Steve Harris is correct: around 50 naturally occurring elements have no biological function. If we include the artificial ones, that number goes up to around 80.
And Steve is also correct that other than Al and Ni, and perhaps a few others, these elements are so rare as to not be missed…on Earth.
However, there's one element we don't need that the universe would look very different without: helium. Helium makes up a signficiant mass of the sun. Without it, many stars would blink out of existence. Nuclear fusion as we know it wouldn't work, and the sun would no longer produce light and heat.
We'd definitely notice that!
Read other answers by Dave Consiglio on Quora:
- What are the qualities you would want for a virus meant to eradicate all humans?
- What would happen if we tried to turn air into a liquid or solid?
- If every person on earth were allowed to kill one other person, how many people would be left alive?
from Quora http://ift.tt/2dnSIXC
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