One of the key components of the origin of life on Earth was phosphorus - it is the main component of DNA, RNA and
Phosphorus is present in schreibersite. It was believed that it came to Earth from meteorites. Now scientists have proposed an alternative version of the appearance of schreibersite on our planet.
The authors studied fulgurites - structures formed in rocks in places of lightning strikes and composed mainly of sintered silica, and found schreibersite in them in the form of vitreous formations.
They further estimated that during the early stages of the Earth's formation, between one and five billion lightning flashes occurred annually, of which between 100 million and a billion reached the Earth.
As a result, from such activity, from 110 to 11,000 kg of reactive phosphorus could be formed per year.
According to the researchers, the presence of electrical discharges in the atmosphere can be an important sign for the search for life on other planets.
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