Misplaced Pages

Planet Simulator

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Machine designed to study life in the universe
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (September 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. Please help improve this article and add independent sources. (September 2020)
This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "Planet Simulator" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
Last update: 2018-10-14 (March 2024)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Planet Simulator, also known as a Planetary Simulator, is a climate-controlled simulation chamber designed to aid in the study of the origin of life. The device was announced by researchers at McMaster University on behalf of the Origins Institute on 4 October 2018. The project began in 2012 and was funded with $1 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario government, and McMaster University. It was built and manufactured by Angstrom Engineering Inc of Kitchener, Ontario.

The device was designed and developed by biophysicist Maikel Rheinstadter and co-principal investigators biochemist Yingfu Li and astrophysicist Ralph Pudritz for researchers to study a theory that suggests life on early Earth began in "warm little ponds" rather than in deep ocean vents nearly four billion years ago. The device can recreate conditions of the primitive Earth to see whether cellular life can be created, and then later, evolve.

The Planet Simulator can mimic the environmental conditions consistent on the early Earth and other astronomical bodies, including other planets and exoplanets by controlling temperature, humidity, pressure, atmosphere and radiation levels within the simulation chamber.

References

  1. ^ Balch, Erica (4 October 2018). "Ground-breaking lab poised to unlock the mystery of the origins of life on Earth and beyond". McMaster University. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  2. ^ Staff (4 October 2018). "Ground-breaking lab poised to unlock the mystery of the origins of life". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. ^ Casey, Liam (4 October 2018). "McMaster University researchers testing origins of life theory in new planet simulator". Global News. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  4. Staff (2018). "Planet Simulator". IntraVisionGroup.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  5. ^ Chung, Emily (5 October 2018). "Canadian researchers use new 'planet simulator' to probe origins of life - 'Life is probably a relatively frequent process in the universe' new experiments suggests". CBC News. Retrieved 14 October 2018.

External links

Categories: