The Miller volcanic spark discharge experiment.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 18927386.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.1161527.
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Abstract
Miller's 1950s experiments used, besides the apparatus known in textbooks, one that generated a hot water mist in the spark flask, simulating a water vapor-rich volcanic eruption. We found the original extracts of this experiment in Miller's material and reanalyzed them. The volcanic apparatus produced a wider variety of amino acids than the classic one. Release of reduced gases in volcanic eruptions accompanied by lightning could have been common on the early Earth. Prebiotic compounds synthesized in these environments could have locally accumulated, where they could have undergone further processing.
Medical subject headings
- Amino Acids
- Evolution, Chemical
- Volcanic Eruptions