5 ms·

The writing is so good, I had to double check that it wasn't written by Derek Lowe.

by ebg13 7y ago

sq_ 7y ago
I absolutely love reading Derek's blog. So informative and funny at the same time. Especially his "Things I Won't Work With" section.
samcheng 7y ago
Here's his most famous article on FOOF (Dioxygen Diflouride) https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2010/02/23/th... It seems there are multiple chemist-author hybrids out there!
- ggm 7y ago
  At seven hundred freaking degrees, fluorine starts to dissociate into monoatomic radicals, thereby losing its gentle and forgiving nature. Gentle and Forgiving nature...
  - HarryHirsch 7y ago
    The inimitable Martin Poliakoff demonstrates it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtWp45Eewtw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtWp45Eewtw
    - ebg13 7y ago
      "It was much more exciting than I thought" is a great opening line.
    - ggm 7y ago
      Great communication
  - fuzzfactor 7y ago
    We used to do this under pressure in heavy-walled alloy cylinders being irradiated with megawatts of microwave energy behind a blast shell facing into the deep woods at the far end of the specialty fluorochemical research plant.
- TomVDB 7y ago
  Like the story about the SR-71 Blackbird asking for a speed check, I will never not read the FOOF article again when somebody posts the link. (https://tribunist.com/technology/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-trolls-arrogant-fighter-pilot-with-ground-speed-check/ https://tribunist.com/technology/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-troll...)
  - vanderZwan 7y ago
    Thank you for that link, first time I saw it!
- hprotagonist 7y ago
  “sand won’t save you this time” is also excellent. https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sa... “i always recommend a good pair of running shoes”, indeed.
quickthrower2 7y ago
It was great, I enjoyed reading so much I forgot how much skill and patience it takes to write that way with such empathy for the reader. Even calling the chemicals names like 15 and 16 is a wonderful abstraction because the point of the article is how difficult the job is, not to teach chemistry and bamboozle people. I hope someone in the Haskell space can do this!
IanCal 7y ago
I had the same thought, this is wonderfully written. Detailed but accessible for a technically inclined lay audience, fun but not over the top. It's extremely hard to do, so well done and thanks to the author :)
Josh_Bloom 7y ago
Thank you! That may be the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten. Derek is the god of carbon as far as I’m concerned. Josh
microtherion 7y ago
I agree. This had the style of a "Things I won't Work With" column, except that those generally describe experiments done for pure research (or possibly military/rocketry applications). It's interesting that chemistry for pharmaceutical purposes can involve similarly nasty substances. The article also does a great job conveying how much of a frustration minuscule yields must be.

The writing is so good, I had to double check that it wasn't written by Derek Lowe.

by ebg13 7y ago

The writing is so good, I had to double check that it wasn't written by Derek Lowe.

sq_ 7y ago

I absolutely love reading Derek's blog. So informative and funny at the same time. Especially his "Things I Won't Work With" section.

samcheng 7y ago

Here's his most famous article on FOOF (Dioxygen Diflouride) https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2010/02/23/th... It seems there are multiple chemist-author hybrids out there!

ggm 7y ago
At seven hundred freaking degrees, fluorine starts to dissociate into monoatomic radicals, thereby losing its gentle and forgiving nature. Gentle and Forgiving nature...
- HarryHirsch 7y ago
  The inimitable Martin Poliakoff demonstrates it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtWp45Eewtw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtWp45Eewtw
  - ebg13 7y ago
    "It was much more exciting than I thought" is a great opening line.
  - ggm 7y ago
    Great communication
- fuzzfactor 7y ago
  We used to do this under pressure in heavy-walled alloy cylinders being irradiated with megawatts of microwave energy behind a blast shell facing into the deep woods at the far end of the specialty fluorochemical research plant.
TomVDB 7y ago
Like the story about the SR-71 Blackbird asking for a speed check, I will never not read the FOOF article again when somebody posts the link. (https://tribunist.com/technology/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-trolls-arrogant-fighter-pilot-with-ground-speed-check/ https://tribunist.com/technology/sr-71-blackbird-pilot-troll...)
- vanderZwan 7y ago
  Thank you for that link, first time I saw it!
hprotagonist 7y ago
“sand won’t save you this time” is also excellent. https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sa... “i always recommend a good pair of running shoes”, indeed.

quickthrower2 7y ago

It was great, I enjoyed reading so much I forgot how much skill and patience it takes to write that way with such empathy for the reader. Even calling the chemicals names like 15 and 16 is a wonderful abstraction because the point of the article is how difficult the job is, not to teach chemistry and bamboozle people. I hope someone in the Haskell space can do this!

IanCal 7y ago

I had the same thought, this is wonderfully written. Detailed but accessible for a technically inclined lay audience, fun but not over the top. It's extremely hard to do, so well done and thanks to the author :)

Josh_Bloom 7y ago

Thank you! That may be the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten. Derek is the god of carbon as far as I’m concerned. Josh

microtherion 7y ago

I agree. This had the style of a "Things I won't Work With" column, except that those generally describe experiments done for pure research (or possibly military/rocketry applications). It's interesting that chemistry for pharmaceutical purposes can involve similarly nasty substances. The article also does a great job conveying how much of a frustration minuscule yields must be.