Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


-----

How much of chromium is in other planets?

I just need it to study it.

Cristina l
Student - Brownsville, Texas
2007

---

First of three simultaneous responses --

There is a lot of information on this on the internet, so have a browse and satisfy your own curiosity. However, chromium will only be found on other rocky planets, like Mars, Venus and Mercury (and the asteroids). The gas giants such as Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus are all liquified or solidified gases and will not contain much, if any, metal as we normally inderstand them. Pluto, if you still count it as a planet, is a rocky one, so what do you think about its chances of containing chromium?

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2007

---

Second of three simultaneous responses --

Correct, you just need to study it.

Martin Rich
Ship Repair - Plymouth UK
2007

---

Third of three simultaneous responses -- 2007

It depends on what kind of planet.

First, go look in Lange's Lange's Handbook of Chemistry [adv: on Amazon, AbeBooks, or eBay] and find out how abundant chromium is on earth. (Short answer: not very)

Then, learn something about the different kinds of planets. Earth, Mars, and Mercury, for example, are rocky planets; they have significant quantities of heavy metals like chromium. On the other hand, gas giants, like Jupiter and Saturn, are mostly made up of lighter elements, like hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, etc., in the form of compounds such as methane, water, and ammonia.

Why is that?

Where do heavy metals come from to begin with?

Is there, as Arthur C. Clarke speculated, a diamond as big as the Earth at the center of Jupiter?

The first two, you can find out about in a library. The last, no one knows yet, but it's fun to think about.

Dave Wichern
Consultant - The Bronx, New York