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PBS Space Time

What If Alien Life Were Silcon-Based?

Season 9 Episode 3 | 14m 47s

Life as we know it is carbon-based, but does it have to be this way? There’s another element on the periodic table that shares some of the key properties of carbon but is far more abundant on most planets. I’m talking about silicon. So is there silicon-based life out there?

Aired: 01/25/23
Extras
Watch • 14:20
PBS Space Time
JWST May Have Discovered a New Cosmic Object: The Black Hole Star
Gigantic black holes existed in a cosmic eyeblink after the Big Bang. That should be impossible.
Episode: S11 E35 | 14:20
Watch • 16:31
PBS Space Time
We Thought All Black Holes Came From Stars. We May Have Been Wrong.
LIGO may have found an impossible black hole, hinting at primordial relics from the Big Bang.
Episode: S11 E33 | 16:31
Watch • 15:15
PBS Space Time
There's Something Massive Hiding Behind the Galaxy's Strangest Star
A decade later, a leading theory may finally explain Tabby’s Star, the galaxy’s weirdest star.
Episode: S11 E34 | 15:15
Watch • 17:40
PBS Space Time
The Universe Has Been Expanding Since the Big Bang. Just Not How We Thought.
DESI and DES studied dark energy. Together, what can they tell us?
Episode: S11 E32 | 17:40
Watch • 16:28
PBS Space Time
The Quantum Experiment That Breaks Time
Could sending a quantum twin across the galaxy make you both old and young at the same time?
Episode: S11 E31 | 16:28
Watch • 17:39
PBS Space Time
We Thought Black Holes Created Event Horizons. It Might Be the Opposite
It's possible that an event horizon is forming right behind and you won't know until its too late.
Episode: S11 E30 | 17:39
Watch • 20:48
PBS Space Time
We’ve Been Looking for Aliens for 70 Years. We've Been Doing It Wrong All Along
Are there no alien signals to find... or do we need to update how we search for them?
Episode: S11 E29 | 20:48
Watch • 14:27
PBS Space Time
We Thought Black Holes Ended in Singularities. They Might End In a Frozen Big Bang
Physicists hope Planck stars can save us from black hole singularities and paradoxes.
Episode: S11 E28 | 14:27
Watch • 17:41
PBS Space Time
We Found Galaxies Too Old for the Universe
Galaxies older than the universe? Webb's findings keep defying our best explanations.
Episode: S11 E27 | 17:41
Watch • 16:16
PBS Space Time
Earth’s Core Should Be Impossible. A New State of Matter Explains It.
Earth's core: solid or liquid? Yes — we know more about distant galaxies than our own interior.
Episode: S11 E26 | 16:16
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  • PBS Space Time Season 6
  • PBS Space Time Season 5
  • PBS Space Time Season 4
  • PBS Space Time Season 3
  • PBS Space Time Season 2
  • PBS Space Time Season 1
Watch • 14:20
PBS Space Time
JWST May Have Discovered a New Cosmic Object: The Black Hole Star
Gigantic black holes existed in a cosmic eyeblink after the Big Bang. That should be impossible.
Episode: S11 E35 | 14:20
Watch • 16:31
PBS Space Time
We Thought All Black Holes Came From Stars. We May Have Been Wrong.
LIGO may have found an impossible black hole, hinting at primordial relics from the Big Bang.
Episode: S11 E33 | 16:31
Watch • 15:15
PBS Space Time
There's Something Massive Hiding Behind the Galaxy's Strangest Star
A decade later, a leading theory may finally explain Tabby’s Star, the galaxy’s weirdest star.
Episode: S11 E34 | 15:15
Watch • 17:40
PBS Space Time
The Universe Has Been Expanding Since the Big Bang. Just Not How We Thought.
DESI and DES studied dark energy. Together, what can they tell us?
Episode: S11 E32 | 17:40
Watch • 16:28
PBS Space Time
The Quantum Experiment That Breaks Time
Could sending a quantum twin across the galaxy make you both old and young at the same time?
Episode: S11 E31 | 16:28
Watch • 17:39
PBS Space Time
We Thought Black Holes Created Event Horizons. It Might Be the Opposite
It's possible that an event horizon is forming right behind and you won't know until its too late.
Episode: S11 E30 | 17:39
Watch • 20:48
PBS Space Time
We’ve Been Looking for Aliens for 70 Years. We've Been Doing It Wrong All Along
Are there no alien signals to find... or do we need to update how we search for them?
Episode: S11 E29 | 20:48
Watch • 14:27
PBS Space Time
We Thought Black Holes Ended in Singularities. They Might End In a Frozen Big Bang
Physicists hope Planck stars can save us from black hole singularities and paradoxes.
Episode: S11 E28 | 14:27
Watch • 17:41
PBS Space Time
We Found Galaxies Too Old for the Universe
Galaxies older than the universe? Webb's findings keep defying our best explanations.
Episode: S11 E27 | 17:41
Watch • 16:16
PBS Space Time
Earth’s Core Should Be Impossible. A New State of Matter Explains It.
Earth's core: solid or liquid? Yes — we know more about distant galaxies than our own interior.
Episode: S11 E26 | 16:16