Water and Saturn

[ambellina]

Saturn theoretically would float in water, so does this mean if by some means someone could be on saturn and say spill a glass of water, would the water sink towards the core of saturn? Does saturn even have a "ground" or is it just all gas?

 

[astromad]

Saturn is not all just gas. It has a very similar interior as Jupiter. Saturn has a rocky core overlain by a mantle of metallic hydrogen and a layer of liquid hydrogen that grades into the (gas)atmosphere.

 

[ambellina]

okay, thank you.<br />But so does that mean water would sink down to it's core?<br />

 

[newtonian]

Ambellina - One would think so.<br /><br />Unless, as on Jupiter and in earth's atmosphere, there is considerable mixing.<br /><br />H2O is heavier than the H2 molecule because of the inclusion of the Oxygen atom in the gas molecule.<br /><br />Both Saturn and Jupiter are predominantly hydrogen.<br /><br />You all - has the cause of Saturn's release of heat, twice that received from the sun, been confirmed?<br /><br />In 1991 it was reported the heat was primarily due to sinking of droplets of helium from the atmosphere towards the core, releasing energy in transit.<br /><br />From "The World of Science," 1991, Volume 7, page 34, by Andromeda Oxford Ltd.

 

[vogon13]

The temperature increases as one descends through the layers of Saturn (and Jupiter, too) at some point, water will disassociate into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen will head back up, and oxygen will find its level amongst the denser materials previously sunk to the hellish depths.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[newtonian]

vogon13 - Are you sure?<br /><br />My understanding is that heat causes water to evaporate, not dissociate.<br /><br />UV radiation does cause water to photodissociate (= photolysis) as per your post - so does electrolysis....<br /><br />Perhaps the cause of Saturn's internal heat.....

 

[vogon13]

4000 to 5000 degrees F makes water come apart. If a star is cool enough (IIRC) water can be seen in its spectrum. Our sun is too hot for water to exist there, even though the sun has hydrogen and oxygen. Jupiter is like 50,000 degrees F at its core, and quite hot almost all the way to the visible surface.<br /><br /><br />Anyone know the precise temperature to thermally decompose water?<br /><br />thanx!<br /><br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>