It produces a silicate atmosphere, where physicochemical properties and geochemical signatures of the resulting scenario depend on the fractionation of liquid-vapor. The impart of energy given by the large impact is sufficient to melt and vaporize silicate minerals. However similar in part of their composition, Moon and Earth differ considerably when it comes to the presence of volatile elements, where H2O is arguably the most relevant. In terms of composition, SiO2 represents more than 44% of lunar mare basalts and highlands, and about 45% of Earth’s primitive mantle. The majority of minerals present on rocky bodies in the Solar System are SiO2 based and they are the building blocks of the Earth and the Moon. The use of precise EOS lead to more correct post-impact chemical models where phases can be estimated correctly. Equations of state (EOS) describe the distribution of materials’ phases and they are used on collision models based in hydrodynamic simulations to predict the final composition. ![]() These models often rely on equations of state to describe the behavior of the materials present in the Earth and the Moon. Different models of impact have been proposed over the years in order to address the aforementioned issues. It still challenging to encompass in a single solution the problematic aspects of chemical equilibration that took place post-impact. ![]() Although well accepted in the scientific community, this theory is still subject of debate regarding the conditions of the impact and the resulting scenario. To this day, it is still the prevalent theory to explain the unique aspects concerning the Earth-Moon system. The Moon Impact formation theory was first proposed in 1975 by Hartmann and Davis.
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