Jingszo !

In conclusion, we have demonstrated that water droplets in a spray generate luminescence, which we call microlightning, when they split into smaller droplets in the absence of any external voltage.

This microlightning can excite, dissociate, or ionize the surrounding ground-state molecules, causing chemical reactions to occur in the gas surrounding water microdroplets.

When water microdroplets are surrounded by N2, CH4, CO2, and NH3, we find the same small organic molecules as reported in the classic Miller-Urey experiment and other bulb-discharge experiments studying prebiotic syntheses, which have been postulated to be an important source for making the building blocks of life.

In nature, this microlightning caused by droplet splitting is considered to be common, for example, it frequently occurs in ocean waves and around waterfalls.

On the basis of what we observed in this study, we suggest that this common energy source may provide a route for creating C─N bonds from abiotic gas molecules expected to be present on early Earth.