Chondrules and the Protoplanetary Disk

This 1996 text reviews current ideas about the formation of chondrules in meteorites.

R. H. Hewins (Edited by), Rhian Jones (Edited by), Ed Scott (Edited by)

9780521174893, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 March 2011

362 pages
29.7 x 21 x 1.9 cm, 0.87 kg

Review of the hardback: 'It is a comprehensive overview, complete with a glossary. The extensive colour images, figures, explanatory boxes and lists of keywords make for a very lively appearance.' Sue Bowler, Astronomy & Geophysics

Chondrules in primitive meteorites have excited and challenged scientists since they were first described nearly 200 years ago. Chondrules were made by some pervasive process in the early solar system that formed melted silicate droplets. This 1996 text was the first comprehensive review of chondrules and their origins since a consensus developed that they were made in the disk of gas and solids that formed the Sun and planets 4.5 billion years ago. Fifty scientists from assorted disciplines have collaborated to review how chondrules could have formed in the protoplanetary disk. When and where in the disk did they form? What were they made from and how fast were they heated and cooled? What provided the energy to melt chondrules - nebular shock waves, lightning discharges, protostellar jets? Following an exciting international conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the latest answers to these questions are presented in thirty-four articles.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Chondrules and the protoplanetary disk: An overview R. H. Hewins
Part. II. Chonrules, Ca-Al-Rich Inclusions and Protoplanetary Disks: 2. Astronomical observations of phenomena in protostellar disks L. Hartmann
3. Overview of models of the solar nebula: potential chondrule-forming environments P. Cassen
4. Large scale processes in the solar nebula A. P. Boss
5. Turbulence, chondrules and planetisimals J. N. Cuzzi, A. R. Dobrovolskis and R. C. Hogan
6. Chondrule formation: energetics and length scales J. T. Wasson
7. Unresolved issues in the formation of chondrules and chondrites J. A. Wood
8. Thermal processing in the solar nebula: constraints from refractory inclusions A. M. Davis and G. J. MacPherson
9. Formation times of chondrules and Ca-Al-Rich inclusions: constraints from short-lived radionuclides T. D. Swindle, A. M. Davis, C. M. Hohenberg, G. J. MacPherson and L. E. Nyquist
10. Formation of chondrules and chondrites in the protoplanetary nebula E. R. D. Scott, S. G. Love and A. N. Krot
Part III. Chondrule precursors and multiple melting: 11. Origin of refractory precursor components of chondrules K. Misawa and N. Nakamura
12. Mass-independent isotopic effects in chondrites: the role of chemical processes M. H. Thiemens
13. Agglomeratic chondrules: implications for the nature of chondrule precursors and formation by incomplete melting M. K. Weisberg and M. Prinz
14. Constraints on chondrule precursors from experimental Data H. C. Connolly Jr. and R. H. Hewins
15. Nature of matrix in unequilibrated chondrites and its possible relationship to chondrules A. J. Brearly
16. Constraints on chondrite agglomeration from fine-grained chondrule Rims K. Metzler and A. Bischoff
17. Relict grains in chondrules: evidence for chondrule recycling R. H. Jones
18. Multiple heating of chondrules A. E. Rubin and A. N. Krot
19. Microchondrule-bearing chondrule rims: constraints on chondrule formation A. N. Krot and A. E. Rubin
Part IV. Heating, Cooling and Volatiles: 20. A dynamic crystallization model for chondrule melts G. E. Lofgren
21. Peak temperatures of flash-melted chondrules R. H. Hewins and H. C. Connolly Jr.
22. Congruent melting kinetics: constraints on chondrule formation J. P. Greenwood and P. C. Hess
23. Sodium and sulfur in chondrules: heating time and cooling curves Y. Yu, R. H. Hewins and B. Zanda
24. Open-system behaviour during chondrule formation D. W. G. Sears, S. Huang and P. H. Benoit
25. Recycling and volatile loss in chondrule formation C. M. O'D. Alexander
26. Chemical fractionations of chondrites: signatures of events before chondrule formation J. N. Grossmann
Part V. Models of Chondrule Formation: 27. A concise guide to chondrule formation models A. P. Boss
28. Models for multiple heating mechanisms L. L. Hood and D. A. Kring
29. Chondrule formation in the accretional shock T. V. Ruzmaikina and W. H. Ip
30. The protostellar jet model of chondrule formation K. Liffman and M. Brown
31. Chondrule formation in lightning discharges: status of theory and experiments M. Horanyi and S. Robertson
32. Chondrules and their associates in ordinary chondrites: a planetary connection? R. Hutchinson
33. Collision of icy and slightly differentiated bodies as an origin for unequilibriated ordinary chondrites M. Kitamura and A. Tsuchiyama
34. A chondrule-forming scenario involving molten planetisimals I. S. Sanders.

Subject Areas: Astrophysics [PHVB], Solar system: the Sun & planets [PGS]