3 ms·
Doesn’t this essentially prove that if there is life outside earth, almost all of it will be carbon based? As opposed to silicon based.
by octopoc 2y ago
Doesn’t this essentially prove that if there is life outside earth, almost all of it will be carbon based? As opposed to silicon based.
- CuriouslyC 2y agoSulfur and phosphorus can also form complex molecules in addition to silicone. Carbon forms complex molecules in a larger array of chemical environments though. Ultimately everything hinges on how you define life.
- Mistletoe 2y agoSilicon based never really made much sense to me anyway. The bonds it forms are too stable and hard to break apart. https://www.the-ies.org/analysis/does-silicon-based-life-exist https://www.the-ies.org/analysis/does-silicon-based-life-exi...
- alwayslikethis 2y agoGiven the abundance of elements, Carbon-based life with water as liquid is probably the most likely.
- roughly 2y agoRoughly, life is carbon based because carbon has interesting properties for biochemistry and is the cheapest way to make a range of complex molecules. If life somewhere were not to be carbon based, there’d need to be some reason why carbon based life didn’t take off instead.
- dr_dshiv 2y agoSilicon-based life seems pretty likely in the near future