Suara.com – Recent research published in Nature Communications, shows that strikes lightning on about a billion years ago it could play an important role in sparking first life on Earth.
The findings say, lightning makes a special spark called flashes when it hits the surface of the Earth.
Fulgurite contains phosphorus, one of the main basic ingredients for the formation of life.
The primordial earth may have experienced sufficient lightning strikes over a period of time to release the amount of reactive phosphorus needed to start life.
In fact, the same process can take place on other planets.
Also Read:
A group of students are excited to dance together in class, the ending makes shock
“This research helps us understand how life might have formed on Earth and how it could still form on other planets that are similar to Earth,” said Benjamin Hess, Earth and planetary scientist at Yale University. Science Alert, Thursday (18/3/2021).
Since reactive phosphorus can be found in the soluble mineral schreibersite, it is thought that meteorites rich in this mineral may have played a role in sending phosphorus to Earth.
However, when life first appeared on Earth, not many meteorite impacts occurred.
But the researchers revealed that schreibersite can also be found in fulgurites when lightning strikes certain types of soil.
Using computer models, scientists estimate that about one to five billion lightning flashes would occur each year on ancient Earth, where one billion lightning bolts hit the surface each year.
Also Read:
Rain, Lightning and Strong Winds Hit Several Areas in South Sulawesi Today
If that happens for a billion years or more, the large amounts of phosphorus produced can aid in the formation of DNA, RNA, and other biomolecules.
In addition, unlike meteorites, lightning strikes will be concentrated on land located in the tropics. This would create an area of more abundant phosphorus and spark the first life on Earth.
– .
