- #1
- 24,775
- 792
long ago and far away there was a planet that had a reducing atmosphere like Titan, the air there was mostly nitrogen like our air but instead of oxygen it had some percentage methane
so sugars and fats were useless as foods because there was no oxygen to metabolize them, you would not, for example, eat a chocolate granola bar for energy because it wouldn't give you any
all the plants and animals were very unhappy because there was no such thing as food, so they called a meeting to decide what to do about it.
One of the pigs, whose name was Carlo, was a great chemist and he had an idea. suppose the plants all produced compounds like Nitrogen Tetroxide! said carlo. that would be just like sugar on this world. It would give you an immediate sugar high. You could even run your car on it!
Yes, said one of the squirrels, and KO2 and K2O5!
The squirrel happened to know that these compounds will react with methane----which was available in unlimited amounts----and release energy. They are the strong oxidizing agents potassium superoxide and potassium pentoxide. (potassium superoxide is also sometimes called tetroxide.)
Buzz buzz we agree, said the bees, we suggest that the flowers all have nectar of hydrogen peroxide H2O2 in them, instead of sugar-water.
The nectar they have now is useless so who wants to fly around getting that stuff!
The plants got the idea that it would be in their interest to switch over to making storable oxidants---to use as energy reserves in their own seeds, in place of oils and starches, and to reward the services performed by animals.
So they immediately switched over.
After that if you squeezed an apple the cider you got out was hydrogen peroxide. And like Carlo said, you could run your car on it.
so sugars and fats were useless as foods because there was no oxygen to metabolize them, you would not, for example, eat a chocolate granola bar for energy because it wouldn't give you any
all the plants and animals were very unhappy because there was no such thing as food, so they called a meeting to decide what to do about it.
One of the pigs, whose name was Carlo, was a great chemist and he had an idea. suppose the plants all produced compounds like Nitrogen Tetroxide! said carlo. that would be just like sugar on this world. It would give you an immediate sugar high. You could even run your car on it!
Yes, said one of the squirrels, and KO2 and K2O5!
The squirrel happened to know that these compounds will react with methane----which was available in unlimited amounts----and release energy. They are the strong oxidizing agents potassium superoxide and potassium pentoxide. (potassium superoxide is also sometimes called tetroxide.)
Buzz buzz we agree, said the bees, we suggest that the flowers all have nectar of hydrogen peroxide H2O2 in them, instead of sugar-water.
The nectar they have now is useless so who wants to fly around getting that stuff!
The plants got the idea that it would be in their interest to switch over to making storable oxidants---to use as energy reserves in their own seeds, in place of oils and starches, and to reward the services performed by animals.
So they immediately switched over.
After that if you squeezed an apple the cider you got out was hydrogen peroxide. And like Carlo said, you could run your car on it.