A spin-orbit constraint on the viscosity of a Mercurian liquid core

Details A spin-orbit constraint on the viscosity of a Mercurian liquid core A spin-orbit constraint on the viscosity of a Mercurian liquid core

Feb 1977

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1977jgr....82..743p&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 82, Feb. 10, 1977, p. 743-749.

Physics

13

Mercury (Planet), Planetary Structure, Solar Orbits, Spin Resonance, Turbulent Boundary Layer, Viscosity, Cores, Laminar Boundary Layer, Liquid Phases, Orbital Resonances (Celestial Mechanics), Planetary Composition, Reynolds Number

Scientific paper

The escape of Mercury from the stable spin-orbit resonance in which the spin angular velocity is twice the orbital mean motion (2n) requires that the kinematic viscosity of a molten core with a laminar boundary layer be comparable to that of water (0.01 sq cm/s) and the tidal Q be less than about 100. If the boundary layer is turbulent, escape from the resonance is only consistent with a liquid core of low viscosity if the critical Reynolds number for the onset of turbulence is above about 500, the moment difference (B - A)/C is below about 0.00001, and the tidal dissipation factor Q is less than about 40. These conclusions depend on the assumptions that Mercury's obliquity was near 0 deg at the time of resonance passage, that the liquid core was not stably stratified at the time at which Mercury passed through the resonance, that a turbulent boundary layer can be characterized by a turbulent or eddy viscosity coefficient, and that the most important coupling between core and mantle is a viscous coupling at a smooth spherical boundary.

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