A deep thought regarding life out there

Atrocities · #1 March 31st, 2001, 11:55 PM

It occured to me yestarday, kind out of the blue, that life evolved on this planet because of our ability to adjust and adapt our environment to fit us because of our discovery of Fire. Without this basic element, life as we know it would not be.

No keeping in mind that all things throughout the galaxy are made up of the same elements, what would happen if you lit a match on a Methane world? BOOOOOM

How about on a Hydrogen world? Big BOOOOOM

Get my point? How could life evolve on world with explosive atmospheres? We had to have fire in order to advance our understanding of chemistry, technology, and just about everything else that gave us what we have now. With fire being a basic element throughout the galaxy, one would conclude that in order to evolve, one would have to have fire.

Well, I guess this eleminates the concept of inteligant life evolving on planets that have explosive atomspheres.

dumbluck · #2 April 1st, 2001, 12:04 AM

[quote]Now keeping in mind that all things throughout the galaxy are made up of the same elements, what would happen if you lit a match on a Methane world? BOOOOOM

How about on a Hydrogen world? Big BOOOOOM

ummm, that is incorrect. If you can even get a match to ignite on a methane or hydrogen world, then you are a god. the reason being is that fire is nothing more than a chemical reaction in which a substance is oxidized (albeit somewhat energetically).

Therefore if you light a match on a methane world, nothing happens; there isn't any oxygen for the methane to react with. Same thing on a hydrogen world.

sorry to burst your bubble

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May your Life prosper and your Dreams be sweet.

Deathstalker · #3 April 1st, 2001, 01:08 AM

Now this may not be scientificly correct (don't rightly know) but aren't most atmospheres made up of percentages of different types of gasses?? I seem to remember most trek shows on hostile worlds (ahh, the science of those raised on T.V.

) being hostile because the oxygen was way below par for earthers, and carbon dioxide etc was too high. Now what would happen if a match was lit on a 80% methane world (with 15% oxy and 5% carbon) ?? Would this be a qualified BOOM?
Just thoughts......

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"The Empress took your name away," said Chance.
Owen smiled coldly. "It wasn't hers to take. I'm a Deathstalker until I die. And we never forget a slight or an enemy." -Owen Deathstalker.

Kellicus · #4 April 1st, 2001, 01:56 AM

Well, I am no chemist, but I think that if there were chemicals in the atmosphere that WOULD react with each other, they would before some hapless alien lifeform lit a match.
Also, I was thinking that fire might not be a requirement for intelligence. But I have to change my son's diaper and can't get into it right now.

Deathstalker · #5 April 1st, 2001, 02:00 AM

Kellicus, speaking of chemicals reacting with the atmosphere.......sounds like you just might be dealing with a methane world yourself right now..

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"The Empress took your name away," said Chance.
Owen smiled coldly. "It wasn't hers to take. I'm a Deathstalker until I die. And we never forget a slight or an enemy." -Owen Deathstalker.

Atrocities · #6 April 1st, 2001, 02:04 AM

Well there goes my big bang theriory.

Husky65 · #7 April 1st, 2001, 02:55 AM

You seem to be ignoring the fact that we were intelligent before we started using fire.

Alpha Kodiak · #8 April 1st, 2001, 03:53 AM

It seems to me that on a methane or hydrogen atmosphere world, an oxygen source would essentially be the "fuel" for the fire, so your cigarette lighter would contain some sort of oxygen producer to allow a flame. As to percentages of gasses in the atmosphere, remember that the largest component of our atmosphere is actually nitrogen, which is inert. On a methane world, chances are that any quantity of oxygen, or any other reactive gas would already have been "burned" into a non-reactive compound. I realize that I am using terms loosely from a pure chemistry standpoint, but you get the idea.

capnq · #9 April 1st, 2001, 05:28 AM

Current theory is that life has to evolve on a planet before it can get a substantial oxygen component in the atmosphere. Oxygen reacts with just about everything, so you need life forms to pump it into the atmosphere faster than it can all combine into other compounds. Oxygen breathing life didn't appear until the first blue-green algaes supplied the oxygen.

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Cap'n Q

Lucanos · #10 April 2nd, 2001, 02:17 AM

Intelligence - or awareness/consciousness as in "knowledge of reality" is overestimated when speaking of terrans (trying to be as objective as possible).

The terrans think that the "invention" of firemaking (rather a discovery than an invention) is something to be proud of.

On a methane world the lifeforms would probably not need to make fire and would consider it pointless.

But that doesn't mean that they would be inferior in their knowledge of reality.