Photodissociation
Where does Earth's oxygen come from? From plants? No.
The bulk of our Earth's oxygen does not come from photosynthesis, but from a process known as "photodissociation" - that is, the breaking down of water into its component parts by ultraviolet light. This happens to water vapor in the upper atmosphere. The lighter hydrogen escapes into space and is lost, the oxygen - being heavier - settles to the Earth.
The Apollo 16 mission observed a very prominent hydrogen geocorona around the Earth by photographs in the wavelength range from 1050 to 1600 A. The spectra of atomic hydrogen, atomic oxygen, molecular nitrogen, and other species were observed - some for the first time. The ultraviolet day airglow is from a relatively thin layer of hydrogen. This is due mostly to excitation by energetic photoelectrons produced from air molecules by extreme-ultraviolet and x-ray photons from the sun.
Apollo 16 Far-Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph: Earth Observations, SCIENCE, VOL. 177, 1 September 1972, p. 788
"Two scientists who detected hydrogen coming off Jupiter's frozen moon Ganymede think there could be a great deal of oxygen hovering over its surface or locked in its ice - perhaps as much as on Earth."
"Both conclude that given the huge amounts of hydrogen rising from the surface, there should be enough oxygen … to create a 10-foot-thick oxygen layer, if it were in gaseous form."
"[Charles] Barth theorizes that ultraviolet radiation beating down on Ganymede is breaking down its ice into its components: hydrogen and oxygen."
"Hydrogen is light and rises in the moon's weak gravity, while the heavier oxygen remains".
"Hydrogen Implies Oxygen At Ganymede", by The Associated Press, September 1997.
From http://www.physorg.com/printnews.php?newsid=5861
Saturn’s rings have own atmosphere
During its close fly-bys of the ring system, instruments on Cassini have been able to determine that the environment around the rings is like an atmosphere, composed principally of molecular oxygen. This atmosphere is very similar to that of Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede.
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Saturn's rings consist largely of water ice mixed with smaller amounts of dust and rocky matter. They are extraordinarily thin: though they are 250 000 kilometres or more in diameter they are no more than 1.5 kilometres thick.
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Water molecules are first driven off the ring particles by solar ultraviolet light. They are then split into hydrogen, and molecular and atomic oxygen, by photodissocation. The hydrogen gas is lost to space, the atomic oxygen and any remaining water are frozen back into the ring material due to the low temperatures, and this leaves behind a concentration of oxygen molecules.
Full article saved at Photodis2.html
(Regarding Venus:) "Only a small amount of water is found in the Venusian atmosphere today. Most of it has long since been broken up into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen by ultraviolet light from the Sun (a process known as photodissociation), allowing the very light hydrogen to drift off into space."
Exploring The Solar System, by Nicholas Booth, Cambridge University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-521-58005-6 hardback, p. 80.
(Regarding the Venusian atmosphere:) "Again, oxygen in our atmosphere comes from the water dissociated by solar ultraviolet light, the hydrogen being lost to space because of its low molecular weight. Thus the lack of water on Venus prevents the production of much oxygen, in agreement with the observations."
Orbiting The Sun - Planets and Satellites of the Solar System, by Fred L. Whipple, Harvard University Press, 1981, ISBN 0-674-64125-6, p. 193.
(Regarding water on Venus:) "Any water arriving at the surface via comets would have immediately been evaporated and lofted high into the atmosphere, where the molecules underwent "photodissociation," and the hydrogen was lost forever into space."
The Wrong Way Comet and Other Mysteries of Our Solar System, Essays by Barry Evans, TAB BOOKS, ISBN 0-8306-2670-0 (pbk.), p. 99.
AND Earth is being constantly bombarded by chunks of ice. This would seem to balance the water lost through photodissociation. (Next, how does all the oxygen get used?)
Excerpt from "The Hidden Messages in Water" by Masaru Emoto, p. 57 ("The Portal Into A Different World")
"Professor Frank began his investigations when he became puzzled by the fact that satellite photgraphs showed black spots; he reached the conclusion these black spots were small comets falling to earth.
These mini-comets are actually balls of water and ice weighing a hundred tons or more, and falling into the earth's atmosphere at a rate of about twenty per minute (or ten million per year). The theory is that these balls of ice bombarded the earth fourty billion years ago, creating the seas and oceans, and this same phenomenon continues today.
As the earth's gravity pulls these ice comets into the atmosphere, the heat of the sun evaporates them and turns them into gas. As they fall thirty-five kilometers from outer space, the gas particles mix with the air in the atmosphere and are blown about, falling to the earth as rain or snow.
A few years ago, an announcement by NASA and the University of Hawaii that Dr. Frank's theory does have credibility was widely publicized by the media, but there are still many scientists who refuse to accept this new way of looking at the world."
Emoto is using this information to butress his theory that all water on Earth came via these comets captured by Earth's gravity - I won't speculate whether this is true or not. But what is plain is that the Earth is gaining water all the time by capturing these mini-comets and, I believe, replacing exactly what is lost by photodissociation.
From: http://www.nbc4.tv/print/4855338/detail.html
Mystery Ice Chunk Falls From Sky, Makes Big Hole
A huge chunk of ice that crashed through the roof of a home in Fontana is at the center of a Federal Aviation Administration investigation Monday.
The ice does not appear to be of the "blue ice" variety that usually falls from airplane toilets, NBC4 reported.
The origin of the ice appeared to be a bit of a mystery.
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Worthy's daughter thinks the ice hunk is a weather anomaly called "megacryometeors," with mega standing for "big" and "cryo' for ice. Megacryometeors are unexplained ice balls that fall from the sky and usually weigh between 25 to 30 pounds.
Full article saved at: Photodis_Ice.html
PHOTOSYNTHESIS OXYGEN PRODUCTION
versus
AUTOMOBILE (TRUCK) OXYGEN USAGE
Photosynthesis:
6 CO2 + 6 H2O ------------> C6H12O6 + 6 O2
[ 6 H2O ------------> 3O2 ]
each 6 H2O produces 3 O2 for each 3 CO2
While 3 moles O2 originates from 3 moles CO2 and 3 moles O2 originates from 6 moles H2O, 3 moles CO2 is found in C6Hl2O6 the plant storage product.
However, since the chemical reaction balances at 6 moles CO2 and 6 moles O2, the 3 moles CO2 still gives a good result of the amount of O2 produced per hour.
Typical plant: uses 8.7 mg to 9.7 mg CO2 per 50 cm2 per hour (2 leaf plant).
We will use: 10 mg CO2 per 50 cm2 leaf surface per hour.
Remember: 6 moles CO2 "produces" 6 moles O2 .
F.W. CO2 = 44 g / 1 mole F.W. O2 = 32 g / 1 mole
Typical Leaf: (typical leaf area = 40 cm2 )
Use Leaf area: 50 cm2 #Leaves per tree: 1000 Leaves
Calculate moles CO2:
0.010 g CO2 / (44 g / mole) = 2.272 x 10-4 mole CO2
2.272 x 10-4 mole CO2 used per 50 cm2 Leaf surface per hour
For 1000 Leaves: (1 tree)
2.272 x 10-4 mole CO2 * 1000 Leaves = 2.272 x 10-1 moles CO2
[ or .2272 moles CO2 ] per 1000 Leaves per hour
Number Trees per Acre: Area per Tree = 10 ft. x 10 ft. = 100 ft.2
to convert acres to ft.2 multiply by 43,560. 1 acre = 43,560 ft.2
(43,560 ft.2) / (100 ft.2 acre / 1 tree per acre) = 435.6 Trees / 1 acre
Number moles CO2 consumed by 1 acre trees per hour:
(0.2272 moles CO2 / 1 Tree per hour) * (435.6 Trees per acre) =
98.968 moles CO2 per acre Trees per hour
each 6 moles CO2 "produces" 6 moles O2:
(98.968 moles CO2 per acre Trees per hour) / 6 moles = 16.495 ratio
Therefore: 98.968 moles O2 must be released each 1 hour by 1 acre of Trees.
Number moles O2 released by 1 acre Trees per 1 day (24 hours):
(98.968 moles O2 / 1 hour) * (24 hours / day) = 2375.232 moles O2 per 1 day
OR 2.375232 x 103 moles O2 per 1 day per 1 acre Trees
Number moles O2 released by 1 acre Trees per 1/2 day (12 hours):
(98.968 moles O2 / 1 hour) * (12 hours / 0.5 day) = 1187.616 moles O2 per 1 day
OR 1.187616 x 103 moles O2 per 1/2 day per 1 acre Trees
Gasoline: use octane: C8Hl8
F.W. = 114.1 g / mole 2 C8Hl8 + 25 O2 --------> 16 CO2 + 18 H2O
density = 0.70254 20 g / cm3 OR 0.66 --> 0.69 g / cm3 OR 41.0 --> 43.0 lb / ft2
conversions: gal to ft2 = multiply by 0.133680555
gal to cm3 = multiply by 3785.4118 cm3 to gal = multiply by 1 / (3785.4118)
1 gal = 3785.4118 cm3 [ 1 gal / (3785.4118 cm3 ] or [ (3785.4118 cm3 / 1 gal
grams per gallon: (0.7025 g cm3) * ( 3785.4118 cm3 / 1 gal) = 2.659 x 103 g /gal
mole per cm3: (0.7025 g / 1 cm3) * (1 mole / 114.1 g) = 6.156 x 10-3 mole / cm3
mole per gal: (6.156 x 10-3 mole / 1 cm3) * (3785.4118 cm3 / gal) = 23.30 mole 1 gal
Gasoline Consumption by automobiles and trucks:
Automobfle:
Speed: 60 miles per hour Typical gas mileage: 20 miles per gallon
(60 miles per hour) / (20 miles per gallon) = 3 gallons per hour
(23.30 moles / gal) * (3 gal per hour) = 69.9 moles per hour consumed
** for each 2 moles C8Hl8, 25 moles O2 is consumed **
(69.9 moles C8H18 per hour consumed) * (25 moles O2 / 2 moles C8Hl8) =
873.75 moles O2 consumed per hour
moles O2 consumed per hour by gas / moles O2 produced by Trees per 1 hour:
(873.75 moles O2 consumed per hour) / (1 hour / 98.968 moles O2) = 8.8 hours
Therefore, it takes 1 acre Trees 8.8 hours to produce the amount of O2 consumed in 1 hour by 1 automobile traveling at 60 mph.
Truck (18 wheeler):
Speed: 70 miles per hour Typical gas mileage: 6 miles per gallon
(70 miles per hour) / (6 miles per gallon) = 11.67 gallons per hour
(23.30 moles / gal) * (11.67 gal per hour) = 271.83 moles per hour consumed
(271.83 moles C8H18 per hour consumed) * (25 moles O2 / 2 moles C8H18) =
= 3.3979 x 103 moles O2 consumed per hour
moles O2 consumed per hour by gas / moles O2 produced by Trees per 1 hour:
(3.3979 x 103 moles O2 consumed per hour) / (1 hour / 98.968 moles O2) = 34.3 hours
Therefore, it takes 1 acre Trees 34.3 hours to produce the amount of O2 consumed in 1 hour by 1 truck traveling at 70 mph.
This is about 1.43 days for an imaginary acre of trees producing oxygen 24 hours per day.
OR
This is about 3 days for a normal acre of trees to produce the oxygen for 1 hour trucking.
REMEMBER:
Trees do not produce as much oxygen on cloudy days.
Trucks do not completely oxidize the gasoline to CO2 and H2O.
However, this is enough evidence to ask:
From where is the extra oxygen coming ?