advertisement


Is there life on Venus?

CH_intelligence.jpg
 
Looking at the reports, measurements show the presence of a molecule that cannot be produced in the absence of biological activity. But, conditions on Venus make that kind of biological activity all but impossible.

Thus we have a choice of measurement error, some kind of amazing happenstance that allowed the reaction to happen abiotically (I may have made that word up), or Life (but not as we know it Jim).

Place your bets...
 
...
Venus, if you will
Please send a little girl for me to thrill
A girl who wants my kisses and my arms
A girl with all the charms...

 
When the Sun was young and much cooler, Venus was probably similar to Earth today and we know that life got started very early here. It is possible for something to have made its way into the upper atmosphere when the greenhouse runaway occured
 
Venus was occupied by an advanced life form but they kept on burning fossil fuels until the planet became so hot all life died out.
 
Just heard a scientist on TV say that the phosphine found in Venus’s atmosphere is also found in high quantities in penguin poop.
 
hc25036 said:
Looking at the reports, measurements show the presence of a molecule that cannot be produced in the absence of biological activity. But, conditions on Venus make that kind of biological activity all but impossible.
Click to expand...

This is just wrong.

My Chem teacher in school produced phosphine in the lab without difficulty. The only biological activity was an ageing Chem master and a few spotty schoolkids. Phosphine occurs naturally on Earth.. in swamp type environments and combusts spontaneously on contact with atmosphere. There .it is known to ignite Methane from similar sources.. leading to the creation of 'Will o' The Wisp' type phenomena.

Several non biological methods of production are possible.

Thus we have a choice of measurement error, some kind of amazing happenstance that allowed the reaction to happen abiotically (I may have made that word up), or Life (but not as we know it Jim).

Place your bets...
Click to expand...

My money is on bullshit.
 
There is little doubt about the existence of phosphine (PH3) in the cloud decks of venus, it's the explanation for it that's missing. PH3 would not be expected because the venusian atmosphere is full of sulphuric acid, which is highly oxidising. There would have to be some continuous source for it to be present at all. The is also no known photochemical reaction that can produce phosphine directly in the atmosphere so it would have to be generated on (or beneath) the surface. Very odd.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1174-4
 
Mullardman said:
This is just wrong.

My Chem teacher in school produced phosphine in the lab without difficulty. The only biological activity was an ageing Chem master and a few spotty schoolkids. Phosphine occurs naturally on Earth.. in swamp type environments and combusts spontaneously on contact with atmosphere. There .it is known to ignite Methane from similar sources.. leading to the creation of 'Will o' The Wisp' type phenomena.

Several non biological methods of production are possible.
My money is on bullshit.
Click to expand...

Your school lab was able to obtain white phosphorus and boil it in caustic soda under a CO2 atmosphere and then collect into hydrogen iodide and then heat in KOH? Impressed....

That said we used to make a contact explosive at lunchtimes (our sixth form lab was our classroom so we were unsupervised). Our teacher was most impressed....

School must be much less fun nowadays.
 
hc25036 said:
Your school lab was able to obtain white phosphorus and boil it in caustic soda under a CO2 atmosphere and then collect into hydrogen iodide and then heat in KOH? Impressed....

That said we used to make a contact explosive at lunchtimes (our sixth form lab was our classroom so we were unsupervised). Our teacher was most impressed....

School must be much less fun nowadays.
Click to expand...


You get some from calcium phosphide and dilute HCl (or just water). Dangerous to have kicking about at school though I'd have thought
 
To be honest I do remember a demonstration that could have been phosphine production in my school in the early 70s - but that was a boys grammar school with amazing science facilities.

The kicker in all this is that phosphine degrades instantly when exposed to acid and that the atmosphere on Venus is essentially concentrated sulphuric acid
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top