radioactive heating
(radiogenic heating)
(a source of heat of some planets and moons)
Radioactive heating (aka radiogenic heating)
is heating due to radioactive decay,
i.e., emission of alpha rays, beta rays,
or gamma rays, from unstable isotopes. It can be a
significant source of heat within planets and moons,
including Earth and the Moon.
The mechanism has also been used as a spacecraft energy-source by
carrying some radioactive material within a device that converts
the heat into electricity.
Regarding Earth, it is theorized to be sufficiently significant to
constitute one key to Earth's active geology, plate tectonics,
and habitability.
(physics,radioactivity)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decay_heat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_internal_heat_budget
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_heater_unit
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph241/estrada1/
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100401866
https://www.geol.umd.edu/~mcdonoug/KITP%20Website%20for%20Bill/slides/cider-geoneutrino_Stegman.pdf
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020ApJ...903L..37N/abstract
Referenced by pages:
atmospheric escape
Earth
magma ocean
MMRTG
planet structure
radiation zone
radioactive decay
Index