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1500 questions
33
votes
4 answers
Why is '-ethane' in 'methane'?
Is there a chemical or historical significance in the fact that 'ethane' is just 'methane' without the 'm'?
yolo
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33
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2 answers
How do non-polar substances dissolve in non-polar solvents?
The case of polar solvents is clear to me - we get an attraction between opposite charges. However, how do non-polar substances dissolve in non-polar solvents? How could it be explained on a molecular level?
Stanpol
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32
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2 answers
What is the pKa of the hydronium, or oxonium, ion (H3O+)?
Although the wikipedia page on Hydronium indicates a $\mathrm{p}K_\text{a}$ of −1.74, I noticed in the discussion of this page that the subject seems debated (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Hydronium#pKa.3F) since alternative (apparently more…
The Quark
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32
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4 answers
How are poisons discovered? Does someone have to die/be poisoned from it first?
How are poisons discovered? Does someone have to die/be poisoned from it first?
Or are there other ways of discovering the harmfulness of a substance? Perhaps everything is tested on other animals prior to testing them on humans?
mavavilj
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32
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2 answers
What makes Gorilla Glass more durable with each generation?
Gorilla Glass (GG) is one of the most recognizable brands of toughened glasses today, thanks to their marketing and widespread usage in various gadgets and automobile industry.
According to Wikipedia, it's basically an ion exchange ($\ce{Na+ <->…
andselisk
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32
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6 answers
Synthesis Golf I: Sodium Fluvastatin
A full FAQ exists on meta.chem.SE explaining the premise of synthesis golf, why we're doing this, and the ground rules. Please read this before posting an answer.
The target for this first round of synthesis golf is sodium fluvastatin, an artificial…
NotEvans.
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32
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9 answers
Realistic chemical spill accident in high school chemistry class
In a story I'm writing, a teenager spills chemicals on herself in a high school chemistry class, causing her to be put under the safety shower. The spill destroys her clothes and causes minor burns. I would like this to be realistic and since I know…
Tina
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32
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3 answers
Soaps come in different colors, but why is soap lather always white?
Soap comes in different colors, but why is soap lather always white?
Vishnu JK
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32
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2 answers
What do the different grades of chemicals mean?
When purchasing chemicals from Sigma, Fisher, or wherever, there are often -grade's attached to their description like reagent-grade, technical-grade, analytical-grade, or more niche-sounding biotech-grade, HPLC-grade, DNA grade (DNase free…
Nick T
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32
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1 answer
Why does the unstabilised Wittig reaction selectively form cis alkenes?
This question is meant for a simple unstabilised ylide.
The mechanism of the Wittig reaction, as given on ChemTube3d, involves a concerted formation of the oxaphosphetane (this is generally favoured over the traditional stepwise mechanism with…
typesanitizer
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32
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2 answers
What makes ice slippery?
I've heard and read (multiple times) two theories have have been around for a while, both of them obvious nonsense.
One states that pressure and friction make the ice melt (turn to water) where the skater's blade comes in contact with it. This is…
Ricky
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32
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5 answers
Why are there only 7 types of unit cells and 14 types of Bravais lattices?
Why are there only 7 types of unit cells and 14 types of Bravais lattices?
I was reading about solid-state chemistry for the first time and this limitation made no sense to me.
I tried to do the math and realized that there could be many more…
Karan Singh
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32
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4 answers
How much CO2 could you remove from the atmosphere with 2 trillion USD?
I know it's possible to capture $\ce{CO2}$ with various chemical reactions. For example NASA's space shuttle had some kind of regenerative $\ce{CO2}$ scrubber. But how expensive is it? Could a huge number of these devices, or something like it,…
Rob N
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32
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1 answer
Why does hyperconjugation help for ring cleavage?
The question was to rationalize it the ring cleavage happens concerted or non-concerted.
The papers "The Mechanism of the Thermal Decomposition of
1-Pyrazolines and Its Relationship to
Cyclopropane Isomerizations" (Crawford 1965/1966; Original…
laminin
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32
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1 answer
Relative stability of cis and trans cycloalkenes
Why is the stability of (Z)-cyclodecene 2 greater than that of (E)-cyclodecene 1?
I'd think that since 1 contains a trans double bond instead of a cis double bond, it should experience less steric repulsion and hence be more stable.
However, I've…
tkhanna42
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