Towards the Sea of Life

Abstract

This book set out with our guide H ⁺₃ to take us on a journey from the early universe, the source of the river of cosmic chemistry, down the rapids of exploding giant stars, through the muddy depths of the Interstellar Medium, to the formation of planets and moons, and, with them, the potential for life to come into existence. This is a journey through the Chemical Cosmos – it sets the scene for everything living to come into being, and the laws that govern the Chemical Cosmos still hold for the living universe, too. Approaching the mouth of the river, where it flows into the sea of life, we have to say farewell to our guide, however. From now on, H ⁺₃ watches our progress from the lighthouses of giant planet atmospheres, or from the oceans of interstellar space.