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Very hard to do because silicon dioxide (aka quartz / glass) forms an inert physical barrier to prevent further oxidation. Kinetics and diffusion say no!


Can you elaborate on this? Nothing could get through that barrier? Like is it impossible for fungi to do that?


HF-secreting microorganisms with a tropism for a material extremely common in the human environment? No way that could go wrong.


I'm not asking if it could go "wrong", which is a matter of perspective though.


I guess you can see it can't work because glass is typically the material used by scientists to contain microbes.


Yeah, I just wonder if it is entirely impossible, or there MAY be a way, even if theoretically (so far). Or is it like "it certainly can never happen"?


You imply microorganisms capable of digesting glass, stone, and sand, via a hydrofluoric-acid-concentrating biochemistry that I suspect is not even remotely possible in Earth's atmosphere, which is something of a relief because if it did happen, it would almost certainly end all other life on Earth within a span of years to decades.


I do not imply their existence. My question is, can they exist or is it completely impossible, even theoretically?


Nothing is impossible in theory.


OK, well, is it completely impossible in practice? I just want to get educated! Gosh.




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