The Great Fire of Earth!

Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 03 February 2010

Astronomers and geologists have long been intrigued for relatively low carbon content in the chemical composition of the Earth. Comparing the number of respondents comets and meteorites, each time it turned out that our planet is to go comparatively little, because even a few thousand times less. The latest hypothesis great fire in the solar system provide an explanation to this puzzle. The traditional argument, which explains the deficit of carbon is that during the formation of the Earth from cosmic dust in the area of the solar system prevailed temperatures of one thousand five hundred degrees Celsius, sufficient to  coal. Because our planet if it was not yet surrounded by the atmosphere, the couple fled in the coal space, always deplete the composition of the planet in this element. However, observations of the planetary systems formed suggests that the distance which separates the earth from the sun the temperature was too low to evaporate the carbon dust. Currently, carbon blamed for the escape of the fire. Korean team of researchers from the University of Seoul, led by Jeong-Eun Lee believes that the hot oxygen atoms contained in cosmic dust particles can easily react with carbon producing carbon dioxide and other gases. According to the calculations of scientists any fixed carbon in the inner solar system would be destroyed in this way in a few years. The results were published in the journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Although it is difficult to imagine this being many years, a huge fire, there is evidence to support this hypothesis, the Korean scientists. Once you've created as a result of combustion reaction, a light, carbon dioxide left the inner solar system carried by the solar wind. Asteroid belt lying beyond the inner solar system contains a large amount of coal and the greater the farther from the Sun. Coal, which is present on the planet now, so he had to appear later - when the fire is extinguished. You probably arrived on the planet with asteroids and comets, which formed beyond the reach of fire. This fact may have significant effect on life on our planet - the chemical reactions in the outer solar system could transform simple molecules into more complex carbon compounds such as amino acids, which are key components of living organisms. Apart from the discovery of significant importance is the fact that the theoretical knowledge necessary to put forward similar proposals, humanity has mastered more than one hundred years ago, so this example demonstrates how to attach firmly to the theory and how, despite appearances little treat them critically. Without taking the glory of astronomers, with a little imagination of high school after the primary course of chemistry and physics could propose such a hypothesis.

Last Updated ( Friday, 05 February 2010 )