Official Comment Count: 1,027,035
Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
August 27, 2008
Category: Explosives
Potassium chlorate, KClO3, is quite oxygen-dense and a potent oxidant. It is used in what we called "whippersnappers" and the suppliers called "Pop-Pops" as kids, along with silver fulminate. There is a singular irony in that the wimpiest firework, the...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 11:10 PM • 7 Comments •
August 25, 2008
Category: Poisons
Sarin is an organophosphate that irreversibly inhibits cholinesterase. it's a neurotoxin, and a potent one. It'd be absolutely terrifying as a weapon, if it weren't so unstable. Even if a rogue state had gobs of Sarin last year, it's all...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 10:46 PM • 10 Comments •
August 21, 2008
Category: Stinky
Short alkanoic acids stink. Apparently hexanoic acid smells of goats:...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 11:23 PM • 2 Comments •
August 19, 2008
Category: Synthesis
Sodium borohydride is intermediate to the jackhammer that is LAH and the pussycat that is cyanoborohydride....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:40 PM • 3 Comments •
August 13, 2008
Category: Poisons
Trying to think of a molecule tonight, my friend suggested "pick an ugly one no one wants anymore...a clearance rack molecule." I immediately went to chlorinated solvents. They're in the backwater now, right? Carbon tetrachloride sure has a bad rep....
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 11:11 PM • 12 Comments •
August 11, 2008
Category: Dyes
Pyrene is a simple, four-fused benzene PAH:...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 10:37 PM • 3 Comments •
August 7, 2008
Category: Perfumey
I love reading lists of fragrance chemicals. The assignment of pleasant, qualitative fragrance descriptions to chemicals with hard-nosed, rigorous functional group names always makes me giggle a little. Acetophenone, for instance, smells of orange blossoms. Today, I came across one...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:26 PM • 2 Comments •
August 5, 2008
Category: Not Really a Molecule
If you have been reading SB long enough to remember the DonorsChoose promotion, you might be interested in this. It's videos of scientists talking about their first experiments and why they like science, and if you vote on the one...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 9:00 AM • 0 Comments •
August 4, 2008
Category: Food
Erythorbic acid is a common food additive:...
Posted by Molecule of the Day at 8:01 PM • 1 Comments •
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