| Rath said: @Highwaystar. Out of genuine interest (and almost entirely off topic) what elements apart from silicon and carbon due you think life could form from? Or was that just based on the idea that the human species really doesn't have anywhere near enough knowledge to rule out other forms of life? |
This is a flashback from highschool but I had understood the reason carbon makes a great base for life, is that a. it is capable of forming four bonds and is hence very stable b. is light enough to have been created in relatively large quantity in the very early universe. I think it is supposed that Silicon is the only other element that fits those criteria well enough.
@Highwaystar: a good book which takes an in-depth look at the probability of life forming in the universe is the Goldilocks Enigma by Paul Davies.
