Terrestrial chemistry

One can imagine life evolving on a neutron star in the same way as life evolved on Earth. However, the nuclei making up the biological matter do not have electrons bound to them, as they do on Earth. Instead, a neutron star s biochemistry depends on nuclear reactions mediated by the strong force of the nuclei, not on electromagnetic forces responsible for terrestrial chemistry. 

In summary it seems that in situ synthesis of long chain carbon molecules is presently the most convincing of the various formation mechanisms. In particular, spallation of organic grains s ms rather unlikely in the cold dark clouds such as TMC 1. We note, incidentally, that the dark clouds produce an absolutely clean chemistry , in the sense that many types of reactions which occur in terrestrial chemistry are excluded. Shocks, for example, appear not to be present if one can judge from the observed narrow line profiles. The gas is very quiescent and cold. On the other hand, ions such as HCO and (Guelin et al., 1977)... 

Physical properties of atoms and ions in intense magnetic fields are hence obtained in the statistical limit of Thomas-Fermi theory. This discussion is then supplemented by the hyperstrong limit, considered especially by Lieb and co-workers. Chemistry in intense magnetic fields is thereby compared and contrasted with terrestrial chemistry. Some emphasis is then placed on a model of confined atoms in intense electric fields the statistical Thomas-Fermi approximation again being the central tool employed. 

Since X < 2 to obtain the above solution, it is remarkable that the maximum number of electrons is now only just less than 2Z. The neutral TF atom in zero magnetic field cannot bind even one extra electron. Thus the situation is totally changed from that to which we are accustomed in terrestrial chemistry. Not only can N be near to 2Z, but the binding energy of the last Z electrons is of the same order of magnitude as that for the first Z electrons. Furthermore, the binding... 

Faced with these facts, one is obviously tempted to assume that the products of cosmic/terrestrial chemistry did, in reality, serve as the building blocks from which life first arose. This view is not unanimously accepted. At least two prominent investigators, the German Gunter Wiichtershauser (1998) and the American... 

This mass-energy relation must dominate the whole question of the genesis of elements, the dynamics of stars, the origin of cosmic radiations, and other fundamental matters. The only respect in which it affects ordinary terrestrial chemistry is in connexion with the stability of atomic nuclei. The changes which occur in chemical reactions are too small to affect practically the traditional principle of mass conservation upon which so much of chemical theory has been based. 

Kostova I, Dinchev D (2005) Saponins in Tribulus terrestris - chemistry and bioactivity. Phytochem Rev 4 111-137... 

At some point, every course on chemistry has to recognize that water is the most pervasive and important compound in terrestrial chemistry, since our very existence depends on its unique chemistry. Its properties arise from its ability to form hydrogen bonds whose unusual properties derive from the unique nature of the hydrogen atom the only atom with no core electrons and no possibility of having a lone pair of electrons. 

Wisemberg J and Kockarts G 1980 Negative ion chemistry in the terrestrial D region and signal flow graph theory J. Geophys. Res 85 4642-52... 

When considering how the evolution of life could have come about, the seeding of terrestrial life by extraterrestrial bacterial spores traveling through space (panspermia) deserves mention. Much is said about the possibility of some form of life on other planets, including Mars or more distant celestial bodies. Is it possible for some remnants of bacterial life, enclosed in a protective coat of rock dust, to have traveled enormous distances, staying dormant at the extremely low temperature of space and even surviving deadly radiation The spore may be neither alive nor completely dead, and even after billions of years it could have an infinitesimal chance to reach a planet where liquid water could restart its life. Is this science fiction or a real possibility We don t know. Around the turn of the twentieth century Svante Arrhenius (Nobel Prize in chemistry 1903) developed this theory in more detail. There was much recent excitement about claimed fossil bacterial remains in a Martian meteorite recovered from Antarctica (not since... 

Comprehensive accounts of the analytical chemistry of teUurium have been pubUshed (5,26—30). The analytical methods for the determination of teUurium are to a considerable extent influenced by the element s resemblance, in many of its properties and in its limited terrestrial abundance, to selenium. 

The held of marine natural products chemistry, which encompasses the study of the chemical structures and biological activities of secondary metabolites produced by marine plants, animals, and microorganisms, began in earnest in the early 1960s. " This is in stark contrast to the study of terrestrial plant natural... 

The underlying assumption driving marine natural products chemistry research is that secondary metabolites produced by marine plants, animals, and microorganisms will be substantially different from those found in traditional terrestrial sources simply because marine life forms are very different from terrestrial life forms and the habitats which they occupy present very different physiological and ecological challenges. The expectation is that marine organisms will utilize completely unique biosynthetic pathways or exploit unique variations on well established pathways. The marine natural products chemistry research conducted to date has provided many examples that support these expectations. 

The combined influences of runoff generation mechanisms, runoff flowpaths, and soil properties together control runoff chemistry. In spite of the wide range of interactions that characterize terrestrial environments, a few broad generalities can be offered, as the chemical composition of streamflow typically contains... 

Engenheiro, E.L., Hankard, P.K., and Sousa, J.P. et al. (2005). Influence of dimethoate on acetylcholinesterase activity and locomotor function in terrestrial isopods. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 24, 603-609. 

When Z gets big enough, no number of neutrons is enough to stabilize the nucleus. Notice in Figure 2-20 that there are no stable nuclei above bismuth, Z — 83. Some elements with higher Z are found on Earth, notably radium (Z = 88), thorium (Z = 90), and uranium (Z = 92), but all such elements are unstable and eventually disintegrate into nuclei with Z < 83. Consequently, the set of stable nuclei, those that make up the world of normal chemistry and provide the material for all terrestrial chemical reactions, is a small subset of all possible nuclei. 

Biochemical reactions parallel those in organic chemistry and, for both of them, a mechanistic approach has proved valuable. In addition, most of the principles that have emerged apply equally to the aquatic, the atmospheric, and the terrestrial environments. 

Robertson DE, Thomas CW, Perkins RW, et al. 1981. Transuranium and other long-lived radionuclides in the terrestrial environs of nuclear power plants. Electric Power Research Institute, Environmental Physics and Chemistry Program, Energy Analysis and Environment Division, Palo Alto, CA. EA-2045. NTIS/DE82003074. 

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