We‘re all solar—powered animals.
Many bacteria and animals are chemically-powered or electrically-powered. Just one group: https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/lost-city-pumps-life-es...
Costasiella kuroshimae
51–60 of 61 posts
Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#52Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#53This is one of those times evolution doesn't make sense to me. It's clear how a giraffe's neck evolves, the ones that could reach higher leaves in trees had an advantage. In examples like this, how does this evolve when there is no gradual change? An animal had to exist that had an offspring that somehow both absorbed the chloroplasts of the food it ate in a way that it could use (not just simple digestion), then hav…
> please note I am not challenging the scientific truth of evolution Evolution isn’t a matter of faith, you’re welcome to challenge it and try to poke holes in it.
While true, the predominance of evidence for evolution has reached the point that anybody attempting to argue against it would have to produce absolutely enormous amounts of self-consistent evidence that explains our observations better than modern theories of evolution. It's sort of like the laws of thermodynamics, or relativity, or quantum physics- if you found convincing evidence that any one of those was not accurate, and came up with a better explanation, it would both completely transform science, and open up new avenues for discovery.
And if you want to do that, you should probably get a deep set of experience; otherwise, it's not much different from a flat earther.
Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#54This is one of those times evolution doesn't make sense to me. It's clear how a giraffe's neck evolves, the ones that could reach higher leaves in trees had an advantage. In examples like this, how does this evolve when there is no gradual change? An animal had to exist that had an offspring that somehow both absorbed the chloroplasts of the food it ate in a way that it could use (not just simple digestion), then hav…
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Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#55Makes you imagine a world with high solar power density and maybe lower gravity or something where larger land animals might be realistically supplemented by solar energy as well.
Closer to the sun (high solar power density) and smaller (lower gravity)... I think we actually have one of those nearby?
I suppose also 'is capable of supporting life' might be an important factor when considering hypothetical life forms.
Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Somewhat related https://what-if.xkcd.com/17/ The surface is too small and you only get like 4% of the energy you need (Assuming you like being naked under full sunlight all day long. The article is for cows, but I guess the number is similar for humans.) 4% of 2400 kcal is almost 100 kcal, that is the content of a small diet treat or 2 apples. These sea slugs can survive because they move very slowly. For a human, I…
Dietary need scales with volume, whereas incident sunlight would scale with surface area. Assuming a spherical cow and a spherical human, the calories needed would scale with the radius cubed, whereas the calories gained from sunlight would scale with the radius squared. So while I agree this wouldn't be very many calories, even if you sat under the sun all day, I think the 4% figure is probably quite pessimistic.
Marvelous...
Finally a good reason to assume a spherical cow!
Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#57This is one of those times evolution doesn't make sense to me. It's clear how a giraffe's neck evolves, the ones that could reach higher leaves in trees had an advantage. In examples like this, how does this evolve when there is no gradual change? An animal had to exist that had an offspring that somehow both absorbed the chloroplasts of the food it ate in a way that it could use (not just simple digestion), then hav…
> please note I am not challenging the scientific truth of evolution Evolution isn’t a matter of faith, you’re welcome to challenge it and try to poke holes in it.
theres nothing stopping the entirety of existence as being experienced via wires connected to some brain matter suspended in a jar, one would have to disprove this issue at a meta level to conclusively state any given existential theory as true. therefore all existential theories including atheism are faith based, so to state any one particular theory as true is dogmatic and unscientific
Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#58I remember as a kid wondering if we could give humans chlorolaplasts.
I believe that mitochondria and chloroplast both were originally independent single celled organisms. So kind of funny that, chloroplast is being "stolen" again by this sea slug.
Chloroplasts are but one variety of plastids. Assimilation has occurred multiple times.
Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Somewhat related https://what-if.xkcd.com/17/ The surface is too small and you only get like 4% of the energy you need (Assuming you like being naked under full sunlight all day long. The article is for cows, but I guess the number is similar for humans.) 4% of 2400 kcal is almost 100 kcal, that is the content of a small diet treat or 2 apples. These sea slugs can survive because they move very slowly. For a human, I…
Dietary need scales with volume, whereas incident sunlight would scale with surface area. Assuming a spherical cow and a spherical human, the calories needed would scale with the radius cubed, whereas the calories gained from sunlight would scale with the radius squared. So while I agree this wouldn't be very many calories, even if you sat under the sun all day, I think the 4% figure is probably quite pessimistic.
Mmm... Cows weight like 5 persons, 5^(1/3)=1.7, so 4%*1.7=7%, so 170 kcal that is still less than a single cheeseburger.
Re: Costasiella kuroshimae
#60Real Science video on the slug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH_uv4h2xYM