4 ms·
> SiH4 (silane) is an unstable, pyrophoric (spontaneously ignites in air) I'm no chemist, and I buy the line of reasoning that Carbon is by far the most likely
by burke 10y ago
> SiH4 (silane) is an unstable, pyrophoric (spontaneously ignites in air)
I'm no chemist, and I buy the line of reasoning that Carbon is by far the most likely substrate for life, but this statement seems to assume an oxygen-rich atmosphere. That's another assumption that could, in theory I guess, be invalid.
- refurb 10y agoThat's a good point, but another thing to consider is what the pyrophoric nature of silane indicates - highly unstable molecule. Even in an oxygen-free atmosphere, silicon hydrides just aren't that stable.
- colordrops 10y agoWhy would silane be such an important factor in silicon based life?
- rocqua 10y agoThe point made is the silicon-hydrogen bonds are much weaker than carbon hydrogen bonds. This seems to, at the very least, discount silicon as a drop-in replacement for carbon.
- colordrops 10y agoSo do we expect AGIs to be built on architectures that require silicon hydrogen bonds?