On the role of meteoritic impacts in the formation of organic molecules.
It is suggested that the UV radiation, and shock and plasma phenomena which accompanied the hypervelocity impacts of solid bodies (meteorites and comets) onto the surface of the young Earth may have contributed to the synthesis of prebiotic organic molecules in the primitive atmosphere in a larger amount than was thought previously. The mechanisms responsible for this synthesis are discussed using information obtained from recent experimental and theoretical work on macroscopic hypervelocity impacts.
Cerroni
P
P
Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale, Reparto di Planetologia, Roma, Italy.
Martelli
G
G
D018534:Earth, Planet; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D019419:Evolution, Planetary; D008280:Magnetics; D019110:Meteoroids; D055585:Physical Phenomena; D010825:Physics; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays