Basically all i know is that carbon and silicon have similiar atoms because they both have 5 protons, and the periodic law states that atoms that have similiar composition have similiar characteristics. Help me out.
2006-10-18 17:07:59 · 6 answers · asked by Adam 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
I said "possible base" not that there was silicon based life.
2006-10-18 17:16:55 · update #1
No this is not feasable. The answer lies in the ability to catenate.
Silicon does not share the property of being able to catenate (ability to bond to itself) like Carbon. The Si-Si bond is weaker compared to the C-C bond. So you find less Si is a less versatile atom.
Also Si does not form pi-bonds as easily as carbon does. Si has a negligible pi-bond overlap compared to C, most probably Si has a larger atomic radius than C, so the pi-bond overlap is less strongly held to the nucleus and hence is a weak bond.
2006-10-18 18:33:11 · answer #1 · answered by polarIS 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Just to add a couple more things: The variety of compounds that can be formed with carbon is greater than the variety of compounds silicon can form. Carbon forms lots of useful structures with double bonds, which silicon doesn't. The ability to form double bonds allows for much more interesting chemical properties and transformations of carbon compounds. Because of its size, silicon double bonds are very weak relative to carbon double bonds. Silicon dioxide is a network solid, not a bunch of SiO2 molecules. If you take organic chemistry you can learn about the amazing transformations you can make with carbon compounds. Silicon is just not as useful.
2016-05-22 01:17:16 · answer #2 · answered by Megan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe this has something to do with the number of valence electrons carbon and silicon have. They each have four (I think), which allows them to bond with up to four other things. This makes them very versatile atoms to be used as the basic building blocks of life.
2006-10-18 17:12:31 · answer #3 · answered by Ana L 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All the life forms on earth are carbon based. Many of those in science fiction stories are silicon based.
2006-10-18 17:09:40 · answer #4 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's rubbish, absolute rubbish
2006-10-18 19:04:10 · answer #5 · answered by natureutt78 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
KNOW about it?!?!?!?! I didn't even realize that was a possible sentence.
Peace.
2006-10-18 17:10:04 · answer #6 · answered by -Tequila17 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋