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Magnesium oxide (Mg O), or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium (see also oxide). It has an empirical formula of MgO and consists of a lattice of Mg 2+ ions and O 2− ions held together by ionic bonding .
This is known as carbon isotope discrimination and results in carbon-12 to carbon-13 ratios in the plant that are higher than in the free air. Measurement of this isotopic ratio is important in the evaluation of water use efficiency in plants, [32] [33] [34] and also in assessing the possible or likely sources of carbon in global carbon cycle ...
The magnesium raw material of this type of reaction is magnesium oxide, which is obtained in many ways. In all cases, the raw materials must be calcined to remove both water and carbon dioxide. Magnesium oxide can also be obtained from sea or lake water magnesium chloride hydrolyzed to hydroxide. The Mg(OH) 2 is thermally dehydrated.
In plants, and more recently in animals, magnesium has been recognized as an important signaling ion, both activating and mediating many biochemical reactions. The best example of this is perhaps the regulation of carbon fixation in chloroplasts in the Calvin cycle .
Magnesium oxide is the end product of the thermal decomposition of some magnesium compounds and is usually prepared by igniting carbonates or hydroxides. Magnesium hydroxide is a strong electrolyte, which can be obtained by the reaction of a soluble magnesium salt and sodium hydroxide.
In both, magnesium oxide is the precursor to magnesium metal. The magnesium oxide is produced as a solid solution with calcium oxide by calcining the mineral dolomite, which is a solid solution of calcium and magnesium carbonates: CaCO 3 ·MgCO 3 → MgO·CaO + 2 CO 2. Reduction occurs at high temperatures with silicon.
Plants that use the C 4 carbon fixation process chemically fix carbon dioxide in the cells of the mesophyll by adding it to the three-carbon molecule phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), a reaction catalyzed by an enzyme called PEP carboxylase, creating the four-carbon organic acid oxaloacetic acid.
Titanium, aluminium, magnesium, and iron are all more abundant in the Earth's crust than carbon. Metal-oxide-based life could therefore be a possibility under certain conditions, including those (such as high temperatures) at which carbon-based life would be unlikely.