5/11/2023 0 Comments Alec nevala lee astounding![]() ![]() It just seems to vanish without ever penetrating the water’s skin.Īs I watched it one morning I thought idly: What if it dissolves just before it hits the water?Īsimov saw immediately that this would be a good idea for a science fiction story, and he had the additional inspiration to write it up as a spoof article for a scientific journal about this imaginary compound. The result is that as soon as the catechol touches the surface of the water it dissolves. As he describes it in his memoir In Memory Yet Green:Ĭatechol, as it happens, is very readily soluble, especially when it exists as fluffy crystals that present a large surface to the water. As part of the research he was conducting for his doctorate, he had to dissolve a compound called catechol in an enzyme solution and time the reaction with a stopwatch. In May of 1947, Isaac Asimov, who was then a graduate student in organic chemistry at Columbia University, was hard at work in the lab. You can read the earlier installments here. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, I’ll be taking the opportunity to highlight works within the genre that deserve to be rediscovered, reappraised, or simply enjoyed by a wider audience. ![]() Note: As I dive into the research process for my upcoming book Astounding: John W. ![]()
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