NationStates Jolt Archive

I've always wondered if the character Zuckuss in Star Wars, who breathes ammonia and would die without a mask in an oxygen-environment is actually possible. So could some intelligent alien or something breathe ammonia?

its possible for a lifeform to not breath at all, all breathing is, is flushing carbon out of your system by bonding it with oxygen...water bears can survive in the vacuum of space...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_bear

can breath ammonia, be frozen in liquid nitrogen, and undergo a direct hit from a thermo-nuclear bomb without dying.

in an infinite universe there are infinate possibilities,so it is possible.
The best aliens in star wars are rancors.They are COOL!Twi'leks are great too!

in an infinite universe there are infinate possibilities,so it is possible.
The best aliens in star wars are rancors.They are COOL!Twi'leks are great too!

Dune is better Shai-Halud could kick any rancor's ass, anyday

its possible for a lifeform to not breath at all, all breathing is, is flushing carbon out of your system by bonding it with oxygen...water bears can survive in the vacuum of space...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_bear

can breath ammonia, be frozen in liquid nitrogen, and undergo a direct hit from a thermo-nuclear bomb without dying.

They might be the best hope o spreading life in the universe.

Dune is better Shai-Halud could kick any rancor's ass, anyday

Ever hear the Shai Hulud song with the singer from Bane?

Ever hear the Shai Hulud song with the singer from Bane?

nope

*googling*

David Brin's Uplift series has beings that breath hydrogen, and they have funny names to ;)
It also has giant ostrich-things and xenocidal insects. Woo!

Harmonia Mortus Redux;11621928']David Brin's Uplift series has beings that breath hydrogen, and they have funny names to ;)
It also has giant ostrich-things and xenocidal insects. Woo!

Shai-Halud could pwn them all, Dune is the best Sci-fi series ever...period

anyone who disagrees is giving aid and comfort to terrorists.

Dune is better Shai-Halud could kick any rancor's ass, anyday

I love dune too!and your probably right!

Shai-Halud could pwn them all, Dune is the best Sci-fi series ever...period

anyone who disagrees is giving aid and comfort to terrorists.

Did I mention sentient, English-speaking moneys and dolphins?
Yeah.
Pwned.

:P

They found an methene ocean on one of those moons of Juipter. Perhaps life could live in liquid methene? As of yet we have only seen Carbon based life forms, there can be more than just Carbon based though.

Breathing is just inhaling and exhaling. This could be done with ammonia, as with many things, but whether it helps, hinders or does nothing depends on the creature's biology. Humans, I believe, react oxygen with sugar to produce energy (or something like that). Whether or not a creature could react ammonia with something, I don't know. Since it can be toxic and corrosive, the animal's body would have to have a very different chemical makeup. I don't know how possible that is.

There's definitely been speculation about ammonia-based life as opposed to water based life. It would have a very different chemistry, but ammonia has many compound analogous to those water can form, so it's certainly possible. It would most likely require extremes of temperature not found on earth, however.

Harmonia Mortus Redux;11621960']Did I mention sentient, English-speaking moneys and dolphins?
Yeah.
Pwned.

:P

What is a money? :p

I've always wondered if the character Zuckuss in Star Wars, who breathes ammonia and would die without a mask in an oxygen-environment is actually possible. So could some intelligent alien or something breathe ammonia?

Unlikely, but possible. The primary purpose of breathing is to absorb large amounts of a final electron acceptor in the process of energy generation in cells that bonds with carbon, aiding in its ejection from the body. There are a wide variety of possible elements and compounds that could theoretically act as FEA's, and while ammonia is a possible candidate, it's highly unlike, since it's a much larger molecule than is really necessary or optimal, and because an atmosphere with continually gaseous ammonia as its primary component would have to be very, very hot.

A more likely use for ammonia in a lifeform would be as an alternative solvent to replace water.

Any organism that can breathe can breathe ammonia. It might kill them of course.

I may be wrong but I belive that early life forms far in earths very distant past did breathe ammonia, our atmosphere then was far different then than today, we couldn't have survived.

What is a money? :p

A single unit of any randomly chosen currency. :p

So could some intelligent alien or something breathe ammonia?

Overly literalist answer: Yes, of course. Any organism that breaths could breath ammonia. Of course,... damn! Just noticed that Ifreann beat me to it. :p

They found an methene ocean on one of those moons of Juipter. Perhaps life could live in liquid methene? As of yet we have only seen Carbon based life forms, there can be more than just Carbon based though.

Which one? In Europa it is thought to exist a liquid ocean beneath the ice layer.

http://www.astr.ua.edu/ay102/Lab5/Jupiter/europa.jpg

its possible for a lifeform to not breath at all, all breathing is, is flushing carbon out of your system by bonding it with oxygen...water bears can survive in the vacuum of space...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_bear

can breath ammonia, be frozen in liquid nitrogen, and undergo a direct hit from a thermo-nuclear bomb without dying.

These guys gotta be the ultimate survivors...

Giant squids use ammonia as a fluid to maintain buoyancy, so it's definitely possible for creatures to at least tolerate it...