An alternative explanation of the 'spokes' observed in Saturn's rings

Abstract

Observed first by amateur astronomer Stephen J. O'Meara in the 1970s and then subsequently observed by the Voyager Spacecraft flybys in the early 1980s, it was realised that the 'spokes' flare out like spokes on a bicycle wheel. The observed behaviour of the 'spokes' indicates that they are not governed by gravitational interactions with the planets, moons, or ring material. In 2005 the Cassini probe confirmed that the 'spokes' are likely under the influence of the gas giant's global magnetic field. Here we show that the 'spokes' that appear in Saturn's rings consist of grains of silicates coated in pyrolytic carbon through the process of Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD). Pyrolytic carbon is a highly diamagnetic substance that can levitate above a sufficiently strong magnetic field. The 'spokes' also consist of ice particles that are diamagnetic as well. The photoelectric effect can be used to explain why the silicates coated in pyrolytic carbon return to the main ring structure when exposed to sunlight of a specific frequency. The pyrolytic carbon grains become paramagnetic when some of the unhybridised 2pz orbitals lose their unpaired delocalised electrons, thus collapsing the pi bond molecular orbital structure. The pyrolytic carbon grains are now attracted to the magnetic field emanating above and below the main ring structure. It is suggested that the 'spokes' in Saturn's B ring are always present and no plasma triggering event is required to increase plasma density. The 'spokes', however, are only visible when a favourable viewing angle is allowed, and their visibility is also dependent on the angle of the sunlight hitting Saturn's rings.