assume that they are considering the moon dust as being the atmosphere , I might be wrong.

Quote:
Abundance at surface: 2 x 10^5 particles/cm3

Estimated Composition (particles per cubic cm):
Helium 4 (4He) - 40,000 ; Neon 20 (20Ne) - 40,000 ; Hydrogen (H2) - 35,000
Argon 40 (40Ar) - 30,000 ; Neon 22 (22Ne) - 5,000 ; Argon 36 (36Ar) - 2,000
Methane - 1000 ; Ammonia - 1000 ; Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - 1000
Trace Oxygen (O+), Aluminum (Al+), Silicon (Si+)
Possible Phosphorus (P+), Sodium (Na+), Magnesium (Mg+)


thats 155,000 particles per cu cm excluding the trace particles , which must include the other 50,000 particles given
that the Abundance at surface is 2 x 10^5 particles/cm3.

200,000 particles

the dust feels like snow , and it smells like a fresh battlefield.

In that case you are wrong. They are not considering the atmosphere as being the dust. The atmosphere consists of the gases surrounding the Moon, just as our atmosphere consists of the gasses surrounding the Earth. Notice that the list is a list of gas molecules, not dust particles. Also that concentration of gases is a pretty good vacuum in comparison to what we generally consider a vacuum here on Earth.

Bill Gill

C is not the speed of light in a vacuum.
C is the universal speed limit.