VanSandman posted:

Of course he likes Mahler.

Kinetica posted:

1812 Overture would work well too- replace the cannons with the explosions of the analytical instruments/screams of grad students/glass shattering

Gyro Zeppeli posted:

Do you think the Germans that discovered hexadecanitrofullerene had an Oppenheimer "what have I done" moment? Is a 16-nitrogen soccer ball enough?

Gobbeldygook posted:

No. The German who discovered it was this guy, Thomas Klapotke, who goes to work like this.


This is an interview he did with a chemistry journal:

I would have liked to have discovered … the element fluorine.

GWBBQ posted:

Apparently not, considering I've seen two theoretical approaches to synthesizing a full N60 molecule.

Cakefool posted:

What state would N60 take? If it wasn't exploding I mean, gritty powder that explodes with the force of a thousand suns if you look at it funny? Angry liquid of doom that EWTFOATSIYLAIF? Deadly gas cloud of doom that you know the rest?

VanSandman posted:

I don't think it can exist in a state of not exploding long enough to find out.

Cakefool posted:

What state would N60 take? If it wasn't exploding I mean, gritty powder that explodes with the force of a thousand suns if you look at it funny? Angry liquid of doom that EWTFOATSIYLAIF? Deadly gas cloud of doom that you know the rest?

Cakefool posted:

What state would N60 take? If it wasn't exploding I mean, gritty powder that explodes with the force of a thousand suns if you look at it funny? Angry liquid of doom that EWTFOATSIYLAIF? Deadly gas cloud of doom that you know the rest?

Gyro Zeppeli posted:

Do you think the Germans that discovered hexadecanitrofullerene had an Oppenheimer "what have I done" moment? Is a 16-nitrogen soccer ball enough?

Cakefool posted:

EWTFOATSIYLAIF

Woolie Wool posted:

Hexecontaazabuckminsterfullerene

Woolie Wool posted:

Hexecontaazabuckminsterfullerene is the full 60.

DigitalRaven posted:

GenericOverusedName posted:

Wouldn't it be hexa- ?

Cakefool posted:

What state would N60 take?

chrisoya posted:

Past tense?

Terrible Robot posted:

um, gesundheit?

Cakefool posted:

explodes with the force of a thousand suns if you look at it funny

Phy posted:

I feel with a prefix like "hexe-" a witch must somehow be involved

Gobbeldygook posted:

Hex just means 8. Hexene is a perfectly well-behaved chemical.

quote:

Official Report: Nuclear Waste Accident Caused By Wrong Cat Litter

A yearlong investigation by government scientists has concluded that a major accident at a nuclear waste dump was caused by the wrong brand of cat litter.

The U.S. Department of Energy has released a 277-page report into an explosion that occurred on Feb. 14, 2014, at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. According to a summary of the report, the incident occurred when a single drum of nuclear waste, 68660, burst open.

As NPR reported shortly after the accident, cat litter was the chief suspect. The highly absorbent material is great at soaking up liquid nuclear waste, and it has been used for years in cleanup activities at the nation's nuclear laboratories.

Unfortunately, workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, also in New Mexico, apparently switched from inorganic clay litter to organic litter. According to the report, workers put the brand "Swheat Scoop" inside drum 68660.

"Experiments showed that various combinations of nitrate salt, Swheat Scoop®, nitric acid, and oxalate self-heat at temperatures below 100°C. Computer modeling of thermal runaway was consistent with the observed 70-day birth-to-breach of Drum 68660," the summary of the report concluded.

In other words, the litter caused the drum to burst after it arrived at the dump, releasing radioactive uranium, plutonium and americium throughout the underground facility.

WIPP has come under intense scrutiny since the accident for what critics say was a lax culture of safety and oversight. But the Energy Department wants the dump to get back to work. It hopes to reopen it early next year.

`Nemesis posted:

Cross post from the OSHA thread

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/03/26/395615637/official-report-nuclear-waste-accident-caused-by-wrong-kitty-litter

Exit Strategy posted:

"Hex" is six. "Oct" is eight.

Kwyndig posted:

What kind of idiot puts organic anything in a nuclear waste drum that isn't already radioactive.

zedprime posted:

I think the chemistry faux pas was material incompatibility of the hippy cat litter with oxalate and nitric acid.

Kwyndig posted:

I know that, it was more of a general question.

Also, clay-based litter is literally the cheapest option, so I have no idea why they would have spent more on hippy-dippy organic poo poo powder instead.

Cakefool posted:

What state would N60 take?

Vando posted:

I heard the logic was that they were "trying to be 'green'". Which worked out super well for them, yeah.

Vando posted:

I heard the logic was that they were "trying to be 'green'". Which worked out super well for them, yeah.

Vando posted:

I heard the logic was that they were "trying to be 'green'". Which worked out super well for them, yeah.

xthetenth posted:

They probably got a glowing review.

Vando posted:

I heard the logic was that they were "trying to be 'green'". Which worked out super well for them, yeah.

Irradiation posted:

This was caused by a bureaucratic gently caress up. There's a line the original document that says "an organic absorbent" should be used meaning something that can absorb organic material. The inorganic clay worked well but some idiot who knew nothing about the actual chemical reasoning read it and said WE NEED TO SWITCH TO AN ORGANIC BASED ABSORBENT ACCORDING TO THIS SENTENCE because putting organic material and nitrates together with heat is not the stupidest loving idea ever.