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Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Moon chemicals/energy storage
Message-ID: <5180@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Mar-85 16:31:51 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5180
Posted: Wed Mar  6 16:31:51 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 6-Mar-85 16:31:51 EST
References: <77@pbear.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 26

> 	I wonder if there is free silicon on the moon (pure enough to smelt)
> that can be used to produce solar panels.

Solar panels need semiconductor-grade silicon, which you aren't going to
find in nature anywhere.  On the other hand, it's not enormously hard
to make if you have the right equipment, and there are plenty of
silicate rocks on the moon.

> Also are the base chemicals around
> that would be useful for making batteries (lead and H2SO4 type of battery or
> lithium, or even better: nickel cadium).

Lead, nickel, cadmium, maybe.  The moon is badly short of hydrogen, and
probably sulfur as well.  Lithium is a rare metal anywhere, for quite
fundamental reasons.

Some other things the moon is short of are nitrogen and chlorine, by
the way.  Both of them rather important to life.

One possibility, though, is that there may be frozen volatiles (water,
etc.) in some of the lunar polar craters which contain areas that are
permanently in shadow.  A lunar polar orbiter with remote-sensing gear
is what we need to settle this.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry