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Show The Organic Chemistry of Comets: The Beginning of Life Department of Chemistry You may wonder how we know what is on the surface of a comet once it hits earth, the old conditions are changed and the molecules are changed. Scientists utilize some very sensitive equipment to make such measurements. The comet emits a lot of energy in the form of ultraviolet radiation. Scientists then use UV spectroscopy to detect spectrums and decipher the findings. Laser desorption mass spectrometry can detect the more complex molecules such as the fullerenes and the PHAs. From the bubbles formed in the molten rocks during the per-life earth, scientists are able to determine the composition of early earth's atmosphere. These chemicals are put in a reaction chamber and zapped with electricity. The resulting soup from this reaction forms many of the amino acids that are the basic building blocks of proteins. This experiment is called the Miller experiment devised by Stanley Miller. In a related project conducted by members of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, scientists have created primitive organic cell-like structures. They did it in their laboratory by duplicating the harsh conditions of cold interstellar space. Scientists today have the ability to make an environment so cold that it's only a few millionth of a degree higher than zero. At 10K (-263C) only hydrogen, deuterium, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms are free to move and react. Reactions that produce water, ammonia, and methane require no activation energy. However, the presence of methanol signifies other more complex reaction process. The specific process is done by the tunneling of hydrogen atoms on carbon monoxide. Hence, they hydrogenate the CO making CH3OH. Further studies are more difficult to achieve and they have not been able to make such observations. There are a wide range of simple and complex molecules formed in interstellar space. This shows the versatility of bonds between the atoms of organic chemistry. These complex molecules provide the fundamental tools for more complex formations. There is a cycle of organic molecules in the Universe. Interstellar organics are formed in the interstellar gas. This organic material is integrated into the Solar System and is partly chemical processed. In the final stage of stars, dust and elements are returned to the interstellar medium. Organic molecules formed during this dust cycle may have seeded the early Earth. Billy Wang Professor Cynthia Burrows |
