1st Edition
Origins of Life Musings from Nuclear Physics, Astrophysics and Astrobiology
The primary purpose of this book is to prepare the ground for coordinated efforts aiming to answer the question: where and when life originated. The appearance of life involves three successive stages: i) the formation of chemical elements and their combination to simple molecules, which is the concern of physicists; ii) the evolution of organized complexity in biomolecules and their reactions, which falls within the field of chemistry; iii) the onset of Darwinian evolution after the appearance of the first cell-like structure, which is studied by biologists. This book focuses on the first two steps of this process with chapters exploring topics such as chemical element abundances; galaxies, galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays; galactic chemical evolution.
Key Features:
- Contains extensive lists of reference and additional reading.
- Includes new hypotheses concerning the origin of life.
- Combines consideration from nuclear physics, astrophysics, astro- and geochemistry.
Despite its interdisciplinary nature, this book remains accessible to nonexperts, and would be a valuable companion for both experts and laypeople.
Contents
Preface...................................................................................................xi
Introduction....................................................................................... xiii
Author..................................................................................................xxi
1 Chemical Elements Abundances
2 Galaxies, Galactic Magnetic Fields and Cosmic Rays
3 Galactic Chemical Evolution
4 Living Matter
5 Time and Place of the Origin of Life
6 Multiverse Cosmological Models and Anthropic Principle
7 Open Problems ・ Laboratory Experiments
Index................................................................................................... 389
Biography
Dr. Vladivoj (Vlado) Valkovic, a retired professor of physics, is a fellow of the American
Physical Society and Institute of Physics (London). He has authored 22 books (from Trace
Elements (Taylor & Francis, Ltd., 1975) to Radioactivity in the Environment (Elsevier, 1st
Edition 2001, 2nd Edition, 2019)) and more than 400 scientific and technical papers in the
research areas of nuclear physics and applications of nuclear techniques to trace element
analysis in biology, medicine and environmental research. He has lifelong experience in
the study of nuclear reactions induced by 14 MeV neutrons. This research has been done
through coordination and works on many national and international projects, including
US–Croatia bilateral, NATO, IAEA, EU-FP5, EU-FP6 and EU-FP7 projects.
He had worked as a professor of physics at Rice University, Houston, Texas; as a Head
of Physics-Chemistry-Instrumentation Laboratory at IAEA, Vienna, Austria; and as
Laboratory head and scientific advisor at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
