Deliquescing salts taking up moisture from the Mars atmosphere: Difference between revisions
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You can also get similar eutonic mixtures of three or more different types of salts, which typically have even lower ERH than any of the mixtures of two salts. Salts on Mars could have a mixture of perchlorates, chlorates, sulfates, and chlorides and perhaps nitrates also if present, along with cations of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. So there are many possibilities to consider here.<ref name="TonerCatling2014"/><ref name="GoughChevrier2014"/> |
You can also get similar eutonic mixtures of three or more different types of salts, which typically have even lower ERH than any of the mixtures of two salts. Salts on Mars could have a mixture of perchlorates, chlorates, sulfates, and chlorides and perhaps nitrates also if present, along with cations of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. So there are many possibilities to consider here.<ref name="TonerCatling2014"/><ref name="GoughChevrier2014"/> |
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In this way, it doesn't matter much what the actual percentages of |
In this way, it doesn't matter much what the actual percentages of any of the salts that are present, however many they are, so long as there is some of them all in the mixture. You will then get some liquid forming at the relative humidity for the optimal eutonic mixture. |
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It works the same way with eutectics and salts. But the temperature reductions are less. The eutectic point is normally not much reduced below the value for the salt with the lowest individual eutectic. For instance However, the eutectic point for a mixture of several salts with water is normally close to the eutectic for the salt with the lowest eutectic point with water. For instance calcium chloride combined with magnesium chloride (eutectice -33.4 °C) has a eutectic of -50.8 °C and on its own, the eutectic is -50.1 °C<ref name="TonerCatling2014"/>. |
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===After salt mixtures take up water, they retain it after supercooling, and reduced humidity=== |
===After salt mixtures take up water, they retain it after supercooling, and reduced humidity=== |
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