# All Questions

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### What causes the "rotting fish smell"?

Rotting fish seem to give off the same (very pungent) kind of smell, regardless of the kind (salmon, seabreen, tuna, etc). What exactly is it that's responsible for this unique smell? (Though I've ...
2k views

### Is Hexafluorocyclohexane the "Most Polar" Small Molecule?

Earlier this year, there was a lot of attention when all-cis 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexafluorocyclohexane was synthesized*: Notably, C&E News quoted the lead author: This compound is remarkable for being ...
109k views

### What is the inert pair effect?

I was reading about the p-block elements and found that the inert pair effect is mentioned everywhere in this topic. However, the book does not explain it very well. So, what is the inert pair effect? ...
4k views

### Why is fresh ice sticky?

Fresh ice cubes are almost instantly sticky and easily cling on to fabric and other similarly rough surfaces. A few minutes later, however, the effect almost completely disappears. What is the cause ...
59k views

### Why do SN1 and SN2 reactions not occur at sp2 centres?

I was told in my organic chemistry course that $\text{S}_\text{N}1$ and $\text{S}_\text{N}2$ reactions did not occur at $\text{sp}^2$ centres. When I asked why, I was not given a satisfactory ...
89k views

### How to derive these general formulae for number of stereoisomers of a compound with a possible plane of symmetry?

These formulae are used if the molecule has a possible plane of symmetry. One such example would be: Here the carbons marked with an asterisk are stereogenic centres (the asterisk is not used to mark ...
9k views

### How does ammonium nitrate explode on its own?

I thought ammonium nitrate was an oxidizer that needed to be mixed with fuel to form a high explosive (e.g., ANFO). But apparently there have been accidental explosions involving just the "...
11k views

### Which "exotic salt" can lower water's freezing point by 70 °C?

The Medium.com article Mars Phoenix Lander, 10 Years Later shows several remarkable images and discoveries on Mars by the Mars Phoenix Lander circa 2008. One image (shown below) shows what looks like ...
23k views

### Why is BCl3 a monomer whereas AlCl3 exists as a dimer?

What makes dimerization possible in $\ce{AlCl3}$? Are there 3c-2e bonds in $\ce{Al2Cl6}$ as there are in $\ce{B2H6}$?
11k views

### Can 100% covalent bonds exist?

Every covalent bond has some ionic character and every ionic bond some covalent character. I can understand why a completely ionic bond is an ideal situation. But completely covalent bonds can exist(?)...
68k views

### Why do we use helium in balloons?

While I was looking at the periodic table today, I realised that there were gases that were much lighter than helium such as hydrogen. If hydrogen is lighter than helium, why do we insist on using ...
34k views

### What is the difference between ∆G and ∆G°?

In Brady's Molecular Nature of Matter, I read that $\Delta_\mathrm{r} G^{\circ}$ is $\Delta_\mathrm{r} G$ at $25~^\circ\mathrm{C}$. But later, it gives a value for $\Delta_\mathrm{r} G^\circ$ at ...
9k views

### What exactly is happening when sodium, potassium, or other alkali metal explodes in water?

There are lots of videos on YouTube showing sodium, potassium, etc. exploding when dropped into water (this, for example). I understand that when an alkali metal is exposed to water, a violent ...
63k views

### Choosing the right condenser

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of condensers commonly found in the laboratory? Obviously more intricate pieces of glassware are more costly but assuming they are all ...
31k views

### Why is the bond angle H-P-H smaller than H-N-H?

$\ce{N}$ & $\ce{P}$ are in the same group. Both $\ce{NH3}$ and $\ce{PH3}$ have one lone pair and according to VSEPR theory, both the central atoms are predicted to be $\ce{sp^3}$ hybridized. But ...
12k views

### Generating neat orbitals/surfaces from molden/wfn-files

I usually use Gaussian/GaussView and don't have to bother with other programs as I think that GaussView is capable of producing nice orbital/surface pictures like this one of one of uracil's Kohn-Sham-...
17k views

### Why is pyrimidine less basic than pyridine?

From Wikipedia's article on pyrimidine: Because of the decreased basicity compared to pyridine, electrophilic substitution of pyrimidine is less facile. But why is pyrimidine less basic than ...
32k views

### Why super glue does not stick inside their own bottle?

We usually use super glue to stick any two objects but I was wondering like why don't they stick inside their own bottle ?
1k views

### Relativistic effect: d-electrons in metallorganic complexes

With higher period the d-electrons of the metal are less strong bonded and therefore oxidative addition is easier for $\ce{Ir(I)}$ than for $\ce{Rh(I)}$ and much easier than for $\ce{Co(I)}$. For ...
6k views

### How do I visualize an atom?

I have searched and searched, oh how I have searched. I am looking for a 3-dimensional visualization of a whole atom, one that that includes all the orbital geometry. A proper "layered" view of the ...
16k views

### Why does potassium react more violently with water than lithium?

Recently, I was telling my friends about the violent reaction that takes place when you throw potassium into water. Soon after, a friend of mine claimed that lithium would react more violently than ...
5k views

### DFT Functional Selection Criteria

I have a very very general question: In DFT functional selection , mostly people speak about the most recent ones. For example my professor always asks: " which DFT Functional did you select ? " ...
42k views

### Why does alcoholic KOH prefer elimination whereas aqueous KOH prefers substitution?

What is the basic difference between aqueous and alcoholic $\ce{KOH}$? Why does alcoholic $\ce{KOH}$ prefer elimination whereas aqueous $\ce{KOH}$ prefers substitution?
116k views

### Why does carbon monoxide have a greater affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen?

Hemoglobin is an iron-containing oxygen transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of most mammals. Simply put, it's a carrier protein. Interestingly it doesn't carry carbon dioxide in the same ...
27k views

### Gibbs free energy-minimum or zero?

A reaction proceeds towards the direction of lesser Gibbs free energy (at constant $T$ (temperature) and $P$ (pressure)). So, we could say that Gibbs free energy at equilibrium is minimum. On the ...
27k views

### What do the prefixes meta, ortho, pyro mean in inorganic chemistry?

In inorganic chemistry, when is the prefix meta used? (as in metaborate and metasulphite) What about the terms pyro and ortho (as in orthophosphorous acid)? For example, I recently came to know about ...
46k views

### What is a non-classical carbocation?

What is a non-classical carbocation? How is it different from a classical carbocation? I am confused as I have come across this term many times on Chem.SE but there seems to be nothing for my level ...
27k views

### Is methanol more acidic than water?

Methanol is slightly more acidic than water. Their $\mathrm{p}K_\mathrm{a}$ values, in water, are $15.5$ and $15.7$, respectively. All other aliphatic alcohols, however, are less acidic than water. ...
7k views

### Why is chemistry unpredictable?

Disclaimer: I am not a chemist by any means, and I only have knowledge limited to what I learned in my university's Chemistry III course. Basic understanding of everything up to valence electron ...
6k views

### A compound that absorbs all visible light

Is there a compound that absorbs all visible light?
29k views

### What is known about liquid carbon?

The wiki tells me that if you heat carbon at atmospheric pressure it eventually turns directly into a gas without being liquid first. At what pressure can you make liquid carbon? Has anyone actually ...
24k views

### IUPAC nomenclature: "Smallest sum of locants"?

While naming any compound, the numbering should be done such that position of substituted groups gives smallest sum. I'm struggling with the IUPAC naming for cyclic compounds. How exactly does this ...
269k views

### Difference between shells, subshells and orbitals

What are the definitions of these three things and how are they related? I've tried looking online but there is no concrete answer online for this question.
4k views

### Does any known substance ignite on cooling?

As the title says, I'm interested in knowing if there is any substance — or combination of substances — that ignites (or even increases its chance of spontaneous ignition) when cooled. I've never ...
38k views

### Why do atoms generally become smaller as one moves left to right across a period?

It seems to me that the addition of electrons and protons as you move across a period would cause an atom to become larger. However, I'm told it gets smaller. Why is this?
119k views

### Are metallic/ionic bonds weaker than covalent bonds?

In mineralogy class, I was taught that metallic and ionic bonds are weaker than covalent bonds and that's why quartz and diamond have such a high hardness value. However, in organic chemistry class, I ...
2k views

### IUPAC nomenclature for an interesting looking organic compound

How can I name this organic compound while adhering to the IUPAC standards?
10k views