Cyanobacteria, as they still exist today, were the first organisms to carry out photosynthesis and release oxygen. Produced in primeval oceans about 2.5 billion years ago, this oxygen accumulated in ...

In oxygen-rich atmospheres, titanium alloys are prone to ignition through a complex interplay of thermal, chemical and microstructural factors. Ignition typically begins when localised heating—arising ...

What we have now is composed of about 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. Our earliest atmosphere was most likely hydrogen and helium. These are both very light gasses and escaped to space. A ...