Could extraterrestrial life be other than carbon based?
Much science-fiction focuses on silicon-based life. The advantages of silicon are obvious; like carbon, its atoms form four bonds and can be found in a staggering array of compounds. However, the potential complexity of silicon compounds doesn’t necessarily make silicon a natural choice to be the basis of life. You couldn’t magically swap all of your carbon atoms for silicon atoms and expect to live very long. The reason is that much of our metabolism relies on the unique energetic properties of carbon compounds. Silicon-based compounds would have their own unique set of energetic properties. If life were built around silicon, it would be a complete redesign. Their metabolic pathways would be STRIKINGLY different from our own. This is because, despite their similarities, carbon and silicon have some very fundamental differences in the sizes and organization of their electron clouds. www.cmste.uncc.edu/new/papers/Can%20Si… This link opens a .doc file. Could extraterrestrial life be base
