So whenever the topic of extra terrestrial life comes around people always mention how they could be way more different than we could predict and rather than being carbon based they could be silicon based. My question is why silicon? What makes it possible to sustain life?
In: Biology
Silicon is very chemically similar to carbon, so if life were to develop centered around a different element silicon is the most likely candidate.
Most likely, but not necessarily particularly likely. Carbon is substantially more abundant in the universe than silicon and involved in many inorganic processes that silicon is not.
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