rdfs:comment
| - The exact composition of Xenomorph blood is a vigorously debated topic. Its extreme corrosiveness precludes study to a large degree. However, it is known that it is some form of molecular acid, and that while incredibly potent, it quickly oxidizes in air and is subsequently rendered neutral. It is typically a dull yellow in color, occasionally with hints of green. While generally accepted as the creature's blood (and typically described as such), some have suggested that, at least at the Facehugger stage, the acid is not blood but rather a defensive fluid maintained under pressure between a double layer of skin.
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abstract
| - The exact composition of Xenomorph blood is a vigorously debated topic. Its extreme corrosiveness precludes study to a large degree. However, it is known that it is some form of molecular acid, and that while incredibly potent, it quickly oxidizes in air and is subsequently rendered neutral. It is typically a dull yellow in color, occasionally with hints of green. While generally accepted as the creature's blood (and typically described as such), some have suggested that, at least at the Facehugger stage, the acid is not blood but rather a defensive fluid maintained under pressure between a double layer of skin. The specific composition of the acidic blood remains a mystery, with its incredibly corrosive properties no doubt limiting the degree to which it may be studied. However, it has been theorized that the blood could be some type of "hydrosulfuric" or hydrochloric acid composition due to its corrosiveness and its conspicuously toxic effects on living human tissue. It has also been proposed that the Xenomorphs are immune to their own acidic blood due to an endobiological build-up, similar to the human stomach's ability to protect itself from its own digestive fluids. It has also been theorized that the blood is fluorine-based, and that the Xenomorph's protection system against its own toxic acid is essentially a bio-organically produced Teflon insulation within its body, since polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, or Teflon), being a fluorine-based compound, does not react with hydrofluoric acid. It is known that Xenomorph chitin is resistant to the acid even after it the creature has died or its chitin has been removed. Other theories include the possibility of the blood being a fluorocarbon or chlorofluorocarbon compound; this would serve to explain why Xenomorphs that have been set alight will sometimes explode violently, as fluorocarbons are incredibly reactive with fire.
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