Synthesis of Prebiotic Molecules in an Experimental Atmosphere with an increased understanding of the atmospheric conditions that existed on primitive Earth, the researchers devised an experiment to see if these conditions could lead to the formation of organic molecules.
Organic chemical compounds can be generated under conditions similar to those that existed in the atmosphere of primitive Earth.
The chemical building blocks of life could have been generated in the probable atmosphere of early Earth.
Analyze the data
The following data show the amount of energy impinging on Earth in different forms.
1) Only a small fraction of the sun’s energy is ultraviolet light (less than 2500nm). What is the rest of the solar energy?
2) The molecules CH 4 , H 2 O, NH 3 and CO 2 absorb light at wavelengths less than 2000nm. What fraction of total solar radiation is in this range?
3) Instead of electric discharges, what other sources of energy could be used in these experiments?