Ionic liquids can support life on arid worlds , Pg11

Key Highlights:

• Scientists discovered that ionic liquids can support life on rocky super-earths with volcanic activity and minimal water.
• Ionic liquids, salts that remain liquid in a vacuum, were created by combining volcanic sulphuric acid with nitrogen-containing organic molecules.
• These liquids are stable, dissolve biological molecules, and negate the necessity of water oceans for sustaining alien life.

Detailed Insights:

• The research suggests that life could potentially exist in environments previously considered uninhabitable due to the absence of substantial water bodies.
• The creation of ionic liquids involved mixing volcanic sulphuric acid with nitrogen-containing organic molecules, followed by the evaporation of excess acid.
• This finding broadens the scope of potential habitats for extraterrestrial life, especially on rocky super-earths with volcanic activity.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Ionic Liquids: Salts that remain liquid at room temperature and even in a vacuum, possessing unique properties as solvents.
• Super-Earths: Exoplanets with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below those of the Solar System's ice giants, Uranus and Neptune.
• Volcanic Activity: The phenomenon of molten rock (magma) erupting onto the surface of a planet or moon.