Eli5: What’s so special with oxygen that every living being users it and not other gas?
In: Biology
Fluorine is too reactive (everything), nitrogen is too inert (needs a lightning bolt to change from its gas form). Plenty of things ‘breath’ nitrogen, but they’re pretty small. Oxygen is happy as a gas, but will react with minimal energy input. It’s just how the valence electrons worked out, if it was any other way, something else would have evolved. Phosphorus is a fun mental exercise!
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