Re: Plausible life on a superjovian world

Edward Green <ergjoule@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The bottom line is, is there enough metabolic energy available to
support whatever process maintains the organism at neutral
buoyancy. If there isn't, the thing will starve and sink, or just
sink.

That sounds kind of failing the logic that it _evolved_ there; it
wasn't put into place to test whether it'd survive.

And evolution has quite a big box of tricks up its sleeve.

(And, on the other hand, it could well be that 999 out of 1000, or
999999 out of a million attempts 'sunk', but the one that stays
around is the one that didn't, no matter how improbable.)

And of course, some of those that 'sunk' might have been able to
live better down there. (We've got stuff living deep down in the
ocean, some giving off their own light, some near really hot spots.)

I am reminded of sharks. Unless I am mistaken, the creatures are
negatively buoyant, and must swim their entire lives even in what
passes for sleep, to avoid sinking.

Afaik, not quite. From what I know they'd suffocate without
swimming.

--
Tina
WISuspension: Seasons & Elements trilogy | Magic Earth series
Excerpts at: <http://home.htp-tel.de/fkoerper/ath/athintro.htm>
Posted to Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.composition.
.

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