Carbon is the basis of life for a plethora of reasons. The biggest reason is that carbon is one of the only elements that can form 4 bonds which makes them fine structures to build life with. Another reason is that carbon makes very strong bonds with itself and other molecules since the outer electrons are very close to the nucleus compared to something like silicon. Another disadvantage of silicon is that silicon-oxide which is relatively easier to produce than carbon dioxide because of its stable structure, is sand-like rather than gas like. Silicon also can not be used since silicon is very strongly attracted to oxygen which can destabilize its structure when silicon is in water. This is a major con since life thrives with water. Also carbon dioxide is very available in air, while silicon is only found in rock structures. Carbon is basically the basis of life since it is stable, can form many strong bonds and it is available widely in air.
Fun fact: This is why some acids are toxic. This is because they are defined as having silicon shield like structures with oxygen inside. Since silicon structures are very unstable, they often break inside cells when consumed, releasing the oxygen to deform the cell potentially causing its demise.
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