A process that a planetary body goes through during its formation to acquire its physio-chemical composition. Elementary differentiation can be witnessed on planets, and natural satellites such as the moon.
Detailed Definition:
Etymology:
1. Elementary (Adjective), originating from Latin elementarius, which means “belonging to the constituents of all things”.
2. Differentiation (Verb), originating from Medieval Latin, differentiatus, which means “to distinguish”.
Sample Sentence(s):
“These high precision measurements (δ56Fe ≈ ± 0.04‰, 2 S.D.) place tight constraints on Fe isotope fractionation during planetary differentiation.”
Translations:
French: Différenciation élémentaire
German: Elementare Differenzierung
Polish: Dyferencjacja planetarna
Swedish: Elementär differentiering
Links to Videos/Articles:
[Gardner-Vandy et Al. (2012)] The Tafassasset primitive achondrite: Insights into initial stages of planetary differentiation
Differentiation Planetary, Frank Sohl and Doris Breuer, Encyclopedia of Astrobiology.
