Cool Science

What a great line! But what is a scientist? That's too deep for this blog... Needless to say, not too long ago we had our semi-annual viewing of Ghostbusters, and if you have not memorized Ghostbusters yet, you're missing out. Since this is a science blog: NO, sponges do not migrate, and you won't like what you find if you try to google it. A little bit like a sponge (ok, this segue is a stretch) are aerogels; silica aerogels (if we are to believe Wikipedia: caution!) hold the world record for lowest density solid. Although sometimes I think that title should be awarded to my brain, I'll concede for now. See, I'm already being dense!

Everybody probably read in the news about that big Danvers ink plant explosion. We're on leave and living in Salem and I heard it and felt it, but I chalked it up to a close lightning strike and slumped back to sleep. Even though it registered on the richter scale, the cause hasn't been determined. The plant was known to have toluene, methl ethyl ketone, and acetone in there (maybe other things) so I don't really think it's much of a mystery. One of them evaporated out (I'd bet on the acetone) and an unlucky spark (finding that could be hard...) took care of the rest. The Herald casually reported toluene as a base chemical of TNT (trinitrotoluene) and then let the insinuation hang out there for people to chew on. The Herald's "false authority syndrome" tempts us to speculate that there might have been TNT in that plant. But there are other precursors (like the nitro part) needed to make TNT; and then like Martha Stewart you actually have to follow a recipe and make it. You don't just stare at a bottle of toluene and think "uh oh - I hope it doesn't turn into TNT!". OK, really, this time I mean it, I promise not to complain too much on the blog!