this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2024
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Organisms need some oxidizing agent to respire. We use oxygen because it's very highly reactive and thanks to photosynthesis is goddamn everywhere.
Can you explain that first part in more detail? I really know nothing about this and I'm curious to hear more.
Fire gets it's energy from fuel+oxygen. Most life does too. Plants (and other photosynthetic organisms) can also get energy from light but that requires you to sit in the sun doing not much for a long time. There's also chemosynthesis, where energy is obtained from a chemical reaction, but that's usually not nearly as powerful as oxidation.
Put another way, a car with NOS is way faster and more powerful than one without. So too is life that uses oxygen more powerful than life that doesn't.
That's really interesting. I didn't realize the burning in slow motion thing was so literal. Thanks for the comment!
It's so ingrained in our life processes. You know Calories? The capital C version(or Kcal in some countries) is 1000 calories. What do they measure? The potential heat whatever is being measured can generate. Our fuel intake is measured by how well it burns.
Hell yeah brother cranks motorcycle
Some use radiation tho.
https://www.sciencealert.com/bacterium-lives-off-nuclear-energy-alien-life-europa
And maybe related https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus
Would be rad if we could live off space radiation.