Life Without Water: Warm Salty Worlds ⚡ экспресс
The discovery of thousands of exoplanets and atmospheric analysis methods has fueled the search for habitable worlds, yet many candidates are dismissed due to high temperatures that rule out liquid water. This study shows that on such planets, life could use ionic liquids — salts with extremely low vapor pressure that can persist on warm planets with thin atmospheres. Laboratory experiments demonstrate the formation of ionic liquids from the reaction of sulfuric acid (volcanic in origin) with nitrogen-bearing organic compounds commonly found on planetary bodies. The necessary conditions: a water-depleted surface, brief presence of liquid sulfuric acid to dissolve organics, followed by evaporation of excess liquid — matching conditions from ~300 K at 10^-7 atm to 350–470 K at 0.01 atm. Negligible vapor pressure lets droplets and puddles of ionic liquids persist without large reservoirs; at room temperature, they might even exist on planets with a negligible atmospheric layer, given protection from cosmic radiation.
On a hot frying pan, water sizzles and vanishes in an instant, while a thick salty paste remains pooled. That same stubborn liquid—molten salt—could be the basis of life on hot planets where water boiled away long ago. These ionic liquids don’t dry out in heat up to 200°C and can persist for centuries.
In the lab, this ‘liquid salt’ was made from sulfuric acid (volcanic emissions) and organic gunk based on carbon. The mixture was heated, the acid dissolved the organics, and after evaporation a thick, stable liquid remained. The process works even at 27°C—a hot day’s temperature.
This medium dissolves enzymes and speeds up biochemical reactions. So life might lurk not only in watery worlds, but also on dry, scorching planets where the chemistry of ionic liquids simmers in craters.
🎯 You can make liquid salt for biochemistry in just a few days from volcanic acid and carbon-rich gunk—common ingredients on many planets.