Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-7qhmt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T07:26:15.523Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - The Origin of Deep Carbon in Deep Space

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2020

Simon Mitton
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Get access

Summary

Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, and it is one of the most important elements on our planet. In this chapter, we introduce the story of Earth’s carbon all the way from its synthesis in the first generation of stars in our universe, to its incorporation in the solar nebula, where the Sun and planets formed nearly five billion years ago. Carbon’s journey from deep space to deep Earth took almost nine billion years. It is the basis of all life on Earth, where it serves as the structural backbone of molecules large enough to carry biological information. One of carbon’s most important features is that it readily forms chemical bonds with many other atoms. This property is the driver behind the biochemical reactions needed for metabolism and propagation. The history of life on Earth is therefore inextricably linked with the history of these elements.

Type
Chapter
Information
From Crust to Core
A Chronicle of Deep Carbon Science
, pp. 22 - 44
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Oesch, P. A. et al. A remarkably luminous galaxy at z=11.1 measured with Hubble Space Telescope grism spectroscopy. Astrophysical Journal 819, 129 (2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prout, W. On the relation between the specific gravities of bodies in their gaseous state and the weights of their atoms (published anonymously). Annals of Philosophy 6, 328 (1815).Google Scholar
Prout, W. Correction of a mistake in the essay on the relation between the specific gravities of bodies in their gaseous state and the weights of their atoms (published anonymously). Annals of Philosophy 7, 111113 (1816).Google Scholar
Eddington, A. Stars and Atoms (Yale University Press, 1927).Google Scholar
Gamow, G. and Critchfield, C. L. Theory of Atomic Nucleus and Nuclear Energy-Sources (Clarendon Press, 1949).Google Scholar
Whaling, W. Interview by Shelley Erwin (American Institute of Physics, Oral History Archives, 1999).Google Scholar
Fowler, W. Interview by Charles Weiner (American Institute of Physics, Oral History Archives, 1973).Google Scholar
Burbidge, E. M., Burbidge, G. R., Fowler, W. A. and Hoyle, F. Synthesis of the elements in stars. Reviews of Modern Physics 29, 547655 (1957).Google Scholar
Mitton, S. Fred Hoyle: A Life in Science (Aurum Press, 2005).Google Scholar
Woods, P. M. and Willacy, K. Carbon isotope fractionation in protoplanetary disks. Astrophysical Journal 693, 1360 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, R. N. Oxygen isotopes in meteorites. In Isotope Geochemistry: A Derivative of the Treatise on Geochemistry (Academic Press, 2010), pp. 316.Google Scholar
Marty, B., Alexander, C. M. O. and Raymond, S. N. Primordial origins of Earth’s carbon. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 75, 149181 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, L. E., Buhl, D., Zuckerman, B. and Palmer, P. Microwave detection of interstellar formaldehyde. Physical Review Letters 22, 679681 (1969).Google Scholar
Wood, B. J., Li, J. and Shahar, A. Carbon in the core: its influence on properties of core and mantle. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 75, 231250 (2013).Google Scholar
Hazen, R. M. The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet (Penguin Books, 2013).Google Scholar
Cameron, A. G. W. The origin of the Moon and the single impact hypothesis V. Icarus 126, 126137 (1997).Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×