What is "Earth-like"?

[Svartalf]

There is a certain sect of scientists that worship thermodynamics as if it were the only true god...

Entropists

[rainbow]

There is a certain sect of scientists that worship thermodynamics as if it were the only true god...

Entropists

Bunch of pussies!

It's the Crypto-Enthalpists you have to be on the look out for.

[Forty Two]

OK, so you disagree with Prof England when he says:

Jeremy England, a young MIT professor who’s proposed a theory, based in thermodynamics, showing that the emergence of life was not accidental, but necessary. “nder certain conditions, matter inexorably acquires the key physical attribute associated with life

Jeremy England did not propose a groundbreaking theory. Anyone who does not view the origin of life as a miracle or a freak occurrence must conclude that "under certain conditions" matter will acquire the attributes associated with life. That doesn't mean that life is "inevitable." It means that matter behaves as matter behaves under given conditions, and given the right conditions matter will form more and more complex molecules and also under the right conditions some of those molecules may become self-replicating, and under the right conditions those self replicating molecules will form cells.

This is not a new or groundbreaking "theory."

[laklak]

Thermodynamics was one fucking bitch of a course, hardest thing I took at uni. I remember one question about a martini - gin and vermouth at this temp, ambient that, glass this, olive that, when does the system come into equilibrium?

Well fucking never, moron, I drink it while it's chilled.

[Forty Two]

Thermodynamics was one fucking bitch of a course, hardest thing I took at uni. I remember one question about a martini - gin and vermouth at this temp, ambient that, glass this, olive that, when does the system come into equilibrium?

Well fucking never, moron, I drink it while it's chilled.

Yes, but taking Thermo and Diffy Q, three semesters before that of Calculus -- A couple semesters each of Chemistry and Physics - plus Economics, Probability and Statistics, Engineering Graphics, Structures, etc. and other such courses really helped me out a lot in life, even though I never became a practicing engineer.

It's one of the things that irk me about the SJW crowd of today, pontificating from their second and third year in some kind of "studies" course, often bemoaning the lack of women in "STEM" courses --- fuck! People! Just take a decent degree of some kind, whether in mathematics, engineering, aeronautics, metals, structures, etc. - you know - take some fucking courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- sure, take a minor in some kind of gender studies horseshit if you want to (although, you'd get more bang for your buck going into Art History, Theater or English/French/Other Literature as a minor discipline), but why not go to college to learn something important to the world, rather than "How to Bitch and Moan - 101" and "Everything is Sexist - 212." Instead of crying about how women aren't Chemical Engineers - go fucking BE a Chemical Engineer.

Sorry - I'm a bit irate today.

[Feck]

Ok, Feck Bsc (Gen) asks how any other elements apart from carbon can do what carbon does ? If we are looking for life we ARE looking for carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (mostly) and liquid water ..If, as some people (mostly who don't have degrees in anything biological) want to insist that life is "inevitable" then it should be easy to 're=create' .
I would say that once an evolutionary process has been started life tends to get more complicated but I've not sen anything to suggest that we live in a star-trek universe where basic physical chemistry is warped and creatures 'made of energy' or 'crystaline life -forms' are viable .

[rainbow]

Thermodynamics was one fucking bitch of a course, hardest thing I took at uni. I remember one question about a martini - gin and vermouth at this temp, ambient that, glass this, olive that, when does the system come into equilibrium?

Well fucking never, moron, I drink it while it's chilled.

You make a good point.

Gin as a mixture of water and ethanol is a better solvent than water alone. Obviously more life-friendly planets would have oceans of gin, not water.

[JimC]

rainbow wrote:

...Obviously more life-friendly planets would have oceans of gin, not water...

I was born on the wrong planet!

[Brian Peacock]

I was born by the river - in a little tent.

[rainbow]

Ok, Feck Bsc (Gen) asks how any other elements apart from carbon can do what carbon does ?

None, because if they were identical to carbon, they would be carbon.

If we are looking for life we ARE looking for carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (mostly) and liquid water ..

Why water?
Supercritical carbon dioxide is a very good solvent, and has been used in organic synthesis. Many other possibilities exist - liquid ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, gin, etc.

[pErvinalia]

I was born by the river - in a little tent.

De Nile?

[Feck]

Water is by far the best solvent .

[Brian Peacock]

What is Earth like eh?

[rainbow]

Water is by far the best solvent .

Tisn't.

[rainbow]

http://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjoc/ ... 397-10-196

Supercritical carbon dioxide: a solvent like no other