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accretion
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accretion 1. Process by which an inorganic body grows in size by the addition of new particles to its exterior. It is the mechanism by which primitive planetary bodies are believed to form as a result of the accumulation of minute, cold, homogeneous particles (homogeneous accretion). An alternative hypothesis is that iron-rich cores accumulated first and were later surrounded by silicate material (heterogeneous accretion). Homogeneous accretion yields a planet that ...
Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research
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Hierarchical Earth accretion and the Hadean Eon
Journal of the Geological Society
; Abstract: Geochemical traces from the Hadean Eon and terrestrial siderophile and volatile element data are discussed in the light of the standard, or hierarchical, model of planetary accretion, which envisages growth of the planets by collisions of progressively larger protoplanets. Siderophile
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