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Memento posted:Cross-quoting from the Idiots in the Military thread: Atomic gardening isn't actually gone, as the article suggests. It's still commonly done, but by Ag companies in safe environments. Lots of modern crops exist due to gamma ray induced mutations. It's one reason why the "unnatural" tag on GMOs is nonsense.
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Mar 27, 2016 05:53
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Yeah. Ruby grapefruit are atomic mutants, for instance!
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Mar 27, 2016 06:08
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Don't you remember your 50's b-movies? Insects will eat the atomic fruits and veggies, then they will grow to gigantic sizes where they will eat entire warehouses full of grain, schools full of children, and dance halls full of people run towards the danger instead of away from it.
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Mar 27, 2016 06:17
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Anytime you see someone who hates GMOs just ask them if they have a dog / like dogs. Cuz guess what, humans genetically modified those organisms. The slow way, but still, we did that. If they talk poo poo about atomic science being unnatural just show em this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_nuclear_fission_reactor And anything about chemicals bad, water is a chemical. Anything about nature good, link to various naturally occurring poisons, blah blah. checkmate, antiGMOailures 
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Mar 27, 2016 06:48
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Light Gun Man posted:Anytime you see someone who hates GMOs just ask them if they have a dog / like dogs. Cuz guess what, humans genetically modified those organisms. The slow way, but still, we did that. did you get all of your opinions from an intro chem teacher?
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Mar 27, 2016 06:59
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A White Guy posted:did you get all of your opinions from an intro chem teacher? These are not serious opinions. Sometimes I tell jokes on the joke forum! Except maybe the one about dogs, dogs are interesting to think about that way.
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Mar 27, 2016 07:10
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Reminds me, I got this newsletter from my housing company the other day. It said to call them if I had a clogged drain, they'd send someone to fix it for free. They also warned to please do not use chemical drain cleaners, because they are "so chemical" that they might dissolve the pipes. So chemical. Much molecule?
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Mar 27, 2016 09:39
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Reply and request that they install plumbing that isn't made of cardboard and granola.
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Mar 27, 2016 12:53
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Personally I'd call and ask for chemical-free piping 
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Mar 27, 2016 13:32
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Carbon dioxide posted:Reminds me, I got this newsletter from my housing company the other day. I'm going to assume they would prefer to snake it out, but I doubt that connection exists between the person who wrote it and the guy who cleans your drain. He probably just drops some sulfuric acid drain cleaner when it comes down to it. Wonder if they had a precedent for a previous tenant loving up the piping systems. I'm digging the home chemist's youtube channels you guys linked. I'd wager to bet most of these guys are doing some type of chemistry grad work. If not then it's kind of scary given the chemicals they're producing in some videos. Especially with the PPE choices they often choose to use or not. Still though it's really to see the Niles Red guy go from basic synthesis upward to more complex synthesis. Plus I get to learn about what all those funky glass contraptions are we never touched in O Chem. Chemists come up with some neat solutions to problems regarding reaction conditions! What are the funkiest chemistry techniques or contraptions you guys have heard of? Edit: VVV is what I had been watching leading up to that post. Guy explains well without droning on to too much detail. He provides enough detail that you could search out more information if need be, but not bog down the videos. onemanlan has a new favorite as of 15:26 on Mar 27, 2016 |
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Mar 27, 2016 14:16
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Has Nile Red been linked here yet? I really like that channel because he doesn't just do neat syntheses, he also shows off actual chemical techniques that are common in research labs. It's much more accurate than all those "HUHUH let's make some poo poo and blow it up!!!" channels (although those can be fun to watch, too). If you want to learn some practical chemistry while looking at toxic/explosive/smelly stuff, check out that channel.
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Mar 27, 2016 14:27
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onemanlan posted:I'm going to assume they would prefer to snake it out, but I doubt that connection exists between the person who wrote it and the guy who cleans your drain. He probably just drops some sulfuric acid drain cleaner when it comes down to it. Wonder if they had a precedent for a previous tenant loving up the piping systems. Water treatment sets up segregated testing spots wherever convenient and especially for new constructions all owned or partly owned by the same operator. You then get charged out the rear end for non-standard discharge like wacky pH and too much food solids because it can mean pretty severe changes in operating regime and the need for new equipment if the non-standard becomes the new standard. For stuff like rental properties or HOA managed sewer, it turns into whatever woo about chemicals and garbage disposals they think the residents will believe in service of saving a buck.
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Mar 27, 2016 14:32
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It turns out to be really not that exciting, but I think the idea behind this experiment, "what if you exposed pure cesium metal to fluorine gas?", is in the spirit of the thread. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLOFaWdPxB0 they're all careful and poo poo using minute amounts instead of just remotely dropping the chunk of cesium into a pit full of fluorine, like they should have something deserving of a soundtrack of blaring triumphant music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY7mTCMvpEM
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Mar 27, 2016 15:23
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onemanlan posted:Plus I get to learn about what all those funky glass contraptions are we never touched in O Chem. Chemists come up with some neat solutions to problems regarding reaction conditions! What are the funkiest chemistry techniques or contraptions you guys have heard of? I always thought a Soxhlet extractor was kind of neat and fun to watch in action.
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Mar 27, 2016 16:20
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Speaking of opinions, I want to stop burning oil asap so we have more of it to do other things with, like plastic.
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Mar 27, 2016 22:49
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What happened to "Things I won't work with" 
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Mar 28, 2016 00:35
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Moist von Lipwig posted:What happened to "Things I won't work with" If you mean the guy's blog, it has moved, not sure how recently. http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/
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Mar 28, 2016 00:41
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The stuff he will work with is still fairly entertaining.
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Mar 28, 2016 01:37
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Tunicate posted:The stuff he will work with is still fairly entertaining. Things anyone reasonable won't work with: magnesium anywhere near melting point.
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Mar 28, 2016 02:22
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KozmoNaut posted:If you've ever wanted to know what methylated spirits tastes like, here's your chance:
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Mar 28, 2016 02:55
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thespaceinvader posted:I didn't think of disinfection, but yeah, that's valid. Just nicotine then. Maybe stuff like khat as well. But most of the well-known western recreational drugs are repurposed medicines. This is from a million pages ago but bupropion is a very popular antidepressant and synthetic cathinone so it's basically based on khat. Moist von Lipwig has a new favorite as of 04:03 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 04:00
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GWBBQ posted:This reminds me of the time I decided to see just how bad the bitterant in computer duster could be. I sprayed a bit in my mouth, held it for a bit, and spit it out. It tasted bad, but I can't imagine it would deter someone choosing between duster spray and something like spray paint. I took it a bit further and turned the can upside down, soaked a bit of paper, let it warm up, and touched it to my tongue. It tasted bad. Let me elaborate, it may be the closest I've ever experienced to the Platonic ideal of bad tastes. I was constantly reminded of what a bad decision this was as the taste faded and finally disappeared early the next afternoon. I did something similar. Except it wasn't to test anything about the bitterant, I hadn't noticed that warning label on the can of duster. I was just using it as a cryo fluid to freeze things, and figured I'd try freezing a piece of candy in it. Yeah, that taste sticks around for a while.
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Mar 28, 2016 05:12
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During a natural selection experiment in an entry level biology class, I was the only person volunteered to try the generic pet stop chewing spray we were using to coat some apples along with the professor to confirm that it did in fact taste awful. The bitterant in duster isn't much worse. If you want really nasty, get sprayed in the face/mouth by a skunk. Fucker had exceptional aim and the spray is flat out the worst thing I've ever tasted. It was enough to force vomiting pretty much immediately.
Elmnt80 has a new favorite as of 08:50 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 08:43
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cowandchick posted:I always thought a Soxhlet extractor was kind of neat and fun to watch in action. Sort of related to the soxhlet is a Wiley extraction apparatus. An odd looking piece of equipment that I've only really seen in old papers or in the little exhibit boxes at uni. It functions similarly to the soxhlet as I understand it. I think the soxhlet extractor is far more elegant though. I'm bad at imgur so hopefully this album of stolen pictures actually works: http://imgur.com/a/OfDmd A Dean-Stark apparatus is also pretty spiffy as well for what it is used for (continuous removal of water from a reaction or originally determination of water content). There are some really bizarre glassware solutions to removing product or sampling mid-reaction that I never learned the names of though. I don't know if they were all custom or just something I've never seen in old papers.
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Mar 28, 2016 12:36
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Do you guys ever still blow your own glassware (or have a glassblower on-staff), or is that strictly a matter of ordering nowadays?
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Mar 28, 2016 17:56
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Arsenic Lupin posted:Do you guys ever still blow your own glassware (or have a glassblower on-staff), or is that strictly a matter of ordering nowadays?
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Mar 28, 2016 18:21
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Seems like a dying art as universities find ways to cut on funding and you can get a lot of that equipment from large manufacturers. We have a machine shop on campus, but I've never been around any situation where a glass apparatus needed to be made. I wish though. Somebody earlier in the thread talking about his military lab experience brought up a female researcher in Maryland that studied the energetics of high energy molecules like TNT, HDX, and RDX. I cannot for the life of me find that post in the thread. Can anybody help me identify that researcher? Wanted to show my co-worker. onemanlan has a new favorite as of 13:39 on Mar 29, 2016 |
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Mar 29, 2016 13:37
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We had one or two things where we needed a glassblower, and had to go outside to get one. This was at a fairly major university as well.
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Mar 29, 2016 15:48
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a glassblower, they're in the chemistry building. Spent a lot of time taking broken glassware down there when I worked in the life sciences building.
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Mar 31, 2016 14:00
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In retrospect, it was pretty drat cool that my highschool chemistry class taught us to blow and repair glassware and fittings.
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Mar 31, 2016 15:26
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Alereon posted:In retrospect, it was pretty drat cool that my highschool chemistry class taught us to blow and repair glassware and fittings. My second-year chemistry in HS had a short session on it as well - though I think that was something my old biology/chemistry teacher added, not a point in the curriculum. I haven't needed it (mostly because it's sort of tangential to informatics as a field), but it was fun. 
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Mar 31, 2016 18:40
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CausticQuandry on Reddit posted:I am a chemical technician specialized in electroplating. I keep smelling almonds. My first thought was that somehow potassium cyanide was mixed with hydrochloric acid but, asI am not dead yet, I'm guessing that is not it. some other guy, echoing the consensus of everyone involved posted:If I smelled almonds in an electroplating lab known to use cyanide I would get me and my coworkers out of there. Are there no electronic monitors in place? FYI - I have done a lot of work with HCN. OP soon posted:I have evacuated everyone out of caution. OP, hours later posted:Update- They found the source of the smell. A second shift tech thought it would be a great April Fools prank to put almond extract on the steam lines to my plating tanks. He is of course fired. I have been commended by our safety director and our CEO.
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Apr 1, 2016 12:38
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Platystemon posted:
thats evil as gently caress.
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Apr 1, 2016 12:40
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Bonus from comment on update post:quote:We used to have Arsine on site (AsH3), which apparently smells like garlic.
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Apr 1, 2016 13:01
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That's not a prank that's no longer wanting to work there.
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Apr 1, 2016 13:04
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Ever wanted to build a thermite launcher? Of course you did!  http://www.popsci.com/this-homemade-cannon-spits-hot-fire?src=SOC&dom=fb
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Apr 1, 2016 14:57
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Colin Furze always delivers.
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Apr 1, 2016 16:26
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Cody really is the greatest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbOt8Au6thY
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Apr 1, 2016 19:33
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Vitamins posted:Cody really is the greatest Well I'm fairly certain after watching that he's upped his likelihood of getting cancer by at least 10%. Plus he wants to perform backyard uranium extraction 
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Apr 1, 2016 21:14
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Whatever happened to David Hahn, anyway?
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Apr 1, 2016 21:37
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