5 ms·
(2019) This is from Derek Lowe's wonderful "Things I won't work with" series from his long running blog. Even if you're not a chemistry person, it's written i
by paranoidrobot 2y ago
(2019)
This is from Derek Lowe's wonderful "Things I won't work with" series from his long running blog.
Even if you're not a chemistry person, it's written in an accessible way, and usually quite humorous way.
I recommend his 2010 post on "FOOF" Dioxygen Difluoride from the same series.
[1] https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-dioxygen-difluoride https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor...
- jajko 2y agoI know nothing from chemistry apart from high school stuff decades ago (and wasnt very good at it), but oh boy Derek knows how to write interesting stuff for laymen, read whole series since it gets quite regular mentions here. This is how you make people interested in more difficult topics
- dylan604 2y agoMy high school chemistry teacher used this approach, and I thank her for it. While maybe not at the same level of chemist, she did her best to make the subject much more approachable. My physics teacher had his humorous approach as well. I can still see his hand drawn sketches on the overhead in my mind.
- robocat 2y agoIf you want to read an amazing book from someone who sails the other tack and lovingly creates rocket propellants: https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pd...
- proaralyst 2y agoThis is such a good book, and it was very accessible as someone with little chemistry education.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- marcosdumay 2y agoYeah. The earlier, more famous posts of the blog on the article were about stuff that this book gives up on using because it just can't be contained and similar. Then the blog goes into more and more dangerous stuff... The silver lining is that the more dangerous a substance it, the lower the odds of it actually harming anybody, because everybody reacts like the author.
- wildylion 2y ago'reacts'. Violently.
- tlwr 2y agoAlways puts me in the mood to read the imitable "Excuse me sir, would you like to buy a kilo of isopropyl bromide"
- robocat 2y agoThanks, I needed to read Gegel again! http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/gergel_isopropyl_bromide.pdf http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/gergel_isopr...
- chx 2y agoAh yes the timeless classic which at the end calls out an idiot company for offering something that explodes at -180C in commercial quantities :D
- nraynaud 2y agoI love how many of those blog posts are triggered by German articles. German chemistry: the best outcome is setting grant money ablaze.
- RCitronsBroker 2y agohttps://www.uni-muenster.de/news/view.php?cmdid=13282 https://www.uni-muenster.de/news/view.php?cmdid=13282 sometimes the students are also set ablaze, 20 at once is actually rather impressive