| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Bill, The Avender" |
| Date: |
28 Feb 2004 01:20:41 PM |
| Object: |
OT: Fabricated ecologies |
There are certain conditions necessary for life to arise. We don't
know what they all are yet, but it seems relatively certain that most
worlds in this star system aren't endowed with such conditions. We're
still looking, of course, so this may ultimately prove to be right or
wrong.
Anywho... Sometimes an established lifeform can be introduced to an
otherwise hostile area, and be stable enough that it doesn't die off.
How likely is it that we might be able to use such established
lifeforms (perhaps synthesized & evolved in a lab rather than
something already existing) to create simple synthetic ecologies on
extraterrestrial worlds like Mars, the moon or elsewhere?
Atmospheres and liquids are helpful, of course. I am curious also -
we know about the possibility for silicon-based life. As things other
than carbon can theoretically form "organic molecules", are there
fluids other than water which have similar theoretical possibility?
I'm not talking fluids in addition to water, but as a replacement for
it. Is there some online resource I could check out that studies the
theoretical possibility for "organic substances" other than what we've
evolved with here on Earth (like silicon based life, etc...)?
C'est tout, merci! :-)
--
L8r,
Bill
/.-+-/,\-*+.\-/--,*/-\+.--\*/,+--/.\
Bill's Dictionary of Daffy-nitions
"geneaology (jeen-ee-ALL-uh-gee)
- (noun) The study of Barbara Eden."
/.-+-/,\-*+.\-/--,*/-\+.--\*/,+--/.\
.
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| User: "Kevin Anthoney" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Fabricated ecologies |
28 Feb 2004 02:54:18 PM |
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Bill, The Avender wrote:
Atmospheres and liquids are helpful, of course. I am curious also -
we know about the possibility for silicon-based life. As things other
than carbon can theoretically form "organic molecules", are there
fluids other than water which have similar theoretical possibility?
I'm currently attempting to replace all my water with alcohol, to see if
that works. I'll let you know.
--
Kevin Anthoney
kanthoney[a]dsl.pipex.com
.
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| User: "Enkidu" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Fabricated ecologies |
28 Feb 2004 07:00:21 PM |
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Kevin Anthoney wrote:
Bill, The Avender wrote:
Atmospheres and liquids are helpful, of course. I am curious also -
we know about the possibility for silicon-based life. As things other
than carbon can theoretically form "organic molecules", are there
fluids other than water which have similar theoretical possibility?
I'm currently attempting to replace all my water with alcohol, to see if
that works. I'll let you know.
Water has several unique properties. Consider just one: The density
decreases as it freezes. If this were not so, every winter, sea ice
would sink to the bottom of the ocean and never melt. The oceans would
freeze from the bottom up. Would life evolve on such a world? Perhaps.
Would complex life evolve? No.
--
Enkidu
AA# 2165
"Suppose we've chosen the wrong god. Every time we
go to church we're just making him madder and madder."
--Homer Simpson
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| User: "Alun Harford" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Fabricated ecologies |
28 Feb 2004 07:27:11 PM |
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"Enkidu" <enkidu@leaddogs.org> wrote in message
news:FQa0c.19521$qL1.18039@fed1read02...
Kevin Anthoney wrote:
Bill, The Avender wrote:
Atmospheres and liquids are helpful, of course. I am curious also -
we know about the possibility for silicon-based life. As things other
than carbon can theoretically form "organic molecules", are there
fluids other than water which have similar theoretical possibility?
I'm currently attempting to replace all my water with alcohol, to see if
that works. I'll let you know.
Water has several unique properties. Consider just one: The density
decreases as it freezes. If this were not so, every winter, sea ice
would sink to the bottom of the ocean and never melt. The oceans would
freeze from the bottom up. Would life evolve on such a world? Perhaps.
Would complex life evolve? No.
Wow. That's a very bold statement!
I'd love to see some imperical evidence of that!
Alun Harford
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| User: "johac" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Fabricated ecologies |
29 Feb 2004 03:06:15 AM |
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In article <4049e628.2870056@newsgroups.bellsouth.net>,
(Bill, The Avender) wrote:
There are certain conditions necessary for life to arise. We don't
know what they all are yet, but it seems relatively certain that most
worlds in this star system aren't endowed with such conditions. We're
still looking, of course, so this may ultimately prove to be right or
wrong.
Anywho... Sometimes an established lifeform can be introduced to an
otherwise hostile area, and be stable enough that it doesn't die off.
How likely is it that we might be able to use such established
lifeforms (perhaps synthesized & evolved in a lab rather than
something already existing) to create simple synthetic ecologies on
extraterrestrial worlds like Mars, the moon or elsewhere?
Atmospheres and liquids are helpful, of course. I am curious also -
we know about the possibility for silicon-based life. As things other
than carbon can theoretically form "organic molecules", are there
fluids other than water which have similar theoretical possibility?
I'm not talking fluids in addition to water, but as a replacement for
it. Is there some online resource I could check out that studies the
theoretical possibility for "organic substances" other than what we've
evolved with here on Earth (like silicon based life, etc...)?
Someday this might be possible, but first we need to know more about
life on this planet. We've made great strides in recent years in
understanding how cells work, and how they arose, but we don't know
enough yet to construct life frms capable of living in extreme non-earth
enviroments.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Men become civilized not in their willingness to believe, bit in
proportion to their readiness to doubt." - H. L. Mencken
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