Researchers are always trying to uncover the mysteries of our planet and how life on this planet came into being.
And now, one researcher says that life on Earth this could be the result of trillions of lightning strikes on our planet, over a billion years.
Getty Images
First reported by LiveScience, this is according to a study by Benjamin Hess of the Department of Earth and Planning Sciences at Yale University. He says that lightning is a reactive phosphorus source on Earth and as we all know, phosphorus is essential for any life form on Earth.
To put this in perspective, we will talk about phosphates. These are ions made using three oxygen atoms and one phosphorus atom. Phosphate is essential for the formation of DNA, RNA and ATP – the powerhouse of cells, as well as being an important component of bones, teeth and so on.
Lightning shines life on earth
About four billion years ago, the Earth had water, CO2 but phosphorus was not readily available. It was under rocks that could not be dissolved in water. A mineral called schreibersite is known to be a source of phosphorus, but researchers believe meteor strikes are the only way to get to Earth.
Hess, however, points out that a few trillion lightning jolts is one of the ways to make schreibersite here on Earth.. He explained that a lightning strike can be as hot as 2,760 celsius which can create unprecedented minerals.
Benjamin Hess
To support this claim, Hess and his team investigated a lump of lightning-struck lightning found earlier in an excavation in Illinois.
Science to support the claim
The team found small balls of schreibersite inside the rock as well as a few other minerals. Taking this as an inconclusive proof the team then attempted to determine if enough lightning had been struck to develop schreibersite.
They looked at models based on the Earth’s early sentiment to calculate how many lightning strikes would have occurred each year. They discovered, about a billion years ago, that quintillion lightning strikes would have hit our planet, each producing some amount of phosphorus. It is estimated that between 4.5 and 3.5 billion years ago, lightning strikes would have added between 110 and 11,000 kilograms of phosphorus each year.
Hess explained in a statement to LiveScience, “For life to take shape, there must be only one place that has the right ingredients. [250 lbs.] of phosphorus a year collected in one tropical island arc, then yes, it may have been enough. But that is more likely to happen if there are many such places. “
Wikipedia
It remains uncertain whether lightning strikes potential land and not the ocean to create the effect for life on Earth, and this is something that would not be possible for us. certainly, but this study reveals that the theory is plausible.