Problem: The three fundamental kinds of polymers that constitute life are proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides. ALL three of them are thermodynamically unstable in water; that is, they spontaneously DE-POLYMERIZE, they do NOT polymerize. Hence, a solution containing monomers of amino acids, nucleotides, and simple sugars will NOT form polymers. This suggests that life cannot self-organize.

Solution: Polyphosphate has two properties which make it the perfect catalyst for originating life out of non-living monomers.

1. Polyphosphate spontaneously removes water from adjacent amino acids, nucleotides, and simple sugars to form polymers (condensation reaction); the polyphosphate turning into monophosphate.

2. Polyphosphate is spontaneously formed from monophosphate in the presence of ultraviolet light.

Hence, the original ocean would become a huge vessel for formation of proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides and combinations of them and was the perfect place for life to originate.

Tidal pools are not an option, since the Moon was 1/6 the current distance from the Earth at the time life originated. Tides are proportional to the inverse third power of distance, so tides in the early ocean must have been circa 6*6*^ = 216 times as high as today, a veritable permanent tsunami. On the plus side, the early ocean would have been VERY thoroughly mixed bringing all possible reactants into contact with one another.

DFM