please someone give me some charateristics of all living organisims that define " being alive" that are not present in a flame

the only one i can think of right now is "made up of cells"

a flame uses gasses it absorbs energy it gives off waste products it reacts to stimuli and it reproduces

so any ideas?

Hmmm.... interesting thoughts. It does leaves waste products and it utilizes gases. But... errr...

I always thought of flames as merely a chemical reaction of combustion. My impression is that fire does not absorb energy but rather, it releases energy through combustion.

Granted, fire does spread, but it is different from reproduction. Reproduction indicates that information (to construct the organism) of some sort is being passed on from generation to generation. Usually this information in the form of DNA.

I am also reluctant to attribute reaction to stimuli to fire. Stimuli hints that something has a sensor array of some sort. Single cells have chemical sensors that tell them how to alter their functions. Animals have nerves, and plants have sensor cells. Fire has none of these.

Fire is a single chemical reaction. Granted, organic life are technically groups of chemical reactions of a very large complexity. However, organic life tries to balance and maintain its chemical reactions for as long as possible. Even if deprived of fuel (food) organisms can maintain its chemial reactions for extended periods of time. A sense of self preservation as one might put it. Fire is self destructive, never bothers to maitain its reactions. Once fuel is gone is ceases to exist.

Organic life reproduces through cellular mitosis. Life is that which inevitably dies.

I guess it all depends on what you mean by "alive"...
There are some that think all physical things in the physical universe are alive and have self awareness and an awareness of purpose... I tend to follow along those lines of thought.

But, if that is too much of a leap for you then perhaps you might want to choose to stick to the "life sciences" that have been established... "Life is any organism that uses energy and has a means of self reproducing". Although I believe that such an existence might seem rather dull, I think this definition pretty much covers it.

[This message has been edited by Ursus (edited 10-15-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Ursus (edited 10-15-2002).]

The only thing that I can think of that might fall through the cracks here are some types of viruses. Take RNA viruses for instance. While and RNA virus IS an organism it contains no DNA, ony RNA. It reproduces by tricking the host cell into using the virus RNA to produce new cells. Those new cells are copies of the virus that are actually reproduced by the host. So...I dunno... While this type of virus technically can't reproduce within it's own species, it DOES have a means of reproducing...I guess...

quote:

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Originally posted by pRiMo_PyRo:
[b]absorbs energy
so any ideas?[/B]

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Fire gives of energy as do all exotheremic reactions, cold packs absorbe energy.

CTR

this isnt my thought we are discussing it in my science class so i think i may take this in show it to him have him comment on it then post what he said or i may not who knows?

That made less sence than any post i have ever written, that says alot.

CTR

frankly im offended he who writes like a six-year old

what i meant to say was im going to print this thread out and give it to my science teacher just to be an annoying little prick then ill see what he says

He'll say, "You're an anoying little prick!"

I started to answer this late last night, but was too tired and it just got too out of control - even for one of my posts.

So I'll give it another go.

A couple of things that all living things do that a flame doesn't?

(1). Organisms tend to be complex and highly organized. Chemicals found within their bodies are synthesized through metabolic processes into structures that have defined purposes. Cells and their various organelles are examples of such structures. Cells are also the basic functioning unit of life. Cells are often organized into organs to create higher levels of complexity and function.
(2). Living things have the ability to take energy from their environment and change it from one form to another. This energy is usually used to facilitate their growth and reproduction. We call the process that allows for this facilitation metabolism.

(3). Organisms tend to be homeostatic. In other words, they regulate their bodies and other internal structures to certain normal parameters.

(4). Living creatures respond to stimuli. Cues in their environment cause them to react through behavior, metabolism, and physiological change.

(5). Living things reproduce themselves by making copies of themselves. Reproduction can either be sexual or asexual. Sexual reproduction involves the fusing of haploid genetic material from two individuals. This process creates populations with much greater genetic diversity.

(6). Organisms tend to grow and develop. Growth involves the conversion of consumed materials into biomass, new individuals, and waste.

(7). Life adapts and evolves in step with external changes in the environment through mutation and natural selection. This process acts over relatively long periods of time.


[I got lazy and copied that from http://www.geog.ouc.bc.ca/physgeog/contents/9a.html ]

I'm curious, though: Why a flame?

[It figures: I asked that because while looing up stuff last night I saw a dirct answer to that question - and today I can't find it for sh*t. Boo!]

Living things also contain carbon and fire doesnt.

CTR

I'm curious, though: Why a flame?

Because like my self primo is a pyromaniac.

-FlameViper

Recently, there have been organisms found that are NOT carbon based...

quote:

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Originally posted by Ursus:
Recently, there have been organisms found that are NOT carbon based...

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Such as?