experiment. Miller–Urey experiment The Miller–Urey experiment sought to recreate the early Earth atmosphere within a laboratory setting to determine the chemical processes that ultimately led to life on Earth. The basis of this experiment was leveraged on Oparin's hypothesis, which assumed that some organic matter could be created from inorganic material given a reduction atmosphere. Using a mixture of water, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen in glass tubes, Miller and Urey replicated the effects of lightning on the mixture using electrodes. At the conclusion of the experiment, as much as 15 percent of the carbon from the mixture formed organic compounds, while 2 percent of the carbon formed amino acids, a necessary element for the building blocks of living organisms. Volcanic lightning on early Earth The actual composition of the atmosphere of the early Earth is an area of great debate. Varying amounts of certain gaseous constituents can greatly impact the overall effect of a particular process, which includes non-biological processes such as the buildup of charge in thunderstorms. It has been argued that volcano-induced lightning in the early stages of Earth's existence, because the volcanic plume was composed of additional "reducing gases", was more effective at stimulating the oxidation of organic material to accelerate the production of life. In the case of volcanic lightning, the lightning discharge almost exclusively occurs directly within the volcanic plume. Since this process occurs fairly close to ground level, it has been suggested that volcanic lightning contributed to the generation of life to a greater extent than lightning produced within clouds that would lower positive or negative charge from a cloud to the ground. Hill (1992) quantified this enhanced contribution by examining estimated hydrogen cyanide (HCN) concentrations from volcanic lightning and "general lightning". Results showed that HCN concentrations for volcanic lightning were an order of magnitude larger than "general lightning". Hydrogen cyanide is yet another compound that has been linked to the generation of life on Earth. However, given that the intensity and amount of volcanic activity during the early stages of Earth's development is not fully understood, hypotheses regarding past volcanic activity (e.g., Hill, 1992) are usually based on present-day observed volcanic activity. Nitrogen fixation and lightning Nitrogen, the most abundant gas in our atmosphere, is crucial for life and a key component to various biological processes. Biologically usable forms of nitrogen, such as nitrates and ammonia, arise via biological and non-biological processes through