Thursday, April 29, 2010

Vida de Silicón

Para hacer vida en la Tierra, solo sigue esta receta:
-Combinar porciones generosas de carbono, hidrógeno,óxino y nitrógeno para sintetizar moleculas orgánicas, echale agüita (como solvente para facilitar las reacciones químicas) y no olvides calentarlo un poco a fuego lento, tal vez con charquito de agua calentada por un humilde volcan.

Las bases de carbono son indispensables para la vida en la Tierra, pero no es la única posibilidad que existe para que se produzca la vida. Los enlaces Carbono-Carbono son los que principalmente permiten la vida como la conocemos, pero una alternativa viable son los enlaces Silicón-Silicón, aunque no tan fuertes como los de carbono, son aún lo suficientemente fuertes para llevar a cabo reacciones vitales para la vida.

A continuación se muestra con mayor detalle la informacion de esta alternativa:

Thanks to carbon-carbon bonding, organic molecules containing scaffolds of carbon atoms are highly stable between the freezing and boiling points of water. But a leading alternative would be silicon. While not as strong as carbon-carbon bonds, silicon-silicon bonds could still provide a durable backbone for alien biomolecules.

As long ago as 1891, the German astrophysicist Julius Scheiner speculated on the possibility of "silicon-based life." Science-fiction writers have had some fun over the decades dreaming up "silicon-based" life-forms, like the Horta, a silicon-based creature in Episode 26, "Devil in the Dark," of the original Star Trek series.

Perhaps no substance on Earth is more closely associated with life than water — whether it be in science, folklore, or history. Water is a liquid solvent that facilitates many different reactions. After all, what are living cells but little bags of water?

But other solvents are possible. One commonly cited alternative is ammonia, in which many organic reactions can occur. Another possibility is — as strange as it may sound — sulfuric acid. The liquid hydrocarbons in lakes on Titan could, theoretically, provide both a solvent and habitat for life.

Although organisms with ammonia-based blood coursing through their veins may seem exotic, they are within the realm of chemical possibility

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