Strange Chemistry
The Stories Your Chemistry Teacher Wouldn't Tell You
1. Edition August 2017
364 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBN:
978-1-119-26526-9
John Wiley & Sons
Short Description
This book includes thorough, easy-to-understand explanations of over 100 incredible truths of real science. The book covers broad subjects that touch on everyday life, including the chemistry of poisons, illicit drugs, explosives, foods, common household products, and radiation. Readers will find the information not only intriguing, but also absorbing and edgy. Unlike other science interest books, Strange Chemistry focuses on the darker, wilder side of chemistry, which, unfortunately, most authors and chemistry teachers tend to avoid.
This book opens the audience's eyes to the extraordinary scientific secrets hiding in everyday objects. Helping readers increase chemistry knowledge in a fun and entertaining way, the book is perfect as a supplementary textbook or gift to curious professionals and novices.
* Appeals to a modern audience of science lovers by discussing multiple examples of chemistry in everyday life
* Addresses compounds that affect everyone in one way or another: poisons, pharmaceuticals, foods, and illicit drugs; thereby evoking a powerful emotional response which increases interest in the topic at hand
* Focuses on edgy types of stories that chemists generally tend to avoid so as not to paint chemistry in a bad light; however, these are the stories that people find interesting
* Provides detailed and sophisticated stories that increase the reader's fundamental scientific knowledge
* Discusses complex topics in an engaging and accessible manner, providing the "how" and "why" that takes readers deeper into the stories
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
1 If You Do Not Know Any Chemistry, This Chapter Is For You 1
Representing Atoms and Molecules in Chemistry 1
Neurotransmitters 7
Intermolecular Forces 11
2 The Only True Aphrodisiac and Other Chemical Extremes 15
Death Is ItsWithdrawal Symptom! 15
What Is the Number One Cause of Liver Failure in the United States? 18
The Most Addictive Substance Known 21
40 Million Times DeadlierThan Cyanide 24
The Most Abused Drug in the United States 27
What Is the Only Known Aphrodisiac? 28
The Most Consumed Psychoactive Substance 30
40,000 Tons of Aspirin 33
How Bitter Is the Bitterest? 34
$62.5 Trillion per Gram 36
What Is the Most Abundant Source of Air Pollution? 39
Where DidThat Rash Come From? 41
ItWould Take an Elephant on a Pencil 43
The Largest Industrial Accident inWorld History 46
What Is the Most Important Chemical Reaction? 49
Further Reading 53
3 The Poisons in Everyday Things 63
Why Is Antifreeze Lethal? 63
Aqua Dots:What a Difference a Carbon Makes! 66
How Can Visine Kill You? 68
Death by BENGAY 70
It Is in 93% of People in the United States 72
The Dreaded...Apricot Pits? 75
Honey Intoxication 79
The DMSO Patient 81
Deadly Helium Balloons 82
The 2007 Pet Food Recall 83
Mercury in Vaccines and Eye Drops? 87
TheWorld's Deadliest Frog 88
Leaded Candy 89
Why not Drink "Real" Root Beer? 90
The Killer Fog 92
Nail Polish or Nail Poison? 93
Game Board Danger 94
What Molecule Killed "Weird Al" Yankovic's Parents? 96
Deadly Popcorn 98
EvenWater Can Be Poisonous 99
Further Reading 101
4 Why Old Books Smell Good and Other Mysteries of Everyday Objects 113
The Smell of Old Books and the Hidden Vanilla Extract Underworld 113
That Smell Is You! 117
Electric Blue 118
TheWorld's Most Abundant Organic Compound 120
Chalk Used to Be Alive 122
Decaffeinated? Try Deflavored! 123
Bad Blood 125
The Problem with Dry Cleaning 128
The Smell of Dead Fish 131
How to Make a Spark 133
The "New Car Smell" 133
A Gecko Cannot Stick to It! 135
Why Are Day Glow Colors and Highlighter Pens So Bright? 137
Why Your White Clothes Are not Really White? 139
How Can a Spray-on Sunscreen Be Dangerous? 141
There Is Ink inThat Paper 141
Vomit and Sunless Tanners 143
Formaldehyde: Funerals, Flooring, and Outer Space 144
Further Reading 148
5 Bath Salts and Other Drugs of Abuse 157
What Are the Dangers of Bath Salts? 157
What to Do If YouWant Your Skin to Turn Blue 163
The Flesh-Rotting Street Drug 165
How Does a Breathalyzer Detect a Blood Alcohol Level? 167
How to Become a Brewery 168
HowWas a Painkiller Used to Free Hostages? 171
The Secret Ingredient in Coca-Cola 173
Why Is Crack Cocaine So Addicting? 174
Cocaine Smuggling versus MethamphetamineManufacture 177
What Basic Common Ingredient Is Needed toMake the Drugs Vicodin , Percocet , Oxycontin , and Percodan ? 177
Drug Money Is Right 181
What Percentage of Americans Use Prescription Drugs? 182
Are You Ready for Powdered Alcohol? 183
Ecstasy Is Ruining the Rain Forests 185
How Are Moldy Bread, Migraine Headaches, LSD, and the Salem Witch Trials All Related? 187
Further Reading 193
6 Why Oil Is Such a Big Part of Our Lives 201
What Substance Is Used to Make 80% of All Pharmaceuticals? 201
Why Do ScientistsThink Oil Comes From Fossilized Plants and Animals? 205
How Is Oil Made? 207
Where Is Most of the Carbon in theWorld? 209
The MostWidely Recycled Material in the United States 209
What Material Is Used to Make Asphalt? 210
How Oil Helped to Save theWhales 211
Further Reading 213
7 WhyJuniorMints Are Shiny and Other Weird Facts about Your Food 217
Why Is Gum Chewy? 217
The Problem with Gummi Bears 220
What Is the EasiestWay to Peel a Tomato? 223
AnotherWay to Eat Insect Parts! 224
Why Is High Fructose Corn Syrup More Consumed than
Sugar? 226
What Causes Rancid Butter to Stink? 229
Why Does Mint Make Your Mouth Feel "Cold?" 232
It Is Probably Not Really Fresh Squeezed 234
Why Are Viruses Added to Some Sandwich Meat? 236
What Is Margarine Made From? 239
Why Are Junior Mints Shiny? 241
Further Reading 244
8 The Radioactive Banana and Other Examples of Natural Radioactivity 251
Where Does the Helium We Use in Balloons Come From? 253
Who Was the First Person to Win Two Nobel Prizes? 255
Where Is the Radioactive Material in YOUR House? 257
Which Elements Were First Detected in Radioactive Fallout from a Nuclear Bomb? 258
Radioactivity in Wrist watches, Exit Signs, and H-Bombs 260
The Earth Is One Giant Nuclear Reactor 262
Are Nuclear Reactors "Natural"? 263
Are Your Gemstones Radioactive? 265
Radon: The Radioactive Gas in Your Home 267
The Radioactive Banana 269
Further Reading 271
9 Chemistry Is Explosive! 277
How Do BulletsWork? 277
What Is the Most Commonly Used Explosive in North
America? 280
What Non-nuclear Substance Is the Most Explosive? 282
What Poison Is Used as an Explosive in Airbags? 283
Explosive Heart Medicine 285
Further Reading 287
10 The Chemistry in Breaking Bad and Other Popular Culture 291
How Does Methamphetamine Act as a Stimulant? 291
What Is "Pseudo," and How Is It Related toMethamphetamine? 294
What Is Ricin? 297
The Thalidomide Disaster 298
What Is Phosphine Gas, and Why Is It a PotentialMurder Weapon? 300
Acetylcholine, Pesticides, and Nerve Gas 301
Further Reading 310
11 Why You Should Not Use Illegally Made Drugs: The Organic Chemistry Reason 315
Why You Shouldn't Use Illegally Made Drugs 315
The Tragic Case of the Frozen Addicts 320
Further Reading 326 Index 327
Acknowledgments xvii
1 If You Do Not Know Any Chemistry, This Chapter Is For You 1
Representing Atoms and Molecules in Chemistry 1
Neurotransmitters 7
Intermolecular Forces 11
2 The Only True Aphrodisiac and Other Chemical Extremes 15
Death Is ItsWithdrawal Symptom! 15
What Is the Number One Cause of Liver Failure in the United States? 18
The Most Addictive Substance Known 21
40 Million Times DeadlierThan Cyanide 24
The Most Abused Drug in the United States 27
What Is the Only Known Aphrodisiac? 28
The Most Consumed Psychoactive Substance 30
40,000 Tons of Aspirin 33
How Bitter Is the Bitterest? 34
$62.5 Trillion per Gram 36
What Is the Most Abundant Source of Air Pollution? 39
Where DidThat Rash Come From? 41
ItWould Take an Elephant on a Pencil 43
The Largest Industrial Accident inWorld History 46
What Is the Most Important Chemical Reaction? 49
Further Reading 53
3 The Poisons in Everyday Things 63
Why Is Antifreeze Lethal? 63
Aqua Dots:What a Difference a Carbon Makes! 66
How Can Visine Kill You? 68
Death by BENGAY 70
It Is in 93% of People in the United States 72
The Dreaded...Apricot Pits? 75
Honey Intoxication 79
The DMSO Patient 81
Deadly Helium Balloons 82
The 2007 Pet Food Recall 83
Mercury in Vaccines and Eye Drops? 87
TheWorld's Deadliest Frog 88
Leaded Candy 89
Why not Drink "Real" Root Beer? 90
The Killer Fog 92
Nail Polish or Nail Poison? 93
Game Board Danger 94
What Molecule Killed "Weird Al" Yankovic's Parents? 96
Deadly Popcorn 98
EvenWater Can Be Poisonous 99
Further Reading 101
4 Why Old Books Smell Good and Other Mysteries of Everyday Objects 113
The Smell of Old Books and the Hidden Vanilla Extract Underworld 113
That Smell Is You! 117
Electric Blue 118
TheWorld's Most Abundant Organic Compound 120
Chalk Used to Be Alive 122
Decaffeinated? Try Deflavored! 123
Bad Blood 125
The Problem with Dry Cleaning 128
The Smell of Dead Fish 131
How to Make a Spark 133
The "New Car Smell" 133
A Gecko Cannot Stick to It! 135
Why Are Day Glow Colors and Highlighter Pens So Bright? 137
Why Your White Clothes Are not Really White? 139
How Can a Spray-on Sunscreen Be Dangerous? 141
There Is Ink inThat Paper 141
Vomit and Sunless Tanners 143
Formaldehyde: Funerals, Flooring, and Outer Space 144
Further Reading 148
5 Bath Salts and Other Drugs of Abuse 157
What Are the Dangers of Bath Salts? 157
What to Do If YouWant Your Skin to Turn Blue 163
The Flesh-Rotting Street Drug 165
How Does a Breathalyzer Detect a Blood Alcohol Level? 167
How to Become a Brewery 168
HowWas a Painkiller Used to Free Hostages? 171
The Secret Ingredient in Coca-Cola 173
Why Is Crack Cocaine So Addicting? 174
Cocaine Smuggling versus MethamphetamineManufacture 177
What Basic Common Ingredient Is Needed toMake the Drugs Vicodin , Percocet , Oxycontin , and Percodan ? 177
Drug Money Is Right 181
What Percentage of Americans Use Prescription Drugs? 182
Are You Ready for Powdered Alcohol? 183
Ecstasy Is Ruining the Rain Forests 185
How Are Moldy Bread, Migraine Headaches, LSD, and the Salem Witch Trials All Related? 187
Further Reading 193
6 Why Oil Is Such a Big Part of Our Lives 201
What Substance Is Used to Make 80% of All Pharmaceuticals? 201
Why Do ScientistsThink Oil Comes From Fossilized Plants and Animals? 205
How Is Oil Made? 207
Where Is Most of the Carbon in theWorld? 209
The MostWidely Recycled Material in the United States 209
What Material Is Used to Make Asphalt? 210
How Oil Helped to Save theWhales 211
Further Reading 213
7 WhyJuniorMints Are Shiny and Other Weird Facts about Your Food 217
Why Is Gum Chewy? 217
The Problem with Gummi Bears 220
What Is the EasiestWay to Peel a Tomato? 223
AnotherWay to Eat Insect Parts! 224
Why Is High Fructose Corn Syrup More Consumed than
Sugar? 226
What Causes Rancid Butter to Stink? 229
Why Does Mint Make Your Mouth Feel "Cold?" 232
It Is Probably Not Really Fresh Squeezed 234
Why Are Viruses Added to Some Sandwich Meat? 236
What Is Margarine Made From? 239
Why Are Junior Mints Shiny? 241
Further Reading 244
8 The Radioactive Banana and Other Examples of Natural Radioactivity 251
Where Does the Helium We Use in Balloons Come From? 253
Who Was the First Person to Win Two Nobel Prizes? 255
Where Is the Radioactive Material in YOUR House? 257
Which Elements Were First Detected in Radioactive Fallout from a Nuclear Bomb? 258
Radioactivity in Wrist watches, Exit Signs, and H-Bombs 260
The Earth Is One Giant Nuclear Reactor 262
Are Nuclear Reactors "Natural"? 263
Are Your Gemstones Radioactive? 265
Radon: The Radioactive Gas in Your Home 267
The Radioactive Banana 269
Further Reading 271
9 Chemistry Is Explosive! 277
How Do BulletsWork? 277
What Is the Most Commonly Used Explosive in North
America? 280
What Non-nuclear Substance Is the Most Explosive? 282
What Poison Is Used as an Explosive in Airbags? 283
Explosive Heart Medicine 285
Further Reading 287
10 The Chemistry in Breaking Bad and Other Popular Culture 291
How Does Methamphetamine Act as a Stimulant? 291
What Is "Pseudo," and How Is It Related toMethamphetamine? 294
What Is Ricin? 297
The Thalidomide Disaster 298
What Is Phosphine Gas, and Why Is It a PotentialMurder Weapon? 300
Acetylcholine, Pesticides, and Nerve Gas 301
Further Reading 310
11 Why You Should Not Use Illegally Made Drugs: The Organic Chemistry Reason 315
Why You Shouldn't Use Illegally Made Drugs 315
The Tragic Case of the Frozen Addicts 320
Further Reading 326 Index 327
"Behind every chemist is a teacher who, by their enthusiasm, has made the subject interesting to his or her pupils. Dr. Farmer is such a teacher who has gone to great pains to make his subject relevant to his audience ... The author has composed over a hundred articles on various topics across the whole spectrum of chemistry ranging from the initial chapter on the nature of the chemical bond to the composition of road asphalt ... [this book] should be possessed by every chemistry teacher and I cannot recommend it too highly." Chromatographia, December 2017
"A chemistry professor teaches "the stories your chemistry teachers wouldn't tell you" through short, accessible lessons on drugs, deadly household items, mysteries of ordinary objects, and more ... Each lesson is no more than a few pages long and successfully shows how relevant chemistry is in everyday life ...The short sections and accessible language will keep readers' attention, and the frequent addition of molecular structures could be a useful addition to chemistry courses. An engaging chemistry lesson that also serves as an encyclopedia to understanding the world around us." Kirkus, January 2018
"A chemistry professor teaches "the stories your chemistry teachers wouldn't tell you" through short, accessible lessons on drugs, deadly household items, mysteries of ordinary objects, and more ... Each lesson is no more than a few pages long and successfully shows how relevant chemistry is in everyday life ...The short sections and accessible language will keep readers' attention, and the frequent addition of molecular structures could be a useful addition to chemistry courses. An engaging chemistry lesson that also serves as an encyclopedia to understanding the world around us." Kirkus, January 2018
STEVEN FARMER, Ph.D., has worked as a chemistry instructor at California State University, Sacramento and at University of California, Davis. Currently, he holds the position of Professor of Chemistry at Sonoma State University (SSU). Dr. Farmer is a seasoned teacher with over a decade of experience teaching general chemistry, organic chemistry, and advanced organic synthesis courses. He has earned six teaching awards, including the Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award, which is given to only one of the over 500 SSU faculty each year. He performs research involving chemical education and is actively involved in giving outreach lectures to the public.
