Are there other forms of life in the universe besides the carbon-based life we are familiar with? Although all life on Earth is based on carbon, it is entirely possible to give birth to life forms that are very different from Earth, given the vastness and endless possibilities of the universe. Among the many possible types of life, silicon-based life is often mentioned. Because silicon is chemically similar to carbon and exhibits good complexity and stability, although it is not as active as carbon, it still has the potential to form unique life forms in specific environments. If silicon-based life does exist, which one is better suited to survive in the universe than carbon-based life? In this issue, we discuss this topic.

Although there is only one word difference between carbon-based and silicon-based life, this small difference represents a different elemental makeup. From a macro perspective, our world is made up of a myriad of entities, but looking at it at a micro level, we know that this world is actually made up of various elements in specific proportions. Of all the known 118 elements, the elements that make up life are particularly complex, with the four most abundant being oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Despite the importance of oxygen in life on Earth, we still refer to life on Earth as "carbon-based" rather than "oxygen-based". This is because there is no substitute for the role of carbon in the construction of complex living molecules. The key to carbon becoming the basis of life lies in its unique structural properties and excellent stability. Carbon atoms can form four strong and stable covalent bonds, which allow them to easily connect with other carbon atoms and atoms of elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen to construct complex organic molecular structures such as long chains and rings. The diversity of these structures gives carbon compounds a rich chemical reactivity that serves as the "bricks" for the building of life.

Carbon molecules are like the skeleton of life, supporting the framework of life, and are the basis for the evolution and complexity of life. Without carbon, life would lack the basic conditions to build complex molecular chains and maintain stable chemical reactions, and the birth of life would be impossible. For a long time, carbon-based life was widely regarded by the scientific community as a unique life form in the universe because of its remarkable chemical properties. Its chain-like structure not only enables the formation of an almost endless combination of molecules, but also remains stable over an extremely wide range of temperature and environmental conditions. As a result, carbon has become an indispensable building block for life on Earth, and it is reasonable to assume that other life forms in the universe should also be based on carbon. It wasn't until 1891 that Julio Shennar, an astrophysicist at the University of Potsdam, first delved into the possibility of silicon-based life in an article, and this idea was not unfounded. In fact, judging from the abundance of silicon on Earth and its unique chemical properties, the birth of silicon-based life is indeed possible. Silicon is extremely abundant in the earth's crust and is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust, after oxygen. What's more, silicon is also very widely distributed in the universe, sharing many similar fundamental chemical properties with the element carbon.

它們的相似之處主要體現在它們的化合物特性上：碳能形成多種多樣的有機化合物，同樣，矽也能與氧、氫等元素結合，形成多樣的矽化合物。碳酸鹽作為生命的“搖籃”而廣為人知，而矽酸鹽在高溫條件下也能表現出類似的“孕育”特性。矽酸鹽具有極高的熱穩定性，在地球上，它們主要以岩石和砂子的形式存在，而在宇宙其他高溫星球上，這種穩定性可能成為一種優勢，為潛在的矽基生命提供了一種不同的生存策略。矽的化學鍵雖不如碳那樣靈活多變，但它在高溫、強輻射等極端環境下卻表現出更強的穩定性。這一特性讓一些科學家堅信，在宇宙深處，那些極端的星球環境中，矽基生命的存在概率可能遠遠高於碳基生命。如果矽基生命真的存在，那麼它與碳基生命相比，哪種生命形式更強大、更具優勢呢？許多人可能從地球生命的角度出發，認為碳基生命具備更多的優勢。然而通過研究發現，如果矽基生命真的存在，它們在某些方面可能會超越碳基生命。碳基生命之所以能夠在地球上繁衍生息，得益於地球的宜居環境。如果地球的溫度達到了七八十度，幾乎所有生命形式都將面臨滅絕的威脅。對於矽基生命來說，情況就截然不同。矽基生命的一個顯著優勢就是對高溫環境的適應能力。這使得矽基生命在七八十度甚至更高的溫度下仍然能維持生命活動。矽基生命的另一個潛在優勢是它們不依賴於水作為生命溶劑。我們常說“水是生命之源”，這是基於地球碳基生命的需求。水作為溶劑，參與了幾乎所有的生物化學反應，但水的特性並不適合矽化合物。矽鏈在水中會迅速與氧結合，形成穩定的二氧化矽，從而阻止複雜有機分子的進一步構建。這一特性使得矽基生命能夠在缺乏水源的環境中生存，進一步提高了它們的適應能力。此外，矽基生命的壽命可能無比漫長，人類的壽命通常在百年左右，而矽基生命的壽命有可能長達百萬年。這種漫長的生命週期使得矽基生命在進化和適應方面具有更大的優勢，可能更容易在漫長的時間中發展出強大的高級文明。

Of course, the advantages of silicon-based life are not without price. Silicides react much slower than carbides, which means that the metabolism, information transfer, and reaction rate of silicon-based life will be very slow. In addition, due to the low chemical activity of silicon, it is difficult to form a rich variety of organic molecules like carbon, which limits the complexity and diversity of silicon-based life, making it difficult for them to evolve highly intelligent and rapid response organisms like humans. While there is no silicon-based life on Earth, that doesn't mean they will never appear. In fact, silicon-based life can be created through man-made manufacturing. Today, the core of human-made computers and intelligent robots is silicon-based materials. While current AI products are not yet alive, scientists may one day be able to empower them to be self-aware and think. So, when a robot has self-awareness and the ability to think, can we still say that it is not a living being? In the vastness of the universe, life is amazing precisely because of the different properties of the various elements on the periodic table. Life forms in the universe can be extremely diverse and unimaginable. Much of our current understanding of life is based on the biological characteristics and chemical makeup of the Earth, but this is only the tip of the elemental iceberg. In fact, there may be many different life forms in our uncharted territory. What are your different thoughts and opinions about silicon-based life? We welcome all of you to discuss, thank you for watching, and we'll see you next time.