MULTISTEP PHOTOSYNTHESIS OF METASTABLE COMPOUNDS - THE ORIGIN OF LIFEON THE EARTH

On the basis of the thermodynamic argument of the characteristic featu re distinguishing the living world from the nonliving, it is postulate d that the radiation from the sun created living organisms on the eart h and has been their constant driving force. In view of the fact that the basic biomolecules have chemical energies of several or more elect ron volts, significantly higher than the average energy of a photon fr om the sun, we propose a mechanism of multistep photoexcitations of in organic material for the photosynthesis of these metastable molecules which would not exist at ambient temperature. The preference of the ph otoexcitation against the radiative and nonradiative de-excitation is ascribed to the suppression of the latter by rapid and large relaxatio ns (reactions) in intermediate states. An experiment to confirm the me chanism is proposed in which geological time is reduced to an accessib le one.