Anchovyforestbane Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Question 1: Under what circumstances involving external influences could life develop on a planet made entirely of gallium? What could be the properties of these lifeforms? How would the results differ based on the physical state of the gallium? Question 2: Same question, but what if it were instead mercury? Again, what properties would this life possess, and how would the results differ between the states of matter? Question 3: What if it were a mixture of gallium and mercury? Again, what would this life look like, and how would the state of matter influence the results? Question 3.1: How would the results differ between varying concentrations of gallium or mercury? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MigL Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 I guess a lot would depend on the reason WHY, and HOW, a whole planet could be formed of Gallium or Mercury. Don't you think the conditions that allowed this might, somehow, affect the development ( or not ) of life ? Also do you mean a little, mostly, or 100% Gallium or Mercury ? If the latter, then you haven't really thought the OP through. ( eg. What would any possible life consume ? What would it excrete ?? What would it be composed of ??? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchovyforestbane Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 24 minutes ago, MigL said: I guess a lot would depend on the reason WHY, and HOW, a whole planet could be formed of Gallium or Mercury. Don't you think the conditions that allowed this might, somehow, affect the development ( or not ) of life ? Also do you mean a little, mostly, or 100% Gallium or Mercury ? If the latter, then you haven't really thought the OP through. ( eg. What would any possible life consume ? What would it excrete ?? What would it be composed of ??? ) Any mechanism of formation which results in 100% percent of the element in question, respectively, is acceptable for the thought experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MigL Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 So, no natural process ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchovyforestbane Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, MigL said: So, no natural process ... Perhaps no currently known natural process. This is all about hypothesis anyway, however, so don't be afraid to think outside the box. According to what we know of currently detailed natural processes, what might be the hypothetical prerequisites and/or consequences of an event such as this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MigL Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Again, this would not happen 'naturally'. So, whoever did this 'artificially', could populate the planet with penguins and cats. ( but they wouldn't last very long ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C.MacSwell Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 What chemical interactions could take place? Wouldn't there be nothing but changes in state? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bufofrog Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 3 hours ago, Anchovyforestbane said: Question 1: Under what circumstances involving external influences could life develop on a planet made entirely of gallium? What could be the properties of these lifeforms? How would the results differ based on the physical state of the gallium? Question 2: Same question, but what if it were instead mercury? Again, what properties would this life possess, and how would the results differ between the states of matter? Question 3: What if it were a mixture of gallium and mercury? Again, what would this life look like, and how would the state of matter influence the results? Question 3.1: How would the results differ between varying concentrations of gallium or mercury? This sounds just like my kids when they were little. Hey dad, what would you do if you saw a dinosaur? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phi for All Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Anchovyforestbane said: This is all about hypothesis anyway, however, so don't be afraid to think outside the box. ! Moderator Note Moved from Physics to The Lounge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchovyforestbane Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 15 minutes ago, J.C.MacSwell said: What chemical interactions could take place? Wouldn't there be nothing but changes in state? As I said; circumstances involving external influences. Collisions with other astral bodies, solar winds, photochemistry; all these are things to consider. 7 minutes ago, Bufofrog said: This sounds just like my kids when they were little. Hey dad, what would you do if you saw a dinosaur? If I had overheard your kids mentally experimenting with the limits of conceptual astrobiology, I would've been very impressed indeed. 6 minutes ago, Phi for All said: ! Moderator Note Moved from Physics to The Lounge. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 26 minutes ago, Anchovyforestbane said: As I said; circumstances involving external influences. Collisions with other astral bodies, solar winds, photochemistry; all these are things to consider. Photochemistry still requires some other element. Your “external influence” has to be “introduction of a bunch of different chemicals” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchovyforestbane Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 3 minutes ago, swansont said: Photochemistry still requires some other element. Your “external influence” has to be “introduction of a bunch of different chemicals” I fully recognize this. Anything that introduces reactive substances capable of forming complex chemistries is open for discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C.MacSwell Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Anchovyforestbane said: As I said; circumstances involving external influences. Collisions with other astral bodies, solar winds, photochemistry; all these are things to consider. Bumped in a collision to an Earth-like orbit around a Sun-like star...accumulation of asteroids until an Earth-like surface is obtained.... I realize that is more than a little "inside the box"(timing aside)...so how far from the box can one stray? Edited November 17, 2020 by J.C.MacSwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchovyforestbane Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, J.C.MacSwell said: Bumped in a collision to an Earth-like orbit around a Sun-like star...accumulation of asteroids until an Earth-like surface is obtained.... Perhaps this could happen, but the surface wouldn't be as Earth-like as you might think; due to the low melting points of the gallium and mercury, asteroid collisions would be messy, and even if it wasn't the chemical proportions would be vastly different to that of earth. That said, what do you think would be the geochemical properties of a body such as this? How long would it take to form an atmosphere/exosphere, if it ever does, and how do you think its meteorology would behave? How do you think these properties would vary depending on stellar and interstellar winds? Getting a little more creative: do you think anything scientifically classifiable as life could form in this circumstance? If not, why not? If so, what could be its properties? 25 minutes ago, J.C.MacSwell said: I realize that is more than a little "inside the box"(timing aside)...so how far from the box can one stray? As long it is scientifically comprehensible and relevant to the concept being discussed, it is open for discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MigL Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Just doing quick mental calculations ... Mercury solidifies at a pressure of 14 Kilobar, which is approx. 14000 standard atms. That is equivalent to approx. 420 000 in of Mercury, which is 35 000 ft, or approx. 6.5 miles. IOW your hypothetical planet would have a Mercury 'sea', 6.5 miles deep, surrounding a solid orb of Mercury. Not sure about Gallium, as it expands when 'frozen' ( like water ). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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