What if life forms could be silicon-based instead of carbon-based?

Scientists are seriously discussing the possibility of life that could be built on the basis of other chemical elements, such as silicon.

Silicon has properties similar to carbon, which makes it a promising candidate for creating complex molecular chains similar to those created by carbon.

BUT there is a difference: carbon forms strong and flexible bonds at room temperature, silicon compounds are less stable. Under terrestrial conditions, they quickly break down or oxidize. But on planets with extreme temperatures and low oxygen content, silicon-based life could develop according to completely different laws.

For example, planets located far from their stars, with extremely low temperatures and lack of oxygen, could be an ideal environment for the existence of silicon-based organisms. In such conditions, silicon could form stable molecules and complex structures. These organisms could have a completely different metabolic system, using, for example, sulfur or methane instead of oxygen.

Other hypotheses include the possibility of life existing in liquid methane or ammonia, which could play the same role as water does for carbon-based life on Earth. One of the most interesting candidates for such life is Titan, a moon of Saturn, which has methane seas. At such low temperatures (around -180°C), carbon-based life would be impossible, but organisms adapted to methane solutions could develop.

Silicon-based life looks very different from what we imagine. For example, these organisms could be hard and crystalline, moving more slowly than terrestrial life forms(attached creepy pic, not mine). Interactions between such life forms could take place on much longer time scales, and their perception of time might be very different from ours.


I also added a link to the article about the possibility of silicon-based biochemistry in space if you want to learn more about it:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342125663_On_the_Potential_of_Silicon_as_a_Building_Block_for_Life