Science Memes

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[OC] Acetone: A Thread (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm dying chat.

Credit: An anonymous labrat friend. Thank you.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

My favorite overheard undergrad story:

I was walking past the lecture hall right after an organic chemistry midterm, and there was a cluster of 4-5 students talking about the exam. One asked about question 8b, and another one said "you're not supposed to mix nitric acid and ethanol, that makes TNT, right?" I had to stifle a chuckle as I walked by.

So close, and yet so far! Nitrated acetone is explosive, and TNT (trinitrotoluene) is also made with nitric acid, but toluene is a much more complex molecule than acetone. If those undergrads could figure out how to turn acetone into TNT efficiently, they'd get a Nobel!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

If those undergrads could figure out how to turn acetone into TNT...

Amateurs. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone_peroxide