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
Like carbon, silicon has 4 electrons in its outer shell meaning it can form 4 separate chemical bonds. Very few elements can do this and if you wanna make the complex molecules that constitute biology, it helps to have a connector as good as carbon or silicon.
Think about a LEGO that has one dot on the top and one socket on the bottom. You can’t do much with that other than build a narrow tower. But if you can connect to other legos in four different places at the same time, you can build complicated stuff.
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