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Titan, Saturn's biggest moon, has shocked scientists by defying one of the fundamental laws of chemistry. According to a recent study by NASA and Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, materials that ordinarily cannot mix can in fact mix under Titan's frigid climate. This peculiar behavior casts doubt on the adage "like dissolves like" and provides fresh insights into the chemistry of pre-life Earth. The discovery may also help to explain how the elements of life may develop on harsh, frigid worlds that are very different from our own.
Scientists Are Astonished by Titan's Frozen Chemistry as Molecules Disobey the Fundamental Laws of Nature
Scientists found that methane, ethane, and hydrogen cyanide—all of which are plentiful on Titan's surface and in its dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere—can interact in ways that were previously believed to be impossible, according to a new study published in PNAS. On Titan's chilly surface, which acts quite differently chemically than terra firma, the polar and nonpolar molecules would remain in a stable crystalline form, according to research by Martin Rahm of Chalmers University and colleagues.
Laser spectroscopy was used to conduct low-temperature (77 K) CODH tests on HCN mixtures containing CH4 and C2H6 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). JPL assisted in the data interpretation with Rahm's team. They discovered that hydrocarbon molecules may penetrate the crystal lattice of hydrogen cyanide and form stable novel compounds as a result.
The peculiarity of nature in a unique environment will present a fresh approach to studying Titan's atmosphere and geology, and it could even shed light on primordial chemistry on other cold, extraterrestrial worlds.
The goal of NASA's Dragonfly mission, which is scheduled to land on Titan in 2034, is to establish that life can survive there even in the coldest environments known to man by demonstrating primordial chemistry and hydrogen cyanide dynamics.
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