Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

gumby_the_2nd OP t1_itet10o wrote

Reply to comment by the_fungible_man in decompression of liquids in outer space by gumby_the_2nd

What if the breach was on the side not facing the sun? Would it still sublimate due to the pressure difference, or would it remain as a solid until exposed to light?

2

the_fungible_man t1_itevk6p wrote

Sublimation of ice cools the ice left behind. Eventually the remaining ice will reach the temperature point in the ice/water/vapor pressure vs. temperature phase diagram at which ice is the equilibrium state. Below that temperature (somewhere below -100°C.) sublimation effectively stops.

This is why moons of the outer planets can have long-lived ice crusts exposed directly to the hard vacuum of space.

8

Weibuller t1_itiw0au wrote

This process occurs because of the vacuum of space, not as the result of energy absorbed from the sun. The heat we feel from the Sun here on the Earth's surface is the result of the energy from the sunlight being absorbed and retained by the atmosphere. In space, the only energy you "see" is what strikes you in a "line-of-sight" sense. The amount of energy involved in this situation would be very small and would have a relatively small impact on the evaporation and sublimation processes.

2