EXPERIMENTAL CHECKS 



53 



continuously, and through the U-tube the non-volatile compounds 

 accumulate in the small flask. The result of a typical run is given 

 in Fig. 10. During the first 25 hours mainly hydrogen cyanide and 

 aldehydes form at the expense of ammonia. Their concentration then 

 becomes stabilized, whilst the formation of amino-acids proceeds 

 regularly up to about 125 hours, still at the expense of the original 

 ammonia. 



Wilson (1960) recently succeeded in producing much larger poly- 

 meric molecules, each built up by 20 carbon atoms and more. These 

 formed sheetlike solids, in the spark-discharge flask, of the order of 

 1 cm across. It is thought that in this case surface-active molecules 

 were formed, which built up films on the gas — liquid surfaces. This 

 agrees well with the general idea that films of sheet-like molecules 

 (Figs. 11-13), forming either on the gas — liquid, the gas — solid or 

 the liquid — solid interfaces, must have been extremely important in 

 the early stages of the inorganic processes which eventually led up 

 to the earliest life. 



Fig. 11. Sheet-like films of 'organic' macromolecules. produced by 

 sparking a mixture of water, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and ashes of 

 baker's yeast (from A.T.Wilson, 1960). 



Fig. 12. Electron microphotograph of sheet-like, 'organic' macromole- 

 cules, produced by sparking a mixture theoretically comparable to the 

 primeval hydrosphere (from A. T. Wilson, 1960) (magnification 

 X 6500). 



Fig. 13. Electron microphotograph of a single 'organic' macromolecule 

 (see Fig. 12) (magnification x 16120). 



