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Random made chemicals

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Shannon Dove:
If you take a simple compound like methanol and subject it to various forms of energy, such as ultrasound, ultraviolet, infared, high voltage low amperage DC electricity, high amperage low voltage high frequency ac electricity, etc, etc...what kind of molecules would form? Is there a limit to the complexity or is it possible that most any could form?  If you add aquas ammonium, could protein form, could alkaloids form?

Borek:
Sounds a bit like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller–Urey_experiment

Technically there is no limit to the complexity of the molecules that can be produced, but the more complex ones have very low probability of being produced and of surviving in harsh conditions of the experiment, so in practice you wouldn't see anything too complicated.

Shannon Dove:
Yes, that Miller Urey experiment is exactly what I am thinking about.
Does anyone think this is worthy of more intense research? What about as part of the dial a molecule project?  Let's say you need chemicals A B and C as precursors, so you run the liquid from the reaction chamber through a thin tube with analytical equipment such as spectrometers, when it recognizes one of the precursors, that portion is diverted to a separate container, and the rest is pumped back into the reaction chamber, and this process is repeated for hours or even months. When you have enough of chemicals A,B, and C, you run them through a chromatography column

wildfyr:
This type of experiments always produce a whole complex mess of products that are difficult to separate in meaningful amounts. The method you described for purification contains a grain of truth but in reality purification is a much much more complicated process.

They are an active topic of research but not for trying to synthesize particular chemicals but rather study the origins of life.

Enthalpy:
Reproducing the Miller-Urey experiment may be fun but it would improbably bring new science. They obtained amino-acids, you would too. But before obtaining a living cell, you would need a full ocean and half a billion years - if it really proceeded like this.

The "analytical part" of your proposal needs more thoughts. "When the equipment recognizes a precursor" seems to suggest recognizing individual molecules, and even patience wouldn't make any macroscopic amount from molecules. Also, most analysis equipment destroys the molecules to recognize them. You have to restrict to some processes like chromatography.

You might want to consider my old proposal to make micro-sorters by semiconductor technology. I meant them to separate sick blood cells, they could separate individual molecules in amounts less tiny than otherwise. Integrate 104 actuators per chip, put 106 chips in a machine, let them operate in 10-2s over 107s, and you have processed 1019 elements, of which you keep some. Still not a mole, but already in the µg region. You need some distinctive molecular property that the actuators can recognize easily and quickly, like fluorescence.

In the same spirit as Miller-Urey, I'd like to suggest the random production of cage molecules, in amount sufficient to study their properties. Take a broad mix of alkenes, allenes, alkynes, polyenes... and inject atomic carbon among them, for instance by sublimation of carbon after diffusion through tantalum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_carbon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Shevlin
or by one of the untested methods (= risky lengthy) I suggested there
http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=72951.0

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