How Did Life Start on Earth? One Theory Says Lightning

Chat with Greg Fridman · Oct 31, 2026 · 6m

Did you know plasma may be responsible for the very existence of life on Earth? A viewer asked where reactive oxygen and nitrogen species actually show up in the real world. The answer starts with a 1950s experiment that made me fall in love with plasma, and ends in the mirror.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Plasma may be responsible for life on Earth

00:09 One evolutionary theory, and as a plasma guy, I like it

00:16 A viewer's question: where do reactive oxygen and nitrogen species show up in the real world?

00:38 Short answer: look in the mirror

00:47 Individually they're molecules you can't see

01:06…