Re: Silicon-based life

[Dinogeorge@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 96-08-20 09:32:26 EDT, kaesler@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Roger
L. Kaesler) writes:

<< The science fiction about silicon-based life is fascinating.  The best
 thing about it in my opinion is not that it tells us anything about life
 but that it is a great way to introduce beginning geology students to the
 mineralogy of silicate rocks.  The silicon-oxygen bond is very strong, much
 stronger than the carbon-hydrogen bond.  It takes far too much energy to
 rearrange the atoms in a silicate mineral for it to form the basis of a
 life form.  That is why the components of silicon-based life as we know it,
 that is, the suite of silicate minerals, are igneous in origin.  But it is
 a great teaching tool, and I strongly recommend it. >>

This makes me wonder whether silicon-based lifeforms might evolve in a
temperature regime of a few thousand degrees C and at high ambient pressure,
as in magma somewhere deep in the earth's center. Probably not, but I daresay
the chemistry of silicon compounds in such regimes is not terribly well
known.