Physikalisches Kolloquium
Jan. 8, 2013 at
5 p.m. c.t.
in
Hörsaal des Instituts für Kernphysik, Becherweg 45
Prof. Dr. Hans Jockers
Institut für Physik
jockers@uni-mainz.de
Prof. Dr. Concettina Sfienti
Institut für Kernphysik
sfienti@uni-mainz.de
The many conditions for life on the planets
Prof. Dr. André Maeder (Geneva University, Switzerland)
The conditions for life on the planets are numerous and of different kinds: astronomical, geophysical, climatological, biological and even sociological. We review recent results concerning some of them, e.g. the habitable zone around stars, the case of M dwarfs, the dynamical properties of planets, the thermostatic role of the CO2 cycle, etc. Paradoxically, it is the lack of CO2 which will bring the end of life on Earth. Is the role of contingencies (randomness) more important than that of convergences in evolution ? Is intelligence favoured by Darwinian selection ? What is the lifetime of a species and of a civilisation ?