Breathing Test

Pyrolytic-release experiment

Lifing things should breathe. That is, they take in gasses from the air and incorporate it into their bodies.

Use radioactive labelling:

• Some elements have a radioactive form.
• The radioactive form is the came chemically as the ordinary nonradioactive form.
• But the radioactive form decays (with a certain half life.)
• The decay can be detected because high energy particles are emitted.
• Example: C^14. Lets call it C*.

The experiment:

1. Get some regolith.
2. Put it in an atmosphere with C*O_2 and C*O.
3. Supply some (artificial) sunlight.
4. The life forms incorporate C* into the proteins (or whatever) in their bodies.
5. Let the regolith sit for a while in plain CO_2.
6. Heat it to vaporize the life forms.
7. Look in the gas given off for C* decays.

Control experiment:

1. Get some regolith.
2. Sterilize it with high heat.
3. Put it in an atmosphere with C*O_2 and C*O.
4. Supply some (artificial) sunlight.
5. The life forms are dead and do not incorporate C* into their bodies.
6. Let the regolith sit for a while in plain CO_2.
7. Heat it to vaporize the life forms.
8. Look in the gas given off for C* decays.

Result: Some C* seen in the experiment, but some (although less) was also seen in the control experiment.

So the result was rather inconclusive. It appears that the regolith is just chemically reactive.