Breathing Test
Pyrolytic-release experiment
Lifing things should breathe. That is, they take in gasses from the air
and incorporate it into their bodies.
Use radioactive labelling:
- Some elements have a radioactive form.
- The radioactive form is the same chemically as the
ordinary nonradioactive form.
- But the radioactive form decays (with a certain half life.)
- The decay can be detected because high energy particles are emitted.
- Example: C14. Lets call it C*.
The experiment:
- Get some regolith.
- Put it in an atmosphere with C*O2 and C*O.
- Supply some (artificial) sunlight.
- The life forms incorporate C* into the proteins (or whatever) in their
bodies.
- Let the regolith sit for a while in plain CO2.
- Heat it to vaporize the life forms.
- Look in the gas given off for C* decays.
What would you use for a
control experiment?
ASTR 121 Home
Davison E. Soper, Institute of Theoretical Science,
University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403 USA
soper@bovine.uoregon.edu