Hey guys! Have you ever thought that in this vast universe, in addition to our group of carbon-based creatures, there may be other strange life forms? For example, silicon-based life that has been appearing in the brains of scientists?!
Doesn't that sound sci-fi? But don't be in a hurry to scoff at it! Some scientists swear that silicon-based life has always existed quietly in the universe, and it may be a life form even higher than that of our humans! What kind of fairy operation is this? Let's find out!
First, let's review how our carbon-based organisms came to be. Imagine a huge disk of matter swirling around the galaxy in the distant past, and suddenly, boom! The sun was born, and the remaining scum became planets and small celestial bodies, including our mother earth.
What follows is a vigorous interstellar bowling game, where various asteroids bombard the Earth in turn, bringing with them a lot of water and organic molecules. At this time, there are already various elements on the earth, but carbon stands out from the crowd and has become a courtesan in the molecular world.
This carbon element is amazing, it has 4 free electrons, just like an octopus, and can hook up with other elements. In the melting pot of primordial oceans, carbon began its chemical reactions, eventually forming the basic macromolecules of life.
And so, 3.7 billion years ago, the first cellular life was born! Since then, carbon-based life has begun its evolutionary journey, from single-celled organisms to fighting monsters and upgrading, and finally giving birth to our group of human beings who claim to be the spirits of all things.
However, intelligent humans are not willing to be only representatives of carbon-based life. We begin to wonder: Could there be a higher form of life in the universe?
Thus, the concept of silicon-based life came into being. Why silicon? Because silicon and carbon are cousins! They all belong to the fourth main group of the periodic table and can theoretically also form complex macromolecules.
Interestingly, as early as 1891, some scholars proposed the hypothesis of silicon-based life. Imagine if the planetary environment were a little different, maybe silicon-based life would be born and evolved first!
But don't get too excited. Although on a cosmic scale, advanced intelligent life should be as common as Malatang on the street, it seems that our carbon-based life is still the most powerful existence on Earth. However, this does not prevent us from continuing to imagine the possibilities of silicon-based life.
Some scientists believe that silicon-based life may be more powerful than our carbon-based life! Why? First of all, the molecular structure of silicon-based life is more stable, just like wearing body armor, and can survive in extreme environments such as high temperature, high pressure, and strong radiation.
Second, silicon-based life may be much more efficient at using energy than we are. They may only need a little food or sunlight to maintain their metabolism over the long term. This is simply the power saving king of the biological world!
Finally, the lifespan of silicon-based life can be frighteningly long. Imagine that while we were still cheering to live to be 100 years old, silicon-based organisms might have lived millions of years! This is simply the elixir of life in the biological world!
Don't get too excited, though. While silicon-based life sounds cool, in reality, their existence is unlikely. Why? Because silicon is so much in love with oxygen, almost all of it has become oxide. Moreover, silicon-based compounds are less stable, like foam in water, which shatters at the touch of a button.
Some netizens said: Isn't this just a waste of time? We haven't even found the aliens yet, and we are starting to fantasize about silicon-based life?
But there are also people who disagree: science and technology are developing so fast, maybe one day silicon-based life will really be discovered? We need to keep an open mind.
Although we have not yet discovered the existence of silicon-based life, this does not mean that they do not exist. Maybe on some distant planet, there is a group of silicon-based creatures debating: Do you think there will be carbon-based life in the universe?
Finally, let's have a little interaction! How likely do you think silicon-based life is? If they existed, what would they look like? Welcome to leave your imagination in the comment area! Don't forget to like and follow, and we'll talk about more interesting science topics next time!