Yes, but these polymers are not in a liquid water environment. At that
temperature, I believe liquid water would be required to be supercritical.
Supercritical water doesn't just break down organics, it usually oxidizes
them to the greatest extent possible, with the exception of Nitrogen due to
the relatively low temperature. I've seen supercritical reactors operating
at 550 C that turned ANY organic material into carbon dioxide, water, and
inorganic salts. It is currently gaining very large favor as a new method
of destroying organic waste, toxic and otherwise.
>> since this is where water goes supercritical, although very few organics
>
>Uh oh, this is a seriously bad customer. Whether sand or gold, it
>dissolves about anything. Many minerals are of geohydrothermal origin.
>Quartz crystals (which are used for computer and clock xtals) are grown
>in autoclaves by a hydrothermal process (specifically: a transport
>reaction in a temperature gradient).
>
>> would survive even to this point (except maybe some halides and a few
>> proteins). Cells require a pretty broad spectrum of organic compounds to
>
>I beg to differ, only the biopolymer stuff. I doubt steroids will notice
>much of it. Just remember the hopanes in microfossils.
>
>> operate, and the number of options decreases rapidly as the temperature
>> increases.
>>
>(A toast of deuterium oxide to that).
HeHe...
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com