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tidal heating
tidal heating The generation of heat due to friction produced by the strong tidal forces exerted by a very massive parent body on a body moving about it in an elliptical orbit. The intensity of tidal heating is proportional to the square of the orbital eccentricity, being zero in a circular orbit and reaching a maximum in a parabolic orbit, and inversely proportional to the size of the orbit.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "tidal heating." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "tidal heating." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-tidalheating.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "tidal heating." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-tidalheating.html |
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tidal heating
tidal heating Heating caused by tidal action on a planet or satellite. The strongest example of tidal heating in the Solar System is Jupiter's effect on its satellite Io, in which the tidal effects produce such high temperatures that the interior of the satellite melts, producing volcanism.
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Cite this article
"tidal heating." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "tidal heating." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-tidalheating.html "tidal heating." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-tidalheating.html |
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