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From: peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Silicon-based life
Message-ID: <481@sugar.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Aug-87 10:03:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: sugar.481
Posted: Thu Aug 13 10:03:38 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Aug-87 12:03:25 EDT
References: <8644@beta.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 20
Keywords: Carbon, silicon, bond stability
Summary: Depending on the temperature...

In article <8644@beta.UUCP>, dd@beta.UUCP (Dan Davison) writes:
> Basically, silicon based life is not quantum-mechanically impossible. The
> only problem is that the chain lengths cannot be as long as with carbon

...at the same temperature...

> because they are much more unstable.  For example, the long-chain fatty 
> acid-equivalents of C20 molecules (Si20) would spontaneously break up

...at room temperature...

> I'm pretty sure that there were additional important details but I don't
> recall them any more.

All this proves is that silicon based life would have to operate at a lower
temperature than humans. They may also need to use another solvent than water,
or put up with crystallisation, because we're already operating at the low
end of the usable range of hydrogen oxides.
-- 
-- Peter da Silva `-_-' ...!seismo!soma!uhnix1!sugar!peter (I said, NO PHOTOS!)