this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023
52 points (98.1% liked)

[Dormant] moved to [email protected]

10767 readers
1 users here now

This community is dormant, please find us at [email protected]

You can find the original sidebar contents below:


Rules

  1. Be respectful and inclusive.
  2. No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
  3. Engage in constructive discussions.
  4. Share relevant content.
  5. Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
  6. Use appropriate language and tone.
  7. Report violations.
  8. Foster a continuous learning environment.

Picture of the Day

The Busy Center of the Lagoon Nebula


Related Communities

πŸ”­ Science

πŸš€ Engineering

🌌 Art and Photography


Other Cool Links

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 9 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago (4 children)

What exactly are "organic compounds"?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Definitions range from "chemicals with carbon-carbon and/or carbon-hydrogen bonds" to "any chemical with carbon in it." It's important to note that, while living things are largely made up of organic compounds, organic compounds don't necessarily mean living things.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Also since carbon-based life is all we are currently aware of, but we only have one example to go from, living things does not necessarily mean carbon.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That makes a lot of sense. So most likely they found something with Carbon and dont want to specify in public

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

Pretty deep in the article, I found the passage

...scientists were able to directly detect and analyze spectral features of non-water-ice materials on Ganymede’s surface. Some of these non-water-ice materials include hydrated sodium chloride, ammonium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and possibly even aliphatic aldehyde.

It's less that they don't want to say, and more that this is more or less meaningless to anyone who isn't a chemist

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

What is organic compounds in science terms?

organic compound, any of a large class of chemical compounds in which one or more atoms of carbon are covalently linked to atoms of other elements, most commonly hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen. The few carbon-containing compounds not classified as organic include carbides, carbonates, and cyanides.

Personally I don't think it's ever once explained in any science or news shows. Perhaps its because it gets the imagination going. (because.. It's organic!)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

To answer the question behind your question, organic compounds are the building blocks of all lifeforms we know, but they are not always created by life. They can also be created by physical processes without any lifeform present.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Compounds which are not inorganic.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

The flyby video is awesome!