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Burning death, meat spiced with amorphous silica remains

Let's look at carbon in our bodies for a second.

The vast majority of carbons are linked to at least one hydrogen, and very many to two. Sugars, proteins, fats, you name it; they all have empirical formula CHxOy(Other)z, where H >= 1. Bear this in mind, it's important.

When you swap out carbon atoms like that for silicon atoms, you haven't made silicon carbide or silicones (those require there to be no Si-H bonds). No, you've made silane groups.

Silanes are highly flammable in air and react pretty violently with water under most circumstances. The slower, controlled reactions a few of you have encountered are exceptions deliberately engineered for that slowness. Silanes with the weird coordination environments you get in the body are not those exceptions, quite the opposite.

BURN!

You immediately cook. You don't explode, although a few small flames erupt on your skin. But the heat capacity of water wins the day here; you don't roast, you boil, or stew.

The product of silanes reacting either with aqueous species or air in small amounts is amorphous silica.

The remaining body is partially stewed and a bit gritty, being more than 90% cooked flesh and hot water and a few percent dispersed amorphous silica.

We hope that turning 10% of the brain's carbon into silicon immediately ends cognition before cooking commences, but who knows for sure?

PS Bump the fraction of transmuted carbon well up from 10% and consider swapping some or all of the Si for Ca or Al to get a mineralised body.

Burning death, meat spiced with amorphous silica remains

Let's look at the carbon in our bodies for a second.

The vast majority of carbons are linked to at least one hydrogen, and very many to two. Sugars, proteins, fats, you name it; they all have empirical formula CHxOy(Other)z, where H >= 1. Bear this in mind, it's important.

When you swap out carbon atoms like that for silicon atoms, you haven't made silicon carbide or silicones (those require there to be no Si-H bonds). No, you've made silane groups.

Silanes are highly flammable in air and react pretty violently with water under most circumstances. The slower, controlled reactions a few of you have encountered are exceptions deliberately engineered for that slowness. Silanes with the weird coordination environments you get in the body are not those exceptions, quite the opposite.

BURN!

You immediately cook. You don't explode, although a few small flames erupt on your skin. But the heat capacity of water wins the day here; you don't roast, you stew or maybe boil.

The product of silanes reacting either with aqueous species or air in small amounts is amorphous silica.

The remaining body is partially stewed and a bit gritty, being more than 90% cooked flesh and hot water and a few percent dispersed amorphous silica.

We hope that turning 10% of the brain's carbon into silicon immediately ends cognition before cooking commences, but who knows for sure?

PS Bump the fraction of transmuted carbon well up from 10% and consider swapping some or all of the Si for Ca or Al to get a mineralised body.

Burning death, meat spiced with amorphous silica remains

Let's look at carbon in our bodies for a second.

The vast majority of carbons are linked to at least one hydrogen, and very many to two. Sugars, proteins, fats, you name it; they all have empirical formula CHxOy(Other)z, where H >= 1. Bear this in mind, it's important.

When you swap out carbon atoms like that for silicon atoms, you haven't made silicon carbide or silicones (those require there to be no Si-H bonds). No, you've made silane groups.

Silanes are highly flammable in air and react pretty violently with water under most circumstances (the slower, controlled reactions a few of you have encountered are exceptions deliberately chosen for that slowness). Silanes with the weird coordination environments you get in the body are not those exceptions, quite the opposite.

BURN!

You immediately cook. You don't explode, although a few small flames erupt on your skin. But the heat capacity of water wins the day here; you don't roast, you boil, or stew.

The product of silanes reacting either with aqueous species or air in small amounts is amorphous silica.

The remaining body is partially stewed and a bit gritty, being more than 90% cooked flesh and hot water and a few percent dispersed amorphous silica.

We hope that turning 10% of the brain's carbon into silicon immediately ends cognition before cooking commences, but who knows for sure?

Burning death, meat spiced with amorphous silica remains

Let's look at carbon in our bodies for a second.

The vast majority of carbons are linked to at least one hydrogen, and very many to two. Sugars, proteins, fats, you name it; they all have empirical formula CHxOy(Other)z, where H >= 1. Bear this in mind, it's important.

When you swap out carbon atoms like that for silicon atoms, you haven't made silicon carbide or silicones (those require there to be no Si-H bonds). No, you've made silane groups.

Silanes are highly flammable in air and react pretty violently with water under most circumstances. The slower, controlled reactions a few of you have encountered are exceptions deliberately engineered for that slowness. Silanes with the weird coordination environments you get in the body are not those exceptions, quite the opposite.

BURN!

You immediately cook. You don't explode, although a few small flames erupt on your skin. But the heat capacity of water wins the day here; you don't roast, you boil, or stew.

The product of silanes reacting either with aqueous species or air in small amounts is amorphous silica.

The remaining body is partially stewed and a bit gritty, being more than 90% cooked flesh and hot water and a few percent dispersed amorphous silica.

We hope that turning 10% of the brain's carbon into silicon immediately ends cognition before cooking commences, but who knows for sure?

PS Bump the fraction of transmuted carbon well up from 10% and consider swapping some or all of the Si for Ca or Al to get a mineralised body.

Burning death, meat spiced with amorphous silica remains

Let's look at carbon in our bodies for a second.

The vast majority of carbons are linked to at least one hydrogen, and very many to two. Sugars, proteins, fats, you name it; they all have empirical formula CHxOy(Other)z, where H >= 1. Bear this in mind, it's important.

When you swap out carbon atoms like that for silicon atoms, you haven't made silicon carbide or silicones (those require no Si-H bonds). No, you've made silane groups.

Silanes are highly flammable in air and react pretty violently with water under most circumstances (the slower, controlled reactions a few of you have encountered are exceptions deliberately chosen for that slowness). Silanes with the weird coordination environments you get in the body are not those exceptions, quite the opposite.

BURN!

You immediately cook. You don't explode, although a few small flames erupt on your skin. But the heat capacity of water wins the day here; you don't roast, you boil, or stew.

The product of silanes reacting either with aqueous species or air in small amounts is amorphous silica.

The remaining body is partially stewed and a bit gritty, being more than 90% cooked flesh and hot water and a few percent dispersed amorphous silica.

We hope that turning 10% of the brain's carbon into silicon immediately ends cognition before cooking commences, but who knows for sure?

Burning death, meat spiced with amorphous silica remains

Let's look at carbon in our bodies for a second.

The vast majority of carbons are linked to at least one hydrogen, and very many to two. Sugars, proteins, fats, you name it; they all have empirical formula CHxOy(Other)z, where H >= 1. Bear this in mind, it's important.

When you swap out carbon atoms like that for silicon atoms, you haven't made silicon carbide or silicones (those require there to be no Si-H bonds). No, you've made silane groups.

Silanes are highly flammable in air and react pretty violently with water under most circumstances (the slower, controlled reactions a few of you have encountered are exceptions deliberately chosen for that slowness). Silanes with the weird coordination environments you get in the body are not those exceptions, quite the opposite.

BURN!

You immediately cook. You don't explode, although a few small flames erupt on your skin. But the heat capacity of water wins the day here; you don't roast, you boil, or stew.

The product of silanes reacting either with aqueous species or air in small amounts is amorphous silica.

The remaining body is partially stewed and a bit gritty, being more than 90% cooked flesh and hot water and a few percent dispersed amorphous silica.

We hope that turning 10% of the brain's carbon into silicon immediately ends cognition before cooking commences, but who knows for sure?