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Part of a series of articles on Alien life.
All living things require some source of energy to survive; this is not optional.
Known sources of energy:
Animal life gets energy primarily from a combination of carbon and water in the form of carbohydrates (e.g. sugar); which is a source of chemical energy, and can also provide structural elements for life (such as ribose, in the molecules DNA and RNA, and cellulose in plants).
Plants derive energy through the conversion of visible light energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis.
On a side note: it is highly unlikely(scientists say impossible, but I don't) for photosynthetic plants to be blue-colored, because blue light provides the highest photosynthetic yields in the light spectrum; this is not based on chemistry, but on the physical quality of different frequencies of light produced by known types of stars.
While not an entirely different source of energy, it is sufficiently different to warrant notice that some species of fungi convert high energy gamma rays into useful energy using the pigment melanin; ordinarily fungi derive their energy from decomposing other biomass, while plants convert visible light.
Another source of energy is that called Chemosynthesis: certain life forms are known that derive energy from the oxidization of reactive chemicals, such as hydrogen or hydrogen sulfide.
These life forms exist in environments long considered impossible to support life, such as in solid ice, deep-sea rifts, boiling water, acid, the water core of nuclear reactors, salt crystals, toxic waste. . . . basically, if you're talking Chemosynthesis, there is almost no place it is impossible for life to exist.
Please note, that chemosynthesis is a relatively inefficient source of energy: where it is possible for life to gain energy by other means, chemosynthesis will be generally out-performed.
Hypothetical sources of energy:
Gosh, who knows?
Silicon, nitrogen, phosphor, arsenic, and chlorine, have all been proposed as hypothetical substitutes for Carbon.
Ammonia, Hydrogen Fluoride, formamide, methanol, hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen chloride have all been suggested as possible replacements for water.
It is possible that life on Mars exists, using a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide as its solvent.
All living things require some source of energy to survive; this is not optional.
Known sources of energy:
Animal life gets energy primarily from a combination of carbon and water in the form of carbohydrates (e.g. sugar); which is a source of chemical energy, and can also provide structural elements for life (such as ribose, in the molecules DNA and RNA, and cellulose in plants).
Plants derive energy through the conversion of visible light energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis.
On a side note: it is highly unlikely(scientists say impossible, but I don't) for photosynthetic plants to be blue-colored, because blue light provides the highest photosynthetic yields in the light spectrum; this is not based on chemistry, but on the physical quality of different frequencies of light produced by known types of stars.
While not an entirely different source of energy, it is sufficiently different to warrant notice that some species of fungi convert high energy gamma rays into useful energy using the pigment melanin; ordinarily fungi derive their energy from decomposing other biomass, while plants convert visible light.
Another source of energy is that called Chemosynthesis: certain life forms are known that derive energy from the oxidization of reactive chemicals, such as hydrogen or hydrogen sulfide.
These life forms exist in environments long considered impossible to support life, such as in solid ice, deep-sea rifts, boiling water, acid, the water core of nuclear reactors, salt crystals, toxic waste. . . . basically, if you're talking Chemosynthesis, there is almost no place it is impossible for life to exist.
Please note, that chemosynthesis is a relatively inefficient source of energy: where it is possible for life to gain energy by other means, chemosynthesis will be generally out-performed.
Hypothetical sources of energy:
Gosh, who knows?
Silicon, nitrogen, phosphor, arsenic, and chlorine, have all been proposed as hypothetical substitutes for Carbon.
Ammonia, Hydrogen Fluoride, formamide, methanol, hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen chloride have all been suggested as possible replacements for water.
It is possible that life on Mars exists, using a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide as its solvent.
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