"Research Carbon Weng Says Carbon" (VII): The reincarnation of carbon on the earth

Earth originated from the primordial nebula 4.6 billion years ago, and carbon is one of the main components of the Earth's cosmic particles. As the Earth evolves, carbon is constantly changing and evolving in different layers of the Earth. There are many heavy elements in the earth. From the surface to the strata 16 kilometers down, including the atmosphere and hydrosphere, the mass fraction of carbon is only 0.08, and its richness ranks only 14th, far lower than oxygen, silicon, and aluminum., Iron and other elements. However, carbon is the most complex form of the element. Based on the extremely high bonding ability and unique properties of carbon, only carbon can become the main chemical energy carrier of solar energy; only carbon can become the skeleton element of various organisms on the earth. In addition to most of the carbon on the earth evolved into carbonates and fossil fuels, a very small amount of carbon was converted into elemental carbon under various special conditions, such as graphite and diamond, and even natural fullerenes and carbon nanotubes.

Under various special conditions, carbon evolves into numerous organic molecules (such as carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, etc.) in the universe and the earth, and then develops into macromolecules that can reconstruct themselves, that is, the original gene fragments with genetic information. These original gene fragments use themselves and the surrounding materials to reconstruct their bodies through biochemical reactions under the action of light energy. After a long period of evolutionary development under different conditions, they have finally formed on the earth today, including humans. A vast world of animal and plant reproduction.

All "energy" on Earth comes from the Sun. Matter can be recycled, but it cannot be regenerated after energy consumption is converted. Autotrophic plants can absorb solar energy through chlorophyll in their bodies to convert low-energy carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into high-chemical-energy sugars for storage in their bodies, while heterotrophic animals need to obtain energy from plants or other animals through the food chain to maintain their own functions. Organisms slowly burn sugars through controlled respiration to release CO2, while generating energy for the organism to sustain its life. This metabolism is the basic feature of life and the exchange process of matter and energy between organisms and the external environment. It is carbon that plays a key role in this evolution process, and only carbon can accomplish this important mission.

Buddhism believes that people can be reincarnated, both in this life I must have a previous life, and that the reincarnation is not the body, but the soul. However, from a scientific point of view, only the carbon in the body can be reincarnated in the human body, which has both this life and previous lives. The carbon in anyone's body comes from thermonuclear reactions in stars hundreds of millions of years ago. People and other animals, the daily input of new carbon-containing organic matter through food to provide energy to maintain survival, and at the same time, through the exhalation of CO2 and the excretion of residual carbon-containing waste, the continuous metabolic renewal of carbon atoms in the body. After a hundred years, the carbon material contained in the whole body will destroy the fly ash and smoke, and completely decompose into CO2 under the action of bacteria and oxygen. If these CO2 and daily exhaled CO2 are absorbed by plants, it is possible to reincarnate to the next generation of human body. Maybe a certain carbon atom in your body stayed in Qin Shihuang thousands of years ago, or it may have stayed in cattle and horses in your previous life. There are all kinds of chances, but because the number of carbon atoms is too large, the single possibility of each situation is extremely low.

The two largest carbon reservoirs that store carbon on the earth are the lithosphere and fossil fuels, which account for about 99.9 percent of the total carbon on the earth. There are three other carbon pools on Earth: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere. The carbon in these three pools is constantly exchanged in biological and inorganic environments. Carbon in the lithosphere mainly exists in the form of carbonate with a total amount of 6 × 1016 tons, the atmosphere exists in the form of CO2 and carbon monoxide with a total amount of 7.2 × 1011 tons, the hydrosphere exists in various forms, and the biological pool mainly exists in organic matter. The carbon content in the ocean is 50 times that in the atmosphere, with a total amount of 3.84 × 1013 tons.

The library that releases CO2 is called the "source" (Source); the library that absorbs CO2 is called the sink (Sink). Carbon in the lithosphere can return to the atmosphere and hydrosphere by means of weathering and dissolution of rocks, burning of fossil fuels and volcanic eruptions. Carbon stored in animals and plants can also be converted by means of bacterial decomposition after combustion and death, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. Terrestrial ecosystems also exchange CO2 rapidly with the atmosphere, but their cycles take decades. Early Earth land was not saturated with modern atmospheric CO2, so when atmospheric CO2 increased, land plants were potential carbon sinks for anthropogenic carbon. CO2 in the atmosphere is continuously exchanged with the ocean surface, but the ability of the ocean surface to absorb CO2 decreases with the increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

The Earth's Carbon Cycle

The greenhouse effect is an effect of the atmosphere absorbing solar heat. The main effect is the trace gases in the atmosphere called greenhouse gases, including CO2, methane, water vapor, chlorofluorocarbons, etc., which transfer infrared radiation more efficiently than other gases. Worse, the accumulation of energy in the troposphere, and the increase in the concentration of these gases will warm the climate. The survival of human beings is maintained by the metabolism of the human body to burn the solar energy accumulated by various carbon-containing organic foods. Similarly, people's lives also rely on the combustion of carbon-containing coal, oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels to release the accumulated solar energy to provide food, clothing, housing and transportation. The energy required in all aspects. With the increase of human reproduction and the improvement of living standards, the energy consumed is also increasing day by day, and the consumption of carbon is also greatly increased. In the 100 years from 1850 to 1950, the world consumed only 60 billion tons of carbon calculated from fossil fuels, while the current amount is 80-9 billion tons of carbon per year. According to 1 ton of carbon combustion will release 4 tons of CO2 calculation, a year about 35 billion tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. In fact, the global atmospheric CO2 content has increased from 280 ppmv in 1800 to 380 ppmv today. Since 1860, the average temperature of the earth's surface has increased by 0.6±0.2 degrees Celsius. In the nearly 200 years since the Industrial Revolution, human activities have dramatically altered the carbon cycle on Earth. Global warming will further aggravate the release of carbon stored in the ocean and soil in the form of CO2, and the reduction of icebergs and snow cover will seriously affect the water supply and demand of 1/6 people in the world. As the sea level will rise, it is estimated that the sea level may rise by 15-90cm by 2100, and 9 million people will be directly affected if it is around 50cm. The increase in temperature will also bring about abnormal climate, species disappearance and further increase in air humidity.

It is precisely because of the greenhouse effect caused by the cycle of carbon as an energy carrier that people need to reflect deeply on the current production and lifestyle. From a worldwide point of view, global climate change is promoting the development of the world to a low-carbon economy, towards the direction of energy conservation and emission reduction, and it also requires "low carbon" to become a habit of people's daily life, and develop a natural way to save all kinds of resources around them. Advocate low-carbon life, care for our survival of the earth.

It is worth reminding that the so-called "low carbon" "carbon" is the abbreviation of CO2. In fact, the development and utilization of carbon as a material is thriving, with each passing day, and various carbonaceous materials are improving and changing our lives. The greater the use of "material carbon", the less "energy carbon" will be used and less CO2 will be emitted. For details, please see the development of carbon (VIII) carbon as a material.

This article is from Wang Maozhang Science Net blog.

Link address: http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-526286-414690.html