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Venus and Hydrocarbons

Immanuel Velikovsky

In 1950, I offered the thesis that Venus joined the planetary family = less=20 than 3500 years ago, and that it is still a protoplanet. In doing so, I = claimed=20 that Venus possesses a massive atmosphere, a high surface heat, abnormal = (disturbed) rotation, and hydrocarbon gases in its atmosphere (1).

Plummer's Test. In the March 14, 1969, issue of Science, = W.=20 T. Plummer undertook to examine the last of these claims. He compared = the=20 reflection spectrum of Venus with those of a cloud of pure propane = droplets and=20 a frost of pure solid butane particles, selecting these compounds from a = number=20 of representative hydrocarbons. He chose the 2.1 to 2.5 micron range in = the=20 infrared as best suited for the analysis. He concluded that, whereas a = certain=20 feature of reduced reflectivity apparent in the hydrocarbons tested is = regularly=20 found between 2.3 and 2.5 microns, its position varying with molecular=20 structure, a similar feature is not present or, more correctly, not = present in=20 the same degree, in the infrared spectra of Venus obtained by Sinton = (1962),=20 Moroz (1964) and Bottema et al. (1964). "The presence of = condensed=20 hydrocarbons in the clouds of Venus, a prediction regarded by Velikovsky = as a=20 crucial test of his concept of the development of the solar system, is = not=20 supported by the spectrophotometric evidence. On the other hand, Venus=20 observations in this wavelength range and at other wavelengths are = entirely=20 compatible with the reflection spectrum of a non-infinite cloud layer = composed=20 of very small or slender ice particles."

Plummer's verdict is not conclusive, however. First, it is based upon = three=20 incorrect assumptions: (a) that I stipulated that hydrocarbons are = present in=20 condensed form (producing a reflection spectrum); (b) that I = located=20 them in the upper (reflecting) layer of the clouds; and (c), = following=20 from Plummer's comparison, that I maintained that they are the sole = constituent=20 of the clouds. In my original statement (2), however, I made it clear = that=20 polymerized and therefore heavy molecules of petroleum hydrocarbons are = not=20 necessarily present in the upper layer of the dense atmosphere; that in = the=20 lower levels, because of heat, they must circulate in gaseous form; and = that=20 they are not the only components of the clouds. Second, Plummer's = conclusion=20 neglects some important considerations:

(a) Depressions in the reflectivity of Venus near 2.4 microns have = been=20 detected. Both Sinton and Moroz identified a depression in the = reflectivity of=20 Venus at 2.35 microns, but ascribed it to CO. Of another depression = feature at=20 2.28 microns, Moroz wrote: "Its nature is not clear yet" (3). Connes = et al.=20 confirmed the band at 2.35 Microns and identified one at 2.48 = microns as=20 due to HF. (b) The general depression in reflectivity between 2.3 and = 2.5=20 microns in the spectra of Venus obtained by Sinton, by Moroz, and by = Bottema=20 et al. permits a conclusion only as to the upper limit for=20 hydrocarbons' concentration in Venus' atmosphere (4).

In a composite atmosphere of CO₂ and H₂0, = hydrocarbon=20 gases would not show well in the 2.1 to 2.5 micron range. Pollack and = Sagan=20 wrote (1968): "We no longer consider the region between 1 and 3 microns=20 sufficiently well defined to permit a definite compositional analysis" = of Venus'=20 atmosphere (5). (c) The 1.0 atmosphere of pressure in the laboratory = experiment=20 and the 0.3 atmospheres inside the absorbing layer for the 1 to 2.5 = micron=20 wavelength on Venus (J. and P. Connes) represent different = conditions.

(d) Kuiper observed that in the 1 to 2.5 micron range, strong bands = are=20 stronger in the laboratory than in Venus' spectrum, while the reverse is = true=20 for the weaker bands (6). Finally, (e) it should be borne in mind that = bright=20 lines of emission from molecules in the hot low atmosphere of Venus = could mask=20 some of the loss in brightness due to the presence of similar molecules = in the=20 reflecting layer of the clouds.

Plummer's conclusion regarding the possible presence of ice crystals = in the=20 atmosphere of Venus is unsound. (a) It contradicts the refractive index = of the=20 clouds, which is definitely higher than that of ice or water (1.33) (7), = whereas=20 quite a few hydrocarbons exhibit the observed refractive index; (b) it = does not=20 explain the yellowish color of the clouds; whereas organic substances of = the=20 benzenoid or olefinic type absorb in violet and thus have a yellowish = tint; and=20 (c), it is incompatible with the very small amount of water vapor in the = region=20 above the clouds--the mixing ratio H₂O/CO₂ being = 15 parts=20 per million (Belton and Hunter) or only one part per million (Kuiper) = (8).

Evidence of Hydrocarbons Lies Deep in Infrared. As I = clearly=20 stated in 1950, the evidence of the presence of hydrocarbons and their=20 derivatives in the atmosphere of Venus should be sought deeper in the = infrared.=20 The infrared absorption of hydrocarbons is pronounced in the 3.4 to 3.5 = micron=20 range and in several other ranges of longer wavelengths. The 8 to 12 = micron=20 region is especially suited for tracing hydrocarbons and their = derivatives, for=20 between 8 and 13 microns carbon dioxide absorbs only slightly and water = vapor=20 absorbs not at all (9). Actually, wide and strongly expressed bands were = observed in the infrared spectrum of Venus in the 3.5 micron range = (starting at=20 2.8 and continuing past 3.8) and again in the 8 to 13 micron region. = "The=20 substance responsible for this absorption--it is not H₂O--has = not=20 been identified so far, but its importance in the physics of Venus is = enormous"=20 (Moroz, 1963) (3). Gillett, Low, and Stein also observed these sharply = expressed=20 bands in Venus' atmosphere and wrote (1968): "We do not attempt an=20 interpretation of the spectra at this time. However, it should be noted = that two=20 fundamental problems are now apparent: 1) What mechanism accounts for = the strong=20 absorption of sunlight in the 3 to 5 micron region? 2) What property of = the=20 clouds causes the low brightness temperature between 8 and 10 microns?"=20 (10).

The solution to the problem of the strongly expressed bands at 3.5 = microns=20 and 8 to 13 microns in the infrared spectrum of Venus should be sought = in the=20 presence of organic molecules. "It is well known that organic molecules=20 containing C-H bands give characteristic spectra in the wavelength = region of 3.4=20 to 3.5 microns" wrote Glasstone (concerning Mars) (11). "The infrared = spectrum=20 should receive more attention, particularly the region from 8 to 14 = microns=20 where some of these substances (benzene and several other substituted=20 hydrocarbons as well as some purines and pyramidines) and their = derivatives=20 exhibit absorptions," wrote Owen and Greenspan (concerning Jupiter) = (12). "In=20 the 8 to 14 micron spectral interval carbon dioxide appears to = contribute about=20 20-35% of the opacity and a particulate medium presumably contributes = the=20 remainder."

Processes Occurring on Venus Which Must Be Taken Into = Account.=20 In the hot and oxidizing atmosphere of Venus, chemical reactions = must be=20 occurring. Mueller writing on the "Origin of the Atmosphere of Venus" = referred=20 to the "instabilities of the hydrocarbon compounds in an anhydrous, = oxidizing=20 hot environment" (13). I assume that (a) in the lower, high pressure = layers, a=20 cracking of most hydrocarbons to hydrogen and smaller CH units is = occurring,=20 which may be polymerizing to give aromatic hydrocarbons of higher and = higher=20 molecular weight; (b) in the middle layers, hydrocarbons are being = converted=20 into CO₂ and H₂O ("If there is oxygen on Venus, = petroleum=20 fires must be burning there") (1); and (c) in the higher layers, water = is being=20 dissociated by the ultraviolet rays of the sun, with H = escaping--actually=20 hydrogen has been observed in Venus' upper atmosphere. Whereas Venus' = atmosphere=20 is oxidizing, its upper atmosphere is reducing--a fact which when first=20 discovered, seemed surprising (14). This also explains why only a small = quantity=20 of water is present in transition between

the two reactions.

Another process possibly occurring on Venus is a bacterial = transformation of=20 hydrocarbons into carbohydrates and proteins (previously discussed by me = in=20 1951, prior to the conversion of asphalt into food products by a similar = action.) (a) In the ultraviolet wave length of 2600 angstroms, a narrow = band=20 attributed to organic material was identified on Jupiter by Stecher = (1965) (15)=20 and confirmed by Evans (1966) (16). It was surmised to be aromatic = hydrocarbons=20 by Greenspan and Owens (12). (b) At the same wave length a similar = feature was=20 detected on Venus by Evans and confirmed by Jenkins et al. = (1967).

In 1950, I suggested that polymerized hydrocarbons could be created = by=20 electrical discharges in an atmosphere of methane and ammonia (known = ingredients=20 of Jupiter's atmosphere) (1). In 1960, A. T. Wilson successfully = conducted such=20 an experiment (17). This process may have occurred on Venus.

Finally, the envelope of Venus may well contain some ferruginous = particles=20 and ash. The "small dust like ashes of the furnace" which fell "in all = the land=20 of Egypt" (Exodus 9:8) and throughout the globe is, I surmise, still = preserved=20 at the bottom of the ocean. Called Worzel Ash after its discoverer, its = even=20 distribution was attributed by him to a "fiery end of bodies of cosmic = origin"=20 and by Ewing "to a cometary collision." "It could hardly be without some = recorded consequences of global extent" (Ewing) (18). A reflection = spectrum of=20 Worzel Ash should be compared with the reflection spectrum of Venus' = clouds.

Original Thesis is Consistent with Evidence. Although my claim = regarding the presence of organic molecules in the atmosphere of Venus = awaits=20 future testing, my thesis concerning the recent origin and history of = Venus is=20 consistent with the discovered data.

(a) Venus is very hot (about 1000=B0 F).

(b) Its heat comes from the subsurface (there being no phase effect = at=20 various wavelengths) (19).

(d) It rotates anomalously (retrogradely).

(e) In rotating, it turns the same face to the Earth at every = inferior=20 conjunction. This "resonance effect" could indicate that Venus passed = near the=20 Earth at some point in the past.

(f) Its axis of rotation is perpendicular to the ecliptic, not to the = plane=20 of its own revolution (21).

(g) Its atmosphere rotates at many times the rotational velocity of = the=20 planet (22). (In my opinion, the protoplanet's trailing part, upon being = absorbed, preserved some of its rotational momentum.)

(h) Its orbit is nearly circular. (Venus is hot enough now to have = many=20 metals on its surface in a molten state; in my opinion, its body was all = molten=20 or plastic not so long ago. Approaching the sun on an elliptical orbit, = as I=20 have claimed that it did as a protoplanet, it had some of its energy of = motion=20 converted by tidal friction into heat. This tended 1) to keep the body = plastic=20 or molten and 2) to decrease the elongation of its orbit with each = passage=20 around the sun, thereby minimizing the energy loss from tidal friction = and=20 resulting in an almost circular orbit (23).

(i) Even on a near circular orbit, Venus may possess ground tides in = its=20 molten crust. The claim by Soviet scientists, based upon data obtained = by Venera=20 V and VI, that there are high mountains on Venus was met with disbelief = by=20 American scientists, who could not visualize how plastic rock could = sustain=20 mountains. Would ground tides explain 1) the difference in altitude = measurements=20 of the two Venera probes, which reached the planet's atmosphere 185 = miles'=20 apart? 2) the observed precession and lateness of the optical = dichotomy--the=20 terminator does not bisect the planetary disc at exactly Eastern and = Western=20 elongations?

Lastly, (j) it must be noticeably cooling. In 1967, I offered this = additional=20 crucial test of my thesis: Venus' heat being of recent origin, the = planet must=20 be cooling off (24). This loss could be determined by taking repeated=20 measurements of the cloud surface temperature with a bolometer or = thermocouples=20 and would be observable from one synodic period of Venus to the = next--"even if=20 in only fractions of a degree." Since then, Gillett, Low, and Stein = compared=20 their 1968 absolute spectrum of Venus with earlier spectral work of = Sinton and=20 Strong (1960) "which gave somewhat higher surface brightness." They = added, "the=20 reasons for this disagreement are not understood at present" (10). It = appears=20 that in eight years (five synodical periods), the cloud surface = temperature of=20 Venus dropped by several degrees.

REFERENCES

1. I. Velikovsky, "Gases of Venus" and "Thermal = Balance=20 of Venus" in Worlds in Collision (New York: Macmillan = 1950,=20 Doubleday 1950).
2. "Carbon dioxide is an ingredient of Venus' = atmosphere ...=20 On the basis of this research, I assume that Venus must be rich in = petroleum=20 gases. If and as long as Venus is too hot for the liquefaction of = petroleum, the=20 hydrocarbons will circulate in gaseous form. The absorption lines of the = petroleum spectrum lie far in the infrared where usual photographs do = not reach.=20 When the technique of photography in the infrared is perfected so that=20 hydrocarbon bands can be differentiated, the spectrogram of Venus may = disclose=20 the presence of hydrocarbon gases in its atmosphere, if these gases lie = in the=20 upper part of the atmosphere where the rays of the sun penetrate." = Ibid.
3.=20 V. I. Moroz, "The Infrared Spectra of Mars and Venus" in Life = Science and=20 Space Research, vol. 2, 4th International Space Science = Symposium,=20 1963 (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company, 1964), pp. = 230-37.
4. W.=20 T. Plummer, "Venus Clouds: Test for Hydrocarbons" Science 163 = (14 March=20 1969): 1191-92.
5. J. B. Pollack and C. Sagan, Journal of=20 Geophysical Research 73: 5945.
6. P. Swings, "Venus through = a=20 Spectroscope," Proceedings of the American Philosophical = Society, vol.=20 113, no. 3 (June, 1969): 229-46.
7. A. Arking and J. Potter, "The = Phase Curve=20 of Venus and the Nature of Its Clouds," Journal of Atmospheric = Research,=20 vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 617-28.
8. G. Kuiper, Communications of = the=20 Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, = 1968.
9.=20 H. M. Randall, R. G. Fowler, N. Fuson and J. R. Dangle, Infrared=20 Determination of Organic Compounds, (Van Nostrand, 1949), = pp.=20 46-65 and chart following P. 20; F. F. Bentley, L. D. Smithson, A. L. = Rozek,=20 Infrared Spectra (Interscience Publishers, 1968), pp. = 21-28,=20 65-71.
10. F. C. Gillett, F. J. Low and W. A. Stein, "Absolute = Spectrum of=20 Venus from 2.8 to 14 Microns," Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, = vol.=20 25, no. 4 (July, 1968): 594-95.
11. S. Glasstone, The Book of = Mars=20 (NASA, 1968), p. 220.
12. T. Owen and J. A. Greenspan, = Science=20 156 (1967): 1489.
13. R. F. Mueller, Science 163 (21 March=20 1969):3873.
14. T. M. Donahue, "Upper Atmosphere of Venus," = Journal of=20 the Atmospheric Sciences (July, 1968).
15. T. P. Stecher, = Ap. J.=20 142 (1965): 1186.
16. D. C. Evans, NASA Goddard Space Flight = Center=20 Report, X-613-66-172.
17. A. T. Wilson, Nature (6 = October=20 1962).
18. J. L. Worzel, Proceedings, National Academy = of=20 Science 45 (15 March 1959); M. Ewing, Ibid.
19. At 2 cm = wavelength: D.=20 Morrison, Science 163 (1969): 3869; at 4.5 cm: J. R. Dickel, W. = J.=20 Medd, W. W. Warnock, Nature 220 (1968) 1183; at 11 cm: K. I. = Kellerman,=20 Icarus (September, 1966).
20. H. Spencer Jones, Life on = Other=20 Worlds (1952), p. 167; V. A. Firsoff, The Interior = Planets=20 (Oliver & Boyd, 1968), p. 102.
21. P. Goldreich and S. T. = Peale,=20 Nature 209 (1966): 1117; I. I. Shapiro, Science 157 = (1967):=20 423-25; R. B. Dyce et al., Astronomical Journal 72 = (1967):=20 351.
22. B. A. Smith, Science 158 (1967): 114-16.
23. = From a=20 private communication by C. Sherrerd, Clinton, N.J.
24. Yale = Scientific=20 Magazine 41 (April, 1967).

PENSEE Journal VI

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