Measurement of Kinetic Energy Distributions of Photofragments of Atmospheric Molecules

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The bombardment of the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere by ultraviolet and X-Ray photons from the sun breaks apart molecules there such as N2, O2, and CO2 into atomic fragments (photodissociation). Some of these fragments lose or gain an electron in the process and emerge electrically charged (dissociative ionization), and they all possess varying amounts of kinetic energy that affect their subsequent chemical reactions. In some cases the speed of the atom is sufficient to allow it to escape from the earth. This award is for laboratory measurements of the energies and other details of the products of such molecular disintegration, with the aim of improving our understanding of the chemistry of the upper atmosphere.