Space
Why Alien Life Probably Isn't Made of Rock
Silicon is more common than carbon in Earth's crust, yet life never used it. An astronomer explains why silicon locks into stone and carbon stays flexible.
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Articles
Space
A Saturn Moon at −180 °C Is Spitting Out Grains of Hot-Water Sand
Saturn's moon Enceladus sits at −180 °C, yet it throws out grains formed in 90 °C water. An astrophysicist explains why it ranks second only to Earth for life.
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Space
Space is probably full of molecules astronomers can't see
Carbon monoxide gives one bright line. A 15-atom molecule gives a comb of faint ones that overlap with dozens of others. Why space's biggest molecules hide.
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Space
Add One Hydrogen to Carbon Monoxide and It Becomes "Organic
Organic matter on Mars sounds like a life story. An astronomer explains why "organic" only means carbon, and why the split from "inorganic" is a historical leftover.
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Space
Where are the aliens? Maybe computing inside black holes
Physics caps how fast any computer can run. An AI expert argues the machine at that cap would look like a black hole, and that this could explain the silent sky.
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