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  • "Tridecyl hydride" = "marsh gas"?! _The Sweetness at the Bottom of the

    From OmniSnert@21:1/5 to All on Sun Oct 22 13:16:21 2023
    I've just finished reading Alan Bradley's mystery novel _The Sweetness
    at the Bottom of the Pie_. The narrator is an 11-year-old girl who's a
    prodigy in chemistry with a passion for poisons, as she describes
    herself, and for the most part the chemistry in the book seems to be
    correct.

    One exception caught my eye. At one point, the narrator comments that
    "There were thirteen carbon atoms in tridecyl, whose hydride was marsh
    gas." The only "marsh gas" I'm aware of is primarily methane, with some
    other minor components also of low MW. The only tridecyl I'm aware of
    would be the C13H27- group, whose hydride would be tridecane, C13H28. My on-line searches aren't turning up any other options. Is this an error
    on the part of the narrator and/or author?

    Another bit of chemistry that I'm not able to figure out is a
    description of the late uncle who left behind the laboratory in which
    the narrator does her work. "It was rumored that he had been studying
    the first-order decomposition of nitrogen pentoxide. If that was true,
    it was the first recorded research into a reaction which was to lead
    eventually to the development of the A-bomb." What's the connection
    between N2O5 and atomic bombs?

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  • From Martin Brown@21:1/5 to OmniSnert on Tue Oct 24 15:04:54 2023
    On 22/10/2023 18:16, OmniSnert wrote:
    I've just finished reading Alan Bradley's mystery novel _The Sweetness
    at the Bottom of the Pie_. The narrator is an 11-year-old girl who's a prodigy in chemistry with a passion for poisons, as she describes
    herself, and for the most part the chemistry in the book seems to be
    correct.

    One exception caught my eye. At one point, the narrator comments that
    "There were thirteen carbon atoms in tridecyl, whose hydride was marsh
    gas." The only "marsh gas" I'm aware of is primarily methane, with some
    other minor components also of low MW. The only tridecyl I'm aware of
    would be the C13H27- group, whose hydride would be tridecane, C13H28. My on-line searches aren't turning up any other options. Is this an error
    on the part of the narrator and/or author?

    I think so. Anything that heavy would be a light oil not a vapour.
    Anything beyond 12 carbon atoms doesn't usually have much vapour
    pressure. Octane is nominally the ideal petrol fraction and kerosene is
    around 12. 15 or more carbon atoms and is more likely to be a wax!

    Marsh gas is mostly methane but with a trace of phosphine in it that can
    be phosphorescent and so alarms the yokels in the fens.
    See for example:

    https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/phosphine/3007120.article

    Recent detection of phosphine in Venus atmosphere caused something of a
    stir because it could indicate life of some sort.

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1174-4

    I see now it has been partially retracted...

    Another bit of chemistry that I'm not able to figure out is a
    description of the late uncle who left behind the laboratory in which
    the narrator does her work.  "It was rumored that he had been studying
    the first-order decomposition of nitrogen pentoxide. If that was true,
    it was the first recorded research into a reaction which was to lead eventually to the development of the A-bomb." What's the connection
    between N2O5 and atomic bombs?

    It is just about conceivable that one of the high explosives they used
    in the shaped charges for implosion weapons used N2O5 in its synthesis.
    But UF6 and actinide separation chemistry played a much bigger part...

    N2O5 its own Wiki page as "anhydrous nitric acid" / "powerful oxidiser".
    I think it would be far too volatile for anyone without a death wish to
    use in the manufacture of high explosives but I could be wrong.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_pentoxide

    Physics obviously played a much bigger part...

    --
    Martin Brown

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  • From OmniSnert@21:1/5 to Martin Brown on Wed Oct 25 15:47:17 2023
    On 2023-10-24 10:04 AM, Martin Brown wrote:
    On 22/10/2023 18:16, OmniSnert wrote:
    Another bit of chemistry that I'm not able to figure out is a
    description of the late uncle who left behind the laboratory in which
    the narrator does her work.  "It was rumored that he had been studying
    the first-order decomposition of nitrogen pentoxide. If that was true,
    it was the first recorded research into a reaction which was to lead
    eventually to the development of the A-bomb." What's the connection
    between N2O5 and atomic bombs?

    It is just about conceivable that one of the high explosives they used
    in the shaped charges for implosion weapons used N2O5 in its synthesis.
    But UF6 and actinide separation chemistry played a much bigger part...

    N2O5 its own Wiki page as "anhydrous nitric acid" / "powerful oxidiser".
    I think it would be far too volatile for anyone without a death wish to
    use in the manufacture of high explosives but I could be wrong.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_pentoxide

    Physics obviously played a much bigger part...

    All that I could think of was that it could be used to convert hydrated
    uranyl nitrate to anhydrous uranyl nitrate (+ nitric acid). React that
    with fluorine and get UF6, N2, and O2. I don't know if it would be
    particularly useful to not have HF as a side product there.

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  • From Martin Brown@21:1/5 to OmniSnert on Thu Nov 2 16:57:15 2023
    On 25/10/2023 20:47, OmniSnert wrote:

    All that I could think of was that it could be used to convert hydrated uranyl nitrate to anhydrous uranyl nitrate (+ nitric acid). React that
    with fluorine and get UF6, N2, and O2. I don't know if it would be particularly useful to not have HF as a side product there.

    I think that is rather unlikely. Whilst SF6 is unbelievably inert. UF6
    is a horrible nasty toxic compound that decomposes into HF in damp air.

    HF is one of the few chemicals where the safety film about handling it
    is known to cause casualties in the audience as people pass out!

    --
    Martin Brown

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