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In the physical sciences, non-life is an umbrella term set to distinguish or characterize those inanimate chemical precursors found in the primeval soup of the early years of planetary evolution from which life, theoretically, evolved or came into existence. In the classic 1953 Urey-Miller experiment, for example, non-living chemical entities such as water (H₂O), methane (CH₄), ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen (H₂) were electrically stimulated, using sparks as simulating lightning, into forming the various precursors to life, such as hydrogen cyanide, amino acids, simple sugars, etc. These, in time, would theoretically form RNA and DNA, the building blocks of life.

See also

• Origin of life
• Life
• Timeline of evolution
• Inorganic chemistry
• Carbon-based life