Widdekind

Perhaps the Hot-Spot seamount chains in the south Pacific were emplaced, at ancient spreading ridges, as part of the undersea volcanism associated with spreading ridges. I.e. the southern Pacific seamounts represent sites of particularly vigorous, but otherwise normal, spreading ridge activity. If so, then the eroded appearance, of those seamount chains (Magellan - Tuamotu, Line - Austral), as compared to the Hawaii - Emperor chain, is attributable to older age, increased erosion, and increased seafloor sedimentation which has "silted all the way up the slopes" of some seamounts, so that only their top-most tips still protrude through the accumulated "marine snow", a little like mountaintops protruding above glaciers? If the Magellans & Mid-Pacific seamounts were emplaced 170 Mya, when the Pacific basin began forming; then they are twice the age of the oldest Emperor seamounts.

So, the new X-ray observations make "matter censuses" today tally with "matter census" tallies from billions of years ago... but both tallies, even though they now (plausibly) match, are still insufficient to account for observed gravitational forces of attraction, which at all epochs imply ~6x more mass ("Dark Matter") to be "secretly associated" with the luminous, light-emitting-so-humans-can-see-it material ("Light Matter")? The "missing baryons" problem notes that, over billions of years, ~half of the once-observed "Light Matter" has "faded into obscurity" ?? (But, according to the new X-ray observations, "fading away" may mean "thinning out so diffusely that only sensitive scans can catch the little light emitted"?) Meanwhile, separately, the observed gravity forces imply many times more unseen hidden "Dark Matter"? Again, quoting from cited sources: So, ancient gas halos, around galaxies, have evidently heated up, puffed up, and thinned out, so that they have much lower surface brightness, and are effectively dimmer (for narrow-field observations?). Perhaps galaxy halo gas has heated up, over the aeons, due to progressive mergers, of proto-galaxies into ever larger (composite) galaxies ? Also, since the gravitational influences of "Dark Matter" have been observed "the entire time", from billions of years ago until today, so DM must be primordial, predating the earliest cited observations, from "10 billion years ago"? I.e. DM is older than even ancient "distant gas halos & galaxies"? The only things older than that are primordial (energy, H,He, first generation stars). DM already lurks hidden within the earliest proto-galactic clouds of dusty gas?

All quantum "particles" (for lack of better term, "everything with a wave-function") have energy; but not all have mass. Perhaps energy -- literally representing "the ability to do work, the ability to effect changes in the rest of the universe, the ability to make a difference and be noticed" (without which no effects could be generated, and the "thing" would not exist, in any philosophical sense) -- is the most fundamental, and least alterable, most "conserved" quantity? Somehow, during a "Big Crunch" event, as the (mass-)energy densities diverge towards infinity, some "miracle" occurs (for lack of better term) -- perhaps even to protect space-time + energy from an actual infinity singularity -- with the result, that another "Big Bang" (eventually) ensues, with all the fundamental parameters altered slightly. Would that imply, that the forms of fundamental physical laws, e.g. inverse square laws, would remain invariant; and only the constants of proportionality would change (h, c, G, e0, u0, Weak/Strong coupling constants) ? I.e. all the equations survive BC/BB, but the specific numbers get tweaked?

Do oceanic slabs, subducting under continents, commonly fault & fragment, into (progressively smaller) pieces? i have learned about the following ancient oceanic plates, from the past ~200 Myr. Perhaps oceanic plates can "tear", faulting & fragmenting whilst sub-ducting under continents, whose "roots" are uneven, irregular, and penetrate down to varying depths? Perhaps if such "tears" work back up, and back out to sea, such "tears" become new spreading ridges, resulting in oceanic plate "breakup" ? Farallon (subducting eastwards under N&SA) Intermontane / Insular microplates Kula Eshamy Resurrection [*]Juan de Fuca [*]Rivera [*]Cocos [*]Nazca Phoenix (subducting southwards under Antarctica) Charcot

Do the Louisville seamounts (bottom right) relate to the Marshall - Ellice (Tuvalu) seamounts (center right)? Has the northwest spur of the Australian plate, in obducting some of the Pacific plate, obducted dozens of seamounts which originally spanned the gap between the Louisville & Marshall - Ellice (Tuvalu) igneous provinces ?? Visually, the Louisville seamounts run in a straight line towards the Ellice (Tuvalu) islands, intercepted only by the "corner" of the Australian plate. If so, then the linear length, of the northwest-trending section, of the "Louisville - Ellice (Tuvalu) - Marshall" seamount chain, represents the original length, of the Emperor island chain, much of which has by now sub-ducted, under Siberia. The "Hawaii - Emperor", "Louisville - Ellice (Tuvalu) - Marshall", and "Tuamoto - Line islands" chains all represent Hot Spots, "stitching" through the moving Pacific plate, over the past ~125 Myr (inferring an association with the emplacement, of the massive Ontong-Java oceanic flood basalt Large-Igneous-Province, at that time):

245-180 Mya 180-115 Mya 115-80 Mya 150-140 Mya The following figures depict earth's tectonic plates, in the early Jurassic period. Although not explicitly depicted, the Insular Islands resided off the western coast of North America (above & right of the words 'Farallon Plate' in part B of figure 1). The Insular Islands formed c.325-300 Mya, in the late Carboniferous period. Retracing their journey, atop the Farallon plate, northeastwards across the ancient Pacific ocean, the Insular Islands apparently formed near earth's equator, at low latitudes, perhaps in the middle of the ancient Pacific ocean. Fossilized foraminifera, similar to fossils from China, Malaysia, and the ancient Tethys ocean, were eventually deposited, onto North America, when the Insular Islands collided with the coast, c.115 Mya. Meanwhile, as North America obducted the ancient Farallon plate, beginning a quarter billion years ago, the coastal subduction zone apparently jumped out-board (sea-wards), with the accretion of coastal volcanic island arcs. For example, c.180 Mya, the Intermontane Islands accreted against the coast; and the Farallon-Insular plate, previously subducting under those islands, ruptured along the length of the Insular island chain. In-board, along the coast, the Insular micro-plate was created. Out-board, sea-wards, the Farallon plate began subducting under the island chain, activating volcanism. Perhaps something similar had previously occurred, c.245 Mya, when the Farallon-Insular-Intermontane plate ruptured, into parallel subduction zones, with the in-board Intermontane micro-plate continuing to subduct North America, and the out-board Farallon-Insular oceanic plate starting to subduct the Intermontane, activating volcanism? Perhaps related to the Siberian traps flood basalt super-eruption, and the breakup of Pangea? Or, perhaps the Intermontane Islands had originally been a continental volcanic arc, overlying the coastal subduction zone, before being broken off from North America, by an opening Back-Arc Basin (which subsequently "failed" and began to be re-subducted, c.245 Mya)? Cp. Philippine plate. References: [Open University] Earth's Engine, ch.1-2 http://www.burkemuseum.org/static/geo_history_wa/Coast%20Range%20Episode.htm http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X11003613 http://www.scotese.com/late.htm http://www.scotese.com/newpage5.htm

Could the fabric of space-time be quantized? In analogy, rather than being an ideal, smooth, continuous "rubber sheet", space-time would be a cellular mesh, which cells could deform, in only a quantized number of ways ???

perhaps, somehow, when the fabric of space-time is compressed and "Big Crunched", and then "Big Bangs" in re-expansion, then the fundamental constants (and laws?) are modified slightly? That could account for the "variation" half of the natural selection effect; "selection" would occur by whether the space-time was stable and persisted, or re-collapsed into another "Big Crunch"

As evidenced by the Emperor - Hawaii island chains, c.45Mya, the northwards-sliding Pacific plate began sliding westwards. If that sudden shift in direction was caused by some massive force (North America obducting east Pacific ridge near San Francisco, so "slamming into" the Pacific plate on the other side of the M.O.R.?), then perhaps the Philippine plate was "cracked off"? The northwards slide of the Philippine plate resembles the ancient northwards trend of the Pacific plate, before c.45Mya. The Philippine plate is c.50 Myr old. 50 Mya, Asia was subducting younger Pacific plate, with older (colder, denser, deeper) Pacific basin farther out to sea. Thus, Asia was obducting "down hill", depressing younger, lighter, higher-riding oceanic crust, attached to older, heavier, lower-riding oceanic basin out-board (sea-wards). Perhaps that caused the in-board (land-wards) corner to "crack off", as the older basin out-board began to subduct the younger oceanic crust, jammed up against the Asian coast ? (Cp. imagine Asia obducting right-to-left, in part B, of this figure; the down-ward depressing, on the right edge, of the right-most slab, could cause the same to rotate clockwise, tilting up over the lip, of the second slab section -- especially with a jarring collision, capable of completely re-directing the Pacific slab nearly 90 degrees, as occurred c.50 Mya. Indeed, the Philippine plate is straight across, on a great circle, from the tip of North America, near San Francisco, which obducted onto the Pacific plate, at that time. Colossal compression waves, emanating from the California coast, could have propagated through the Pacific plate, first "down hill" into the deep Pacific basin, and then "up hill", up slope, through younging oceanic crust, towards Asia. Perhaps at some point, those colossal compression waves found a fault that failed? Alternatively, Asia's collision with India occurred about that time, too.)

that's good thinking... would extra-terrestrial GWs introduce world-wide coherent distortions, which could be gleaned, from the background of more random natural fluctuations? Also, geologic phenomenon occur over geologic time-scales ("aeons"); mantle motions may not start-and-stop, on GW-relevant time-scales

Humans can measure subtle gravity distortions, over earth's surface ("free-air anomalies"). If Gravity-Waves would distort earth, and hence its gravity field; and if humans can measure such anomalies; then perhaps earth itself can be employed, as a gigantic GW detector ??

From QM, the binding energy of electrons onto protons is ("Rydberg energy"): [math]U = \frac{1}{2} \left( m_e c^2 \right) \alpha^2[/math] and the radius of those bound electrons is ("Bohr radius"): [math]R = \frac{\hbar c}{m_e c^2} \frac{1}{\alpha}[/math] So, if the EM interaction were "full strength" ([math]\alpha \rightarrow 1[/math]), as the Strong interaction between quarks in nucleons (nearly) is, i.e. "if (virtual) photons were as strong as gluons"; then (hydrogen) atoms would be ~137x smaller (10-12m), and their binding energies would be hundreds of KeV. Now, nuclear interactions are characteristically MeV in strength. So, an "un-fine-tuned" EM interaction, at "full strength", would empower atomic interactions, between electrons and their capturing nuclei, to disrupt nuclei. Electrons could fission (larger) nuclei, upon emission, of binding energy photons, during electron capture. Perhaps in some "philosophical sense", the "de-tuning" or "dialing down" of the strength of the EM interaction, reduces atomic energies to far far less than nuclear energies, energetically segregating the former from the latter, so that larger nuclei can form, and capture electrons to participate in complex chemistries, without being broken apart by the (virtual) photons involved, in those chemical reactions, occurring "way way out" in the fluffy "electron atmosphere" of electron wave-functions, surrounding the dense tight nuclear core (a little like the 10-15 Mearth "super-earth" in the core of Jupiter's extended gaseous "super-sky") ?

How would the earth-specfic mineral crystallization sequences be affected, if rocky material (as on earth) were combined in a slurry, with various ices, as occurs during assemblage of planets, in (example) our outer solar system ?

So, the pluri-potentiality, embodied in the wave-function of some particle, is like holding a "hand of cards". And, when that particle interacts with its external environment, in a sufficiently intense "measurement" way, then the "non-conscious particle" must "make a decision". And, doing the best a "dumb particle" can do, the particle, accommodating its environment, randomly "picks a card", "plays the card", and "discards the rest of the hand" (thereby becoming a "hand of one card") ?

Requesting "all the room in the envelope" for FTL communication... Is it not true, that entangled photons embody a pluri-potentiality, of multiple possibilities, latent in those photons ("H" or "V" polarization, say); and, which "smorgasbord" of possibilities were pre-encoded, into said signals, at time of entanglement-and-transmission ? If so, then as long as you limited yourself, to choosing from "food on the smorgasbord" ("H" or "V" polarization, say); then any decision, which had been pre-encoded today, could be actualized tomorrow, without violating Causality. For, the decision selected, had been possible the entire time. Therefore, could you not imagine, exploiting QE, to manifest instantaneous communication, across vast distances, as long as the communicated information, had been "pre-loaded" into the entangled signal, at time of entanglement-and-transmission ? In simplistic terms, perhaps you could exploit the pluri-potentiality of the "smorgasbord" quantum state, to "pre-command" multiple maneuvers of some remote probe (say); then, that "program of pre-encoded potential commands" could be propagated to the probe; and, hours later (say), the probe receives those signals, briefly becomes entangled with them, and then influenced by them, upon wave function "collapse". As long as you chose "food from the smorgasbord" to "feed the probe", then perhaps you could transmit information to the probe, instantaneously, FTL, from amongst the suite of pre-encoded possible commands ? That would not violate Causality -- what you wound up choosing to do, had been possible, the entire time (like a photon propagating around an entire galaxy, later deciding, in an earth telescope, to "have gone left / right the entire time", per Wheeler's galactic double slit experiment). As the signals were propagating towards the probe, they would "ambiguously embody" both "go forward" and "go backward". Once they reached the probe, perhaps you could then-and-there choose to actualize one or the other command; you would not violate Causality. What you chose to wind up saying, had been possible, for you to have been saying, the entire time. In baseball analogy, you throw a fastball & a curve ball at the probe. Later, you actualize "fastball". Causality would be preserved -- you had been throwing a fastball the entire time. Accepting such pre-defined limitations, perhaps FTL communication, thusly prescribed, might be possible? Requesting "all the room in the envelope" for FTL communication... Is it not true, that entangled photons embody a pluri-potentiality, of multiple possibilities, latent in those photons ("H" or "V" polarization, say); and, which "smorgasbord" of possibilities were pre-encoded, into said signals, at time of entanglement-and-transmission ? If so, then as long as you limited yourself, to choosing from "food on the smorgasbord" ("H" or "V" polarization, say); then any decision, which had been pre-encoded today, could be actualized tomorrow, without violating Causality. For, the decision selected, had been possible the entire time. Therefore, could you not imagine, exploiting QE, to manifest instantaneous communication, across vast distances, as long as the communicated information, had been "pre-loaded" into the entangled signal, at time of entanglement-and-transmission ? In simplistic terms, perhaps you could exploit the pluri-potentiality of the "smorgasbord" quantum state, to "pre-command" multiple maneuvers of some remote probe (say); then, that "program of pre-encoded potential commands" could be propagated to the probe; and, hours later (say), the probe receives those signals, briefly becomes entangled with them, and then influenced by them, upon wave function "collapse". As long as you chose "food from the smorgasbord" to "feed the probe", then perhaps you could transmit information to the probe, instantaneously, FTL, from amongst the suite of pre-encoded possible commands ? That would not violate Causality -- what you wound up choosing to do, had been possible, the entire time (like a photon propagating around an entire galaxy, later deciding, in an earth telescope, to "have gone left / right the entire time", per Wheeler's galactic double slit experiment). As the signals were propagating towards the probe, they would "ambiguously embody" both "go forward" and "go backward". Once they reached the probe, perhaps you could then-and-there choose to actualize one or the other command; you would not violate Causality. What you chose to wind up saying, had been possible, for you to have been saying, the entire time. In baseball analogy, you throw a fastball & a curve ball at the probe. Later, you actualize "fastball". Causality would be preserved -- you had been throwing a fastball the entire time. Accepting such pre-defined limitations, perhaps FTL communication, thusly prescribed, might be possible?

In quantum entanglement (QE) experiments, two or more simple quantum systems (fundamental particles, e.g. photons & electrons, q1, q2) are "mingled", into a single composite quantum system (Q), which exists only in an insubstantial "quantum state" of "incorporeal ghostly ambiguity": Q ~ q1(left) q2(right) + q1(right) q2(left) When the composite system undergoes measurement (M), imposed upon it by an external agent (human scientist), the composite system randomly "decides" which substantial "classical state", of "corporeal certainty", to "collapse" into: Q ----> q1(left) q2(right) ("the first photon went left, the second went right") or ----> q1(right) q2(left) ("the first photon went right, the second went left") That "decision" is made randomly, presumably beyond the ability of the external agent to determine. However, imagine replacing one of the simple quantum systems (q) with a complex quantum system: a quantum computer (C) capable of executing decisions, based upon information. The quantum computer could be fabricated (hardware); loaded with appropriate programs (software); entangled with other particles (q) into an "incorporeal ghostly ambiguous" composite, quantum state. The state of the computer -- capable of executing decisions -- would depend upon which decision it executed: Q ~ q(left) C(q went left) + q(right) C(q went right) If the computer could continue to process information in the non-classical, quantum state; then the computer could continue to execute decisions in the non-classical, quantum state. And, any decisions it made, as an internal agent, would determine the fate of the composite system, internally triggering "collapse", into the classical state decided upon by the computer: Q ----> q(left) C(q went left) or ----> q(right) C(q went right) If so, then perhaps the quantum "collapse" process could be controlled, from "inside" the non-classical, quantum state, by suitable quantum computer systems ? If complex, information processing, decision executing computers could be entered into the non-classical, quantum state; then perhaps they would become "internal observers", capable of controlling the "collapse" process, of their own entangled system ?

REVISION Galaxies, from Houjun Mo's afore-cited Galaxy Formation & Evolution, can be plotted upon Figure 9 from Martin Rees' New Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology. i have over-plotted points (yellow stars) for spiral galaxies Malin 1 & MWG, as well as VirgoHI21 (lower left); and (red star) for the super cD galaxy IC 1101 (upper right); as well as (gold bars) lines of constant surface-brightness & mass-to-light ratio; as well as (steep gold lines) lines of constant luminosity. Again, surface-brightnesses, and light-to-mass ratios (!), are lower, for the higher lines. Inexpertly, LSB galaxies reside, like Malin 1, near the critical "transition region", on the (R,M) plane, between "slow" quasi-static collapse, and "fast" free-fall collapse. Indeed, LSB galaxies are dynamically young, as if they have not long resided in the "fast" collapse region. Perhaps LSB galaxies represent the largest-possible systems, to have reached the "threshold" of collapse, in the finite age of our universe ? If so, then there would presumably be a minimum surface-brightness, below which no galaxies would be observed. From the figure (recalling that Malin 1 is 20x larger, and so 400x lower surface-brightness, than our MWG), objects located near the large question-mark ("?") would have: luminosities about 103-4x lower; surface-brightnesses about 1010x lower; radii about 102x larger; than our MWG. Such systems would have only ~103 stars per MWG-sized patch of galactic disk; and so would have only ~107 stars in total, comparable to a large Globular Cluster, "salted" across a "platter" as big as Malin 1. Thus, they would resemble super-sized versions of VirgoHI21, to whom they would have comparable mass. (Perhaps LSB systems could become disrupted [see below], and evolve back "up and out" of the "collapse region", to yet-lower surface-brightness? But, against that, LSB galaxies tend to be isolated.) Note, super cD galaxies, like IC 1101, reside, on the (R,M) plane, outside of the region associated with gravitational collapse. Those super-large cD galaxies, deriving from numerous mergers & galactic cannibalism, have plausibly thereby evolved "up and out" of the collapse region. Perhaps all galaxies, that similarly so reside, outside of the "collapse region" on the (R,M) plane, must necessarily have had a "heavily harassed history", and cannot be primordial objects on "first collapse" ?? Note, the largest regular E galaxies already "bump up against" the critical region, in the (R,M) plane, representing the onset of gravitational instability & collapse. So, theory can explain the observed lacked of larger "natural primordial" E galaxies. Prima facie, to date, humans on earth have only detected those natural galactic objects that are "small & bright". Larger & diffuser systems, like Malin 1, push the capacity of current space-survey equipment.

Galaxies, from Houjun Mo's afore-cited Galaxy Formation & Evolution, can be plotted upon Figure 9 from Martin Rees' New Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology. i have over-plotted points (yellow stars) for spiral galaxies Malin 1 & MWG, as well as VirgoHI21 (lower left); and (red stars) for the cD galaxies IC 1101 & M87 (upper right); as well as (gold bars) lines of constant surface-brightness & mass-to-light ratio; as well as (steep gold lines) lines of constant luminosity. Again, surface-brightnesses, and light-to-mass ratios (!), are lower, for the higher lines. Inexpertly, LSB galaxies reside, like Malin 1, near the critical "transition region", on the (R,M) plane, between "slow" quasi-static collapse, and "fast" free-fall collapse. Indeed, LSB galaxies are dynamically young, as if they have not long resided in the "fast" collapse region. Perhaps LSB galaxies represent the largest-possible systems, to have reached the "threshold" of collapse, in the finite age of our universe ? If so, then there would presumably be a minimum surface-brightness, below which no galaxies would be observed. From the figure, objects located near the large question-mark ("?") would have: luminosities about 103x lower; surface-brightnesses about 108x lower; radii about 102x larger; than our MWG. (Perhaps LSB systems could become disrupted [see below], and evolve back "up and out" of the "collapse region", to yet-lower surface-brightness? But, against that, LSB galaxies tend to be isolated.) Note that the latter reside, on the (R,M) plane, outside of the region associated with gravitational collapse. Those super-large cD galaxies, deriving from numerous mergers & galactic cannibalism, have plausibly thereby evolved "up and out" of the collapse region. Perhaps all galaxies, that similarly so reside, outside of the "collapse region" on the (R,M) plane, must necessarily have had a "heavily harassed history", and cannot be primordial objects on "first collapse" ??

Faber-Jackson (spheroidals) & Tully-Fisher (disks) if [math]L \propto \Delta v^4[/math] [math]\propto \left( \frac{G M}{R} \right)^2 [/math] [math]\therefore L \propto \left( \frac{M}{R} \right)^2[/math] then (dividing by R2) [math]\frac{L}{R^2} \propto \left( \frac{M}{R^2} \right)^2[/math] [math]\therefore I \propto \sigma^2[/math] relating the surface brightness (I) to the square of the surface density ([math]\sigma[/math]). i understand that relation to be the crucial core of the FJ/TF relations, linking light-generation & star-formation (I) to physical characteristics of galaxies (M,R). The fact that star-formation increases with the square of the disk density underlies the TF relation for disk-galaxies. Something similar occurs for spheroidals. Note too [math]L \propto \left( \frac{M}{R} \right)^2 \propto \left( \frac{M}{L} \right)^2 \left( \frac{L}{R^2} \right) L[/math] [math]L \propto \Upsilon^2 I L[/math] [math]I \propto \Upsilon^{-2}[/math] the contours of constant surface-brightness and mass-to-light ratio have the form M ~ R2; the contours of constant total luminosity have the form M ~ R. These lines can be plotted on the (M,R) plane; and the positions of various galaxy types can be over-plotted, adapting from the figure from Galaxy Formation & Evolution: Given the correlation between Irregulars evolving into Spirals (Ir --> S), perhaps the presence of large, luminous (high L), but dim (low I), spiral-type LSB galaxies, e.g. Malin 1, implies the presence of a corresponding class of irregular-type LSBs ? Because LSB are "crouching giants", lurking below the ambient background sky surface-brightness, pattern recognition techniques may only extract "nice neat spirals" from the noise. But, even as conventional Irregulars disk down into Spirals, perhaps there exist large but dim LSB Irregulars slowly disking down into LSB Spirals like Malin 1 ??

what about Mag-Lev for freight trains ? Perhaps electro-magnetic forces could "carry" larger loads, more energy efficiently, e.g. "you could recoup your energy costs, whilst the train decelerates" ? Mag-Lev technology resembles "rail-guns" & "mass-drivers"; ergo development of super-heavy-payload Mag-Lev freight-trains could help develop "mass-drivers", to accelerate super-heavy-payloads, e.g. space-factories, to orbital velocities, for economic exploitation, of space: theoretically, earth-orbiting "EM wiffle-ball-scoops" could "catch" and decelerate moon-launched payloads. Hypothetical earth-launched Mag-Lev "cargo vehicles" would resemble space-shuttles, which would release payloads in orbit, before gliding back down to earth:

According to the Law of Bio-Complexity, life evolves increasing complexity (forward in time). Ergo, early earth life was simpler (life devolves to decreasing complexity backwards in time). Now, the most complex non-biological (organic, carbon-based) chemistry, occurs in "bio-tars", black-brown organic goos, composed of carbonaceous compounds constantly chemically reacting (McFadden. Quantum Evolution). Given sufficient quantities of "goo", and sufficient time to chemically react, bio-tars become "Belsteins" (to quote Prof. Urey), i.e. they come to contain essentially every conceivable organic chemical (even if in trace amounts), indiscriminately interacting, via every conceivable organic chemical reaction (even if slowly) (Deamer. First Life). Ipso facto, bio-tar "reaction networks" grow over time, given sufficient quantities & times, e.g. "trillions of tons for millions of years", according to "combinatorial chemistry", e.g. B --> C --> A in the following figure: A sufficiently robust reaction network would contain all bio-chemicals (e.g. 20 amino-acids, 5 nucleo-bases, etc.); and all bio-chemical reactions, i.e. all metabolic pathways. Ergo, sufficiently "cooked" bio-tars contain "trace bio-chemistry", "mired" amidst myriad other non-biological organic chemistries ? So, as Genes patterned Proteins, which "Enzymes" catalyzed more-and-more, of the bio-chemical pathways, an entire "bio-chemical system" could "emerge" from amidst they myriad competing organic chemistries, gradually out-competing them, and gradually incorporating all the carbon in the bio-tar ? I.e. the robust reaction-network would "pare & prune down", until the "tangled web" streamlined into a "few major thoroughfares" (or, "a few major 'vines', amidst the 'tangled mass of ivy', grew thick & fat, whilst the others withered away") ? I.e. what we humans identify, as special, i.e. "biological", organic chemistry, is merely the "most successful" organic chemistry, to have occurred, upon our planet (the "Microsoft Monopoly" to have emerged from the "organic bio-tar marketplace"), having evolved self-catalyzing Enzymes, that accelerate bio-organic-chemistry, to occur, considerably more quickly, than non-catalyzed natural organic-chemistry ?

are you denying, that NRPs, are assembled, by NRP-Ss, which are themselves gene-encoded Proteins, assembled on Ribosomes ?

Today, after four billion years of losing competition to Ribosomes, extra-Ribosomal Proteins (NRPs) are limited to the "molecular margins" of bio-chemistry, i.e. "secondary metabolites". But, the "relic remnants" of the NRP system, seen today, are (plausibly) a "dim echo" of the original system -- many of whose functions were replaced, by Ribosomally-generated Proteins, over the aeons. I.e. some Ribosomal Proteins, today, (plausibly) perform the functions that, 4Gya, NRPs performed (less well). The "earlier form of peptide synthesis [which] must have existed" was referenced, in passing, as the "Non-Ribosomal Protein" (NRP) system. Wikipedia has an entry on the topic, which I cited. Ipso facto, the article implies: an archaic NRP system existed >4Gya NRPs are assembled from NRP-S, which today are standard gene-encoded, Ribosomally-assembled, Proteins i.e., today, w.h.t.: DNA ---> Ribosomes ---> NRP-S ---> NRP ergo, archaically, w.h.t.: proto-ribosomes ---> NRP-S ---> NRP Prima facie, implied proto-Ribosomes were "proto-Genes", composed of fragile RNA, augmented by Protein scaffolding for molecular structural support; numerous such (RNA+P) existed (originally individually, later conglomerating into multi-gene complexes), coding for numerous NRP-S/NRP molecules; with the evolution, of DNA, Genes were "backed up" onto superior DNA, and the (RNA+P) complexes remained, only to translate between DNA vs. Proteins; many NRP-S/NRP pathways were superceded, over the aeons, DNA ---> Ribosomes ---> NRP-S ---> NRP ........................\------> Protein until today only a few "molecular fossils" remain. could you recover the source you mentioned, or anything on NRPs (the Wikipedia article discusses only a single class of NRPs).

many asteroids are "carbonaceous", i.e. rich in carbon. Ergo, "carbonaceous" materials already exist, in situ, at least in the main asteroid belt. And, would not silicon work well, too (to form SiO2)? Silicon is perhaps the most common element in asteroids. perhaps "nuclear broilers" are buildable, using "hot-running fission cores" as "light-bulb-elements", backed by a reflective shield, like a "nuclear-bulb flash-light": heat radiation, from the fission cores, would be radiated onto, and reflected back onto, space-ores in the "hopper" or "crucible" below (per artificial gravity).

fission could heat a crucible, in which space-ores could be deposited, and melted. i did not mean to suggest, "packing" space-ores around fissionable materials, and allowing the lot to "melt down" into a single radioactive magma. fission energy, not chemical energy, could heat & melt space-ores. Presumably, such "nuclear crucibles" would require artificial gravity, e.g. "spinning ring-shaped space factories", in order to separate slag & metal. if helpful, artificial gravity could exceed 1G.