A rule of thumb used by astrophysicists is that a gas will escape from a planet's atmosphere in 108 years if the average speed of its molecules is one-sixth of the escape velocity. Compute the average speed from the average kinetic energy and show that the absence of hydrogen in Earth's atmosphere suggests that Earth must be older than 10 years (mass of H molecules = 3.34 x 10 ^-27 kg)

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Heres how to compute the average speed and show Earths age based on the absence of hydrogen 1 Average Speed a Escape Velocity We need the escape velocity for Earth Its approximately 112 kms b Onesixth ... View the full answer