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SUMMARY:TALK IS CANCELLED - Dr Wendy Brown\, Department of Chemistry\, Uni
 versity of College London
DTSTART:20060324T091500Z
DTEND:20060324T101500Z
UID:TALK4794@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Ruben M Garnica
DESCRIPTION:This talk will describe the application of surface science tec
 hniques to problems which are of relevance to astronomy.  A detailed study
  of the adsorption and desorption of a range of astrophysically relevant m
 olecules\, including methanol\, water\, ammonia\, ethanol and formic acid\
 , has been performed on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfac
 e.  These molecules are all found in star forming regions of space in abun
 dances that cannot be accounted for by gas phase reactions.  Astronomers h
 ave hypothesised that these molecules are formed by heterogeneous reaction
 s which take place on the surface of dust grains and it is this hypothesis
  that our experiments are designed to test.  We have used a combination of
  temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and reflection absorption infrare
 d spectroscopy (RAIRS) to investigate the way in which these molecules ads
 orb on\, and desorb from\, an HOPG surface. \n\nThe information obtained f
 rom these experiments is of direct relevance to astronomers\, as the measu
 red desorption energies can be incorporated directly into astronomical mod
 els.  This in turn helps to lead to a greater understanding of star format
 ion\, and hence of the Universe in which we live.\n
LOCATION:U203\, Chemistry\, Department of
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