Chemical evolution
Encyclopedia
Chemical evolution may refer to:
- NucleosynthesisNucleosynthesisNucleosynthesis is the process of creating new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons . It is thought that the primordial nucleons themselves were formed from the quark–gluon plasma from the Big Bang as it cooled below two trillion degrees...
, the creation of chemical elements in the universe either through the Big Bang, or supernovae - AbiogenesisAbiogenesisAbiogenesis or biopoesis is the study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose...
, the transition from nonliving elements to living systems - Molecular evolutionMolecular evolutionMolecular evolution is in part a process of evolution at the scale of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Molecular evolution emerged as a scientific field in the 1960s as researchers from molecular biology, evolutionary biology and population genetics sought to understand recent discoveries on the structure...
, evolution at the scale of molecules - Gas evolution reactionGas evolution reactionA gas evolution reaction is a chemical reaction in which a gas, such as oxygen or carbon dioxide is produced. Specific types of these reactions include Acid–base reactions. See also oxygen evolution....
, the process of a gas bubbling out (or evolving) from a solution - Oxygen evolutionOxygen evolutionOxygen evolution is the process of generating molecular oxygen through chemical reaction. Mechanisms of oxygen evolution include the oxidation of water during oxygenic photosynthesis, electrolysis of water into oxygen and hydrogen, and electrocatalytic oxygen evolution from oxides and...
, the process of generating molecular oxygen through chemical reactionChemical reactionA chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...