In 1953, Stanley Miller performed a classic experiment in which he passed an electric discharge through a vessel containing a mixture of water, methane and ammonia. The experiment was intended to investigate the effects of electric currents passing through the atmosphere of the early Earth. At the end of his experiment, Miller found many organic compounds in the vessel. Other scientists have disagreed with Miller’s choice of model atmosphere, but the results were unarguably dramatic.
Water methane amonia
