ι^ιίΕπβί*^ Compound conflict Martin Saunders and R. James Cross from Yale University referred to the defini tion of a compound in their letter regarding the new argon compound prepared in my laboratory (C&EN, Sept. 25, page 8). Refer ring to a "Dictionary of Chemistry" (Oxford University Press, 1996, 3rd edition, page 127), the word "compound" means "A sub stance formed by the combination of ele ments infixedproportions. The formation of a compound involves a chemical reac tion; i.e., there is a change in the configura tion of the valence electrons of the atoms. Compounds, unlike mixtures, cannot be separated by physical means." Saunders and Cross have studied fullerenes that presumably contain noble gas atoms—helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon—inside. They say there are no covalent bonds in these molecules and that there is no change in the valence electrons of the atoms. The first argon compound, argon fluorohydride (HArF), was characterized ex perimentally by measuring all its funda mental vibrational frequencies and by ex tensive quantum chemical calculations [Nature, 406, 874 (2000)]. The com pound contains both covalent and ionic
bonding character; therefore, it fulfills the tution and U.S. laws and paying U.S. taxes. definition of a compound. Loyalty means "one nation under God with Thus, according to the Oxford chemis liberty and justice for all." Loyalty to Amertry dictionary definition, no compounds ican principles means judging people by containing He or Ne have been detected their character, rather than by the color of yet, although the He@C60 and Ne@C60 sys their skin or the place of their birth. tems are quite interesting. Let us remind ourselves how the U.S. Markku Rasânen got where it is today in the science and University ofHelsinki technology arena: It was immigrant scienFinland tists from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and other parts of the world whose talents and hard work contributed much to our technological achievements. Surely many Dual loyalty of them harbored some sort of dual loyalty As a long-standing ACS member and a much like my own. loyal reader of C&EN, I would like to comThe concept of dual loyalty will probamend you for the article "Journalism 101" bly always be with us, but it pales in com(C&EN, Oct. 9, page 46). C&EN's com- parison with our great achievements in all ments and articles of the past 18 months fields of human endeavor, which were have been heartwarming, considering the made possible by our diverse citizenry and national media's chilling words about Chi- our spirit of tolerance and cooperation. nese Americans and their suspected "dual Hanjiu (Hank) Liu loyalty." River Vale, Ν J. I would like to offer my interpretation of dual loyalty. As a Chinese American, I am proud of my Chinese heritage. I want China to be democratic, prosperous, and Gasoline additives strong. Does that mean I will do something The topic of oxygenates in gasoline is illegal to help China? Absolutely not! To being discussed again. I suggest using me, loyalty means obeying the U.S. Consti- methyl tetrahydrofuran, which is derived
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from agricultural waste, as a suitable addi tive. It could provide the required oxygen ate in fuel and considerably increase the re newable content of fuel supplies. The main objection to the widespread use of furfuraldehyde derivatives is the prob lem of collecting the bulky agricultural waste for processing. However, I see from an earlier article on fuel oxygenates that collec tion of agricultural waste is already envis aged, or actually in operation, for ethanol production (C&EN, May 8, page 40). As such, collection would not be a problem. Methyl tetrahydrofuran has much bet ter solubility properties than either methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) or ethanol, and I do not think that its smell would be consid ered as unsuitable as that of MTBE. David A. H.Taylor Yorks, England
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Request for information In preparation for a biographical arti cle that I am writing on the organic chem ist Robert Burns Woodward, I would ap preciate hearing from C&EN readers who have information on Woodward's teach ing stint at the University of Illinois dur ing the summer of 1937 or his long profes sional relationship with Roger Adams, who was head of the chemistry depart ment at Illinois. Thomas M. Zydowsky 25 Harley Dr. #6 Worcester, MA 01606
[email protected]
