Shock temperature measurements of planetary ices: NH3, CH4, and ‘‘synthetic Uranus’’

Shock temperature measurements have been performed on several materials which have relevance to the modeling of the outer planets. These materials are methane, ammonia and a mixture of water, ammonia, and isopropanol known as synthetic Uranus. Temperatures have been measured in these materials over the pressure range 33–76 GPa for which there also exists measurements of equation of state and electrical conductivity. The temperatures are found to agree well with available calculations, with small discrepancies between data and theory ascribed to energy absorbing processes such as dissociation and molecular ionization.