Silicon based lifeforms?

[Robert Walper]

Is this a plausible train of thought, or is it an entirely impossible concept?

[Hedgecore]

There was totally an episode of X-Files about this. So yes, plausible.

[Robert Walper]

There was totally an episode of X-Files about this. So yes, plausible.

Since when has "The X-Files" been asserted as a scientifically accurate or plausible show?

[Hedgecore]

Uh...since never.

I never really watched the show, i just remember seeing that one bit. Something about silicon based life inside a volcano or some nonsense.

I did find this article from the NAI on the subject. At least, this seems the most reputable of what i found. Related to NASA, no 'intimate dating' banner ads.

[Scottish Ninja]

It seems that there'd be some silicon life somewhere, but not much of it, and it wouldn't do so well as carbon. Just the size of the universe seems to make it plausible in small amounts.

[Destructionator XV]

NASA says probably not

[quote="Astrobiologist"]
Could Life be based on Silicon rather than Carbon?

You’ve seen it on Star Trek or the X-Files, maybe in a sci-fi movie or book. Silicon-based life forms have resided in the human imagination for decades. Why? On the surface, silicon seems like an ideal substitute for carbon in another living system. Theoretically, silicon has bonding chemistry identical to that of carbon, and like carbon, can combine with four other elements to construct an incredible range of different macromolecules. So why not silicon-based life?

First, let’s look at the competition. Carbon, the MVP in all known biological molecules from sugar to DNA and even squid ink, is unique in that its bonding versatility allows it take on many forms: long side chains that make up fatty acids and cell membranes, ring structures that compose hormones and sugars, and even simple gaseous molecules like methane (CH4) or carbon dioxide (CO2). Can silicon compete?

The short answer is probably not. Silicon simply doesn’t have the moves. While carbon is perfectly comfortable in a variety of different structures (rings, long chains, multi-ring chains, and double-bonded carbon catenations), silicon’s analogous structures are comparatively unstable and sometimes highly reactive. Additionally, such analogous silicon compounds may never occur in nature; the largest silicon molecule ever observed had only six silicon atoms. In contrast, some carbon-based molecules can have tens of thousands!

Silicon also has the formidable disadvantage of being less abundant in the universe. The birthplace of all heavier elementsâ€â€

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Is this a plausible train of thought, or is it an entirely impossible concept?

Well, after reading Adam's post, it seems to me that silicon based lifeform is highly improbable. I wonder if there's a way to artificially increase the stability of silicon?s analogous structures in a lab, though.

However, I believe a silicon based lifeform would be unaturally bigger than carbon based lifeform. This is confirmed by examining a hybrid carbon/silicon based lifeform as shown on the picture below.