Pioneering physicist Thomas Gold explores the likelihood of a subterranean biosphere, one that exists in a gaseous atmosphere at a very high temperature and pressure, and survives on chemical energy--hydrocarbons. This stunning book offers new insights into the origins of life, the origins of natural gas and petroleum, and the distribution of life in the universe.
Foreword by Freeman Dyson; (1) Our Garden of Eden; (2) Life at the Borders; (3) The Deep-Earth Gas Theory; (4) Evidence for Deep-Earth Gas; (5) Resolviong the Petroleum Paradox; (6) The Siljan Experiment; (7) Extending the Theory; (8) Rethinking Earthquakes; (9) The Origin of Life; (10) What Next? // Notes // Acknowledgments // Index