It's the right analogy in the context of this research - the anhydrides survived longer when they formed a bubble, but still decayed. A car in the rain rusts f

It's the right analogy in the context of this research - the anhydrides survived longer when they formed a bubble, but still decayed. A car in the rain rusts faster than a car in a garage. The sheltered vehicle still rusts... but the lower rate makes it feasible to maintain.