Quote from: Engineer on Apr 27, 2023, 11:03:08 AMQuote from: Kradan on Apr 27, 2023, 10:15:24 AMFor a layman like me, it as nonsensical as a creature having acidic blood
Acid blood isn't nonsensical at all. Lots of bodily fluids are acidic, like the hydrochloric acid in our stomachs we use to digest food.
Plus bishop does mention it oxidizes when exposed to air, so it may be non-corrosive until it bleeds.
Assuming it's acidic all the time though... hudafuk just said exactly the same thing I would have. Acids are great at transferring energy, hence why batteries have acids in them. It's essentially a living battery and in my head canon, the reason it can live so long without sustenance; it's very efficient at using the energy its body has stored up.
I was thinking the same thing. In Vasquez they use the term "acidic" as opposed to acid blood which only indicates a PH below 7. Different acids with PH below 3 can be stored safely.. sulphuric acid will not melt lead but it will burn your skin, hydrofluoric acid can be stored in plastic, fluorine can be kept in copper.
I'm not sure what the Nostromo hull was built of, and whether this would give an indication of what the properties is closest to.
Also.. is it really blood? Maybe not in our sense of the word? If the purpose of blood is to move oxygen around the body and it doesn't need oxygen.. or doesn't have organs.. then it isn't really blood.
In my weird Google searches of the day there are 8 animals that don't have a heart (that we know of) so it's entirely possible its purpose is nothing more than a defence mechanism like toads with toxins in their skin.
I looked through David's Drawings and can't see a cross section of the finished creature. Maybe someone here knows if one exists?