muscles, how do they work?

[Roan]

If carbon cannot move and hydrogen cannot move (without intervention of some kind) then how does a hydrocarbon-protien muscle cell move on its own?

[mith]

ummm, what is a hydrocarbon protein muscle?

[Roan]

ooookkkeeeyyyy, ummm, cells are made out of protin; which is made out of hydrocarbons; which are made out of hydrogen and carbon. how exactley does the bonds between the hydrogen and carbon all of a sudden make them "alive"

[Jammerz]

There's a lot more to cells than just "hydrocarbons", and your question is extremely broad.

Cells are made of (primarily) protein, carbohydrates and lipids, which are in turn made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium, and a number of other elements. There are many, many different kinds of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.

Muscles contain a lot of protein. The way they contract is by the movement of different proteins (actin and myosin) sliding across one another, and the energy for this comes from ATP.

That's an extremely general and incomplete explanation; you should look at some websites or textbooks.

[mith]

Conformational change in a molecule <---coulombic forces