EASC 108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Planetesimal, Lightning, Eukaryote
18 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
The puzzle of life : how inanimate chemicals available on early earth led to complex life form. First step: creation of complex organic molecules amino acids from more simple inorganic compounds. Organic molecules are any carbon molecules other than a few very simple ones. What chemicals would be available on the early earth. Volatile ice species contacting c,h,n and o in various combinations. 1953 ( miller & urey mixed nh3, ch4 and h20 to simulate possible composition of the early earth"s oceans. Heated mixture to vaporize gases, the passed through a spark chambers, simulating lightning discharges. Any reaction products were condensed & collected for analysis. After 1 week, resulting condensate showed huge variety of compounds: Amino acid: carbon molecule with 3 types of bonding other than simple c-h bonds: c=o, c-oh, and c-nh2. Essential to cellular life as we know it . Miller-urey experiment shows that building blocks of life form easily and spontaneously under conditions of early earth.
