Life on Earth shockingly comes from out of this world

Life on Earth shockingly comes from out of this world

Lawrence Livermore scientist Nir Goldman and University of Ontario Institute of Technology colleague Isaac Tamblyn (a former LLNL postdoc) found that icy comets that crashed into Earth millions of years ago could have produced life building organic compounds, including the building blocks of proteins and nucleobases pairs of DNA and RNA.

Comets contain a variety of simple molecules, such as water, ammonia, methanol and carbon dioxide, and an impact event with a planetary surface would provide an abundant supply of energy to drive chemical reactions.

"The flux of organic matter to Earth via comets and asteroids during periods of heavy bombardment may have been as high as 10 trillion kilograms per year, delivering up to several orders of magnitude greater mass of organics than what likely pre-existed on the planet," Goldman said.

Goldman's earlier work is based on computationally intensive models, which, in the past, could only capture 10-30 picoseconds of a comet impact event. However new simulations, developed on LLNL's supercomputers Rzcereal and Aztec, Goldman used much more computationally efficient models and was able to capture hundreds of picoseconds of the impacts -- much closer to chemical equilibrium.

"As a result, we now observe very different and a wider array of hydrocarbon chemical products that, upon impact, could have created organic material that eventually led to life," Goldman said.

Comets can range in size from 1.6 kilometers up to 56 kilometers. Comets passing through Earth's atmosphere are heated externally but remain cool internally. Upon impact with the planetary surface, a shock wave is generated due to the sudden compression. Shock waves can create sudden, intense pressures and temperatures, which could affect chemical reactions within a comet before it interacts with the ambient planetary environment. An oblique collision where an extraterrestrial icy body impacts a planetary atmosphere with a glancing blow could generate thermodynamic conditions conducive to organic synthesis. These processes could result in significant concentrations of organic species being delivered to Earth.

The team found that moderate shock pressures and temperatures (approximately 360,000 atmospheres of pressure and 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit) in a carbon-dioxide-rich ice mixture produced a number of nitrogen-containing heterocycles, which dissociate to form functionalized aromatic hydrocarbons upon expansion and cooling. These are thought to be prebiotic precursors to DNA and RNA base pairs.

In contrast, higher shock conditions (about 480,000 to 600,000 atmospheres of pressure and 6,200-8,180 degrees Fahrenheit) resulted in the synthesis of methane and formaldehyde, as well as some long-chain carbon molecules. These compounds are known to act as precursors to amino acids and complex organic synthesis. All shock compression simulations at these conditions have produced significant quantities of new, simple carbon-nitrogen bonded compounds upon expansion and cooling, which are known prebiotic precursors.

"Cometary impacts could result in the synthesis of prebiotic molecules without the need for other 'special' conditions, such as the presence of catalysts, UV radiation, or special pre-existing conditions on a planet," Goldman said. "This data is critical in understanding the role of impact events in the formation of life-building compounds both on early Earth and on other planets and in guiding future experimentation in these areas."

The research will appear on the cover of the June 20 issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry A.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.

SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

CR0402-FX-59R0GLF CR0402-FX-592GLF CR0402-FX-5903GLF CR0402-FX-5902GLF CR0402-FX-80R6GLF CR0402-FX-8063GLF CR0402-FX-8062GLF CR0402-FX-8061GLF CR0402-FX-8060GLF CR0402-FX-78R7GLF CR0402-FX-78R7G CR0402-FX-7873GLF CR0402-FX-7872GLF CR0402-FX-7871GLF CR0402-FX-7870GLF CR0402-FX-7681GLF CR0402-FX-7680GLF CR0402-FX-75R0GLF CR0402-FX-75R0G CR0402-FX-7503GLF CR0402-FX-7503G CR0402-FX-7502GLF CR0402-FX-7502G CR0402-FX-7501GLF CR0402-FX-7501G CR0402-FX-7500GLF CR0402-FX-7500G CR0402-FX-7323GLF CR0402-FX-7322GLF CR0402-FX-7321GLF CR0402-FX-7320GLF CR0402-FX-71R5GLF CR0402-FX-71R5G CR0402-FX-7153GLF CR0402-FX-7152GLF CR0402-FX-7151GLF CR0402-FX-7150GLF CR0402-FX-7150G CR0402-FX-69R8GLF CR0402-FX-6983GLF
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/2544.aspx