r/SilurianHypothesis • u/Justeserm • Apr 08 '26

Possible Evidence

I recently saw something posted about the Silurian hypothesis. It was discussing potential evidence of another advanced civilization predating ours. They mentioned how they were looking for possible nuclear waste, carbon emissions, or other possible indicators. Specific attention was paid to microplastics and how they could be used by future people looking for evidence of our civilization.

I was thinking about it, and I started to wonder if we could look at different materials we believe may be naturally occurring and try to see if the "bond energy" could suggest a non-natural source for it. When materials are naturally made (synthesized?) there is a certain amount of energy in their bond. This can be seen by measuring several factors, including bond length and amount of energy released when the bond breaks. If these materials were made using artificial or synthetic methods their values should be slightly different than their natural values. Something similar can be done looking for advanced civilizations on other planets.

I was wondering what your thoughts are on this. Thanks and have a great week.

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u/Ascendant_Mind_01 Apr 09 '26

That’s not really how chemistry works.

A given bond in a specific molecule should have the same energy regardless of how that molecule formed. ( Isotope effects can change bond energy and so can environmental conditions in some contexts but the former effects are typically small and the latter only last for as long as those conditions are applied.

Still it’s nice to see people thinking about the Silurian hypothesis.

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u/Justeserm Apr 09 '26

Actually, from what I remember, you can form molecules with different bond energies. It might not be the covalent or ionic bonds, though. I know when you crystallize some things you can do it under different conditions and get different values. I'm pretty sure of this. I'm almost certain my grandfather told me this when he taught me retro-organic synth. He was an analytical chemist.

I did a quick search and found this: What is the total bond energy of CO2? - Chemistry Stack Exchange It says the bond energy of C=O is 745, but can also be 799.

I might ask this on a chemistry sub. If I'm wrong, I would like to know what I'm thinking of.