Re: chemistry sci-fi

In article <4b3586e3-a768-4863-b2f6-46bc2834d30a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Madalch <tressure@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
: On May 25, 3:59?am, schu...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Richard Schultz) wrote:
:> In article <69o5jmF33pi2...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Dirk Bruere at NeoPax <dirk.bru...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

:> : And why would platinum black be fatal?

:> Pt black catalyzes the reaction between H2 and O2 in the air, so as soon as
:> the victim opens the valve, FWOOM. ?The murderer had just gotten back from
:> working in a lab on Titan, so he was used to thinking that the lab contained
:> a reducing atmosphere and hence put the Pt black on the O2 cylinder.

: Titan? That's certianly not the story Bill & I were thinking of- the
: glycerin-on-the-O2-cylinder was from "A Whiff of Death", an entirely
: terrestrial murder story.

Yes, that appears to be the case; I was thinking of a short story
that appears in _Asimov's Mysteries_, and I thought (incorrectly, as
it turns out) that that was the story to which you guys were referring.

-----
Richard Schultz schultr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
The gardener plants an evergreen whilst trampling on a flower. . .
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: chemistry sci-fi
    ... Pt black catalyzes the reaction between H2 and O2 in the air, ... the victim opens the valve, ... working in a lab on Titan, so he was used to thinking that the lab contained ... terrestrial murder story. ...
    (sci.chem)
  • Re: chemistry sci-fi
    ... working in a lab on Titan, so he was used to thinking that the lab contained ... a reducing atmosphere and hence put the Pt black on the O2 cylinder. ... terrestrial murder story. ... His Asimovness couldn't have known that.) ...
    (sci.chem)