Energetics of abiogenic chemical systems.
After recalling the energy consumption necessary to produce the main categories of biochemicals from the equilibrium state of an hydrogenated atmosphere, the primary processes by which energy can be absorbed in a mixture of methane and ammonia in the presence of aqueous solutions are defined. From the very first excitations, unsaturated products are formed. In fact, this formation of atmospheric precursors is the primordial state of a photochemically induced redox dismutation. The evolution of solutions obtained from the dissolution of these atmospheric precursors in aqueous media is described from experimental data and analysed on energetic grounds. The relaxation of energy accumulated in such solutions involves non enzymic archetypes of the main categories of metabolic processes; in particular some unsaturated atmospheric precursors must be looked upon as primordial representatives of biochemical dehydrating agents. Absorption of light energy in the solutions obtained from the evolution of precursors happens near the visible range and should govern their further evolution. In fact, biochemicals which were previously detected as products of model experiments are not present in these solutions. They were probably obtained during analytical procedures from products of the evolution of atmospheric precursors which are unstable against decreases of pH. Cyclic autocatalytic effects must be involved in the further evolution of the models of the first aqueous solutions. Their possible role in the appearance of optical dissymmetry is emphasized on theoretical grounds.
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D055580:Astronomical Phenomena; D001256:Astronomy; D005075:Biological Evolution; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D000069497:Origin of Life; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
D000596:Amino Acids