Questions tagged [chemistry-in-fiction]
Chemistry-in-fiction covers all chemistry that can be seen in TV series, films and can be read in books, etc. which does not necessarily need to be based on proper scientific backgrounds.
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Is it actually possible to dispose of a body with hydrofluoric acid?
In the TV show "Breaking Bad", Walter White frequently gets rid of people who get in his way by submerging them in a plastic container full of hydrofluoric acid. This, at least in the TV show, ...
user1579
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HI/P reduction mechanism
I recently answered a question about Breaking Bad's initial methamphetamine production method (i.e. the reduction of (pseudo)ephedrine). The reaction is as follows:
(Source)
It is infamously known ...
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How do I extract cyanide from apple seeds?
I'm working on a crime story about cyanide poisoning from apple seeds. I just would like to have an idea of what processes and extraction techniques might be involved in getting cyanide from the seeds....
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Can flames be colored black?
Most of us here would know that flames can be colored by adding an appropriate salt to the 'fuel' or by simply introducing it into a flame. Boron and Barium salts give the flame a green tinge, ...
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Could we possibly discover new extraterrestrial elements and minerals?
So, after dissolving a good portion of my brain by watching a ton of sci-fi, I started thinking about all of the strange new materials that we will supposedly have in the future. For example, the ever-...
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Would it be possible to destroy gold?
I'm a writer. I have a scenario in which a sizable amount of gold needs to be rendered unusable, preferably completely destroyed. I know an acid like aqua regia is able to dissolve gold, but would ...
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Why are acids usually depicted in fiction as green?
In cartoons, etc., acid is generally shown as vividly green, as in this scene from the Simpsons:
We even have the colour "acid green".
But when I used to use acids in chemistry class, they weren't ...
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What does it mean for meth or any other compound to be 'pure'?
In Breaking Bad, Walter White can cook $99.1\%$ pure meth. In general what does it mean for a substance to be pure? In this case, what exactly does it mean for meth to be pure? Does higher purity mean ...
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Is so called "Polymerized LiNb (Lithium Niobocene)" a possible compound?
The so called "Polymerized LiNb (Lithium Niobocene)" is a fictional compound.
I heard about this substance being used for an interesting purpose. It reacts to mechanical stress or pressure by ...
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How do i create a significantly correct world with large crystal formations in my novel? [closed]
I have uploaded an shorter and less broad Question which is largely the same but requires a different kind of answer. What i want to say is that i re-asked my question in a different way because i do ...
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How does Walter White make pure crystal meth using a non-stereospecific reaction?
In the highly-rated TV series, Breaking Bad, Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher recently diagnosed with cancer, takes to making the illicit drug, crystal meth (methamphetamine), by two main ...
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Chemistry behind Gale's coffee maker in Breaking Bad
Is there a scientific basis for the coffee making equipment which Gale Boetticher describes in Breaking Bad?
He talks about maintaining the right conditions for bringing out the coffee flavor without ...
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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 ...
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How could I cause metal to rust rapidly?
I'm writing a novel set in the mid-nineteenth century. One of my characters needs to cause an iron padlock to rust rapidly, ideally within a matter of hours.
The lock doesn't need to rust away ...
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Is the Hollywood portrayal of the effects of ingesting HCN correct?
In the 2012 movie Skyfall, the antagonist Raoul Silva rues that the "hydrogen cyanide" he took ("Do you know what it does to you, hydrogen cyanide?") didn't kill him, leaving him horribly disfigured ...
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