EVANS MONO THIO mv RFR
DL NEUTRAL WATER-SOLUBLETHIOL CH2C0H)CHC0H)CH2SH Consider for: POLYMERS PHARMACEUTICALSINTERMEDIATE
Mol. Wt.:
PROF'ERTIES 108.2
B.P.:
118°Cat5mm
Sp. Gr.:
1.295 at 14.4°C
Color:
SPECIFICATIONS | Water-white
Assay (Aqueous soin.)
90%
Stability:
Excellent
1-Thioglycerol is an excellent reducing agent and can serve as a useful additive to polymerization as well as stabilization of acrylonitrile polymers and co-polymers. It also has considerable poten tial as a stabilizer in various types of pharma ceuticals. Data sheet and samples available on request.
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Letters Life span of chemists SIRS: Because of my continuing in terest in the life span of chemists I was pleased to note the letter by Dr. Lampert (C&EN, Jan. 25, page 7). In my opinion the evidence for a higher death rate of chemists than that of the general population is overwhelming. It is difficult to prove this because of the incomplete data available. The death columns in C&EN are not suit able for quantitative study because the data are not complete as to the chem ists who have died during the year and the ages are frequently unavailable. Taking death rates for white males per 1000 population as published by the U.S. Public Health Service, based on 1967 data (New York Times Encyclopedic Almanac 1970, page 493) for the ages of 21-59, the average is 5.7. If one as sumes that the age distribution of liv ing chemists is equal among all ages (which is not true, of course) it would take a pool of 10,000 to account for 57 annual deaths in this age group. Anyone who is accustomed to reading death notices cannot help but be im pressed by the large number of rela tively young chemists listed in the Deaths columns of C&EN. For ex ample, the issue of Oct. 29, 1969, lists deaths at 49, 51, 46, 39, 47, 58, 42, 54, 44, 37, 58, and 37, out of a total of 40, the remainder either showing no age or ages of 60 or higher. Similarly, in the issue of Dec. 22, 1969, 15 deaths are reported at the age of 58 and below out of a total of 47. In regard to the life span of physi cians, a study based on the informa tion published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has re cently been published by H. Ritter [Med. Welt., 21, 1583 (1970)]. He compared the data for 1967 with those of 1957. The total number of deaths for the two years was similar: 3432 in 1967 and 3409 in 1957. The per cent of physicians dying of circulatory diseases was 62 in 1967 and for 10 years earlier, 47. The larger number of younger physicians in the 1967 sample is reflected by the per cent of deaths due to malignancies, deaths before 60 years of age, and deaths after 70 years, which were 18 and 12, 27 and 24, and 48 and 53 for the years 1967 and 1957, respectively. Lawrence P. Miller Scientific Writer, New York, N.Y. Resigning won't help SIRS: Re Woods (C&EN, Dec. 14, 1970, pages 7 and 8), and Russo (Jan. 25, page 6): Please suggest that resign ing removes their chances of improving the situation. If everyone followed this procedure, there would be no Society to improve. W. G. Sink Associate Dean of Academic Educa tion, Davidson County Community College, Lexington, N.C. Girlie ads SIRS: W. K. Carlton's letter concern ing ads in C&EN and Playboy (C&EN, Jan. 18, page 5) indicates to me that he is losing his perspective. It has al ways been a pleasure to me, as a chem ist, to be reminded that the best chem-
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istry ever done in this sector of the universe is that which results in a beau tiful woman! Until Mr. Carlton pro duces something better in his test tubes—Hooray for the Varian-like ads! Ε. Ε. Barnes Seattle, Wash.
Jupiter theory SIRS: The theory that Jupiter emits a net heat radiation because it is under going a stellar process has been getting a lot of publicity; and it illustrates once again a peculiarity of our scien tific fields that the researchers who do the fact-gathering and analytical w o r k magnificent work in itself—are abom inably poor theorists. We see this sort of thing increasingly; as scientific knowl edge piles up individuals pursue ever narrowing specialties and become ever more ignorant (understandably) of the disciplines adjoining theirs. Unfortunately, nature's disciplines are not organized like ours, and understand ing its mechanisms usually requires a broad kind of thinking that utilizes the facts gathered from many fields. How ever, because the analytically probing research specialist tends to dominate the politics of the societies, the college departments, and government agencies, his remarks are the ones that gather the most attention and favor. The re sult is that our sciences are increasingly traveling up dead-end courses instead of making mainstream progress as they did in the past.
In this case, the research appears not to understand the stellar process of im plosion of light elements—essentially hy drogen—in the center of a whirling mass of matter gathered from the de tritus of past systems in space. The planets tend to be made up of the heav ier material in the rim of the whorl, while, if there is enough of it, the hy drogen becomes hot enough in the im ploding center to establish a fusion fur nace. The fusion process is stable be cause gravity balances the resulting en ergy explosion in a system with the in herent stability of a sphere in space, one that requires no walls or "magnetic pinching" as in man's crude, small-scale experiments. Admitting that the modern analyst has a powerful tool in computers that can handle more complex bundles of equa tions, we still ha\ r e to question the equa tions themselves, wreathed as they al ways are in the inscrutable jargon of the analyst's trade. The analysis of Ju piter's mechanisms may have gone astray when the assumptions were made, as they inevitably would have to be, about the outward dissipation of internal heat. It may well be that the planet's large size and low density are due to very thick layers of ice and solid am monia, covered in turn by deep seas of liquid methane. If so, our knowledge of suitable emissrvities and conductivi ties of such layers and of heat trans fer science is insufficient to analyze the complex problem of transient heat flow from the dense core, assuming also the
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C&EN MARCH 8, 1971
nature and conditions of the core. Then, even if we bypass the earth's atmos phere by measuring with instruments outside of it, we still have the inter ference of Jupiter's own atmosphere to deal with. One is reluctantly forced to conclude that this is another of a bewildering series of dead-end theories that clutter our media. Vernon R. Gutman Saratoga, Calif.
Dow and waste disposal SIRS: Concerning an article on waste disposal (C&EN, Feb. 1, page 8), let me say this: Thanks a lot, Dow Chem ical! While other public-minded companies like Alcoa are putting up their hardearned money to buy used cans for re cycling and thus aiding the waste dis posal problem we are faced with, you are patenting what seems to be a work able waste disposal method of con trolling the release of hydrochloric acid during the incineration of chlorine-con taining containers. Must you add fuel to our inflationary economy? Will you delay this disposal measure by making the patent royalties prohibitive for overall practical use? How much would you lose on earnings-per-share if you did the humanitar ian thing and gave the process free to whoever might want to use it to lessen the pollution we have to suffer? Do you cause a problem by giving us PVC and then make us PAY for its disposal? I think that if we are really faced with a serious pollution problem (and I personally think we are), industry has some responsibility when it finds a process that will lessen the problem. Clean air is going to cost us all dearly enough. Please don't add your personal levies to what turns out to be a public health measure. Rudi Franke Denville, N.J.
Welcome to 20th Century SIRS: Welcome to the turbulent social and political reality of the 20th Century. For the first time in my 21 years of membership I am now an avid and seri ous reader of C&EN. Never a practicing chemist, I support ACS for three reasons: (1) I retain a continuing interest in the business and social aspects of the chemical industry; (2) chemistry plays an essential role in our society (not always noticeable in older issues of C&EN); and (3) I hope that our scholars and scientists will some day learn to communicate with the public (and me) on m a t t e r s of com mon concern. Mr. McCurdy's editorials and policy along with editorials like Mr. McElroy's "Science and the new spirit" (C&EN, Jan. 25) are notably welcome and a challenge to all of us. If you keep this up the public may some day learn who chemists are, what they do, and why they are extremely useful citizens in our society. I regret that some of our members, like W. M. Woods, prefer some sort of monastic seclusion and isolation which insulates t h e m from social and political reality. However, as the youth of to day currently maintain, they are entitled Continued on page 58
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Letters Continued from page 6 "to do their thing." It is hoped that those of us who welcome these changes in ACS can profit from "their thing" and relate it to the real world. Many of us recognize that the chem ical industry (1) contributes to many of our problems and our benefits; (2) offers promise in solving some of our problems and contributing more bene fits to society; and (3) is part and par cel of our national and world commu nity. For these members, let's make sure that we participate in today's re ality and not sit back and just "watch the parade." I heartily join David P. Young (Let ters, Jan. 25) in his comment "Right on, ACS and McCurdy." F. D. Gravois, Jr. Department of General Business, Lo yola University, New Orleans, La.
Chem Tech SIRS: Chemical Technology sounds like it is going to be a "with it" period ical judging from your report "ACS Publications: Chem Tech Launched" (C&EN, Jan. 18, page 8). The section "The Last Word," to be written by women for the wives of chemists, will probably do much to stimulate dinner table conversation. A column for the husbands of chem ists should be included also. Since it would be meant to appeal to husbands in equitable households, it might bet ter be called "A Continuing Dialogue." "The Last Word" could be misinter preted. Jean Wilson Day, Ph.D. School of Chemistry, Rutgers Univer sity, New Brunswick, NJ. SIRS: ACS is certainly not helping the industrial chemist by adding another unneeded journal to an already hope less reading list. Chem Tech does not fill an information vacuum. C&EN could easily carry most of the material printed in the first issue. No single journal could possibly hope to meet the needs, however trivial, of a practicing chemist. I protest the use of my dues to further the information crisis from which only Chemical Abstracts can res cue us. George Baum, Ph.D. Corning, N.Y.
Good teachers needed SIRS: Over the years I have read about and indeed participated in the review and improvement of curriculums and teaching methods in chem istry courses, particularly for nonscience majors. Apparently these at tempts have failed or have not suc ceeded too well inasmuch as they are still being made. This lack of success is due to the viewpoint that the failure lies mainly in a faulty curriculum, and this is just not so! The fault, if any, lies squarely with the instructor. A good instructor can make any curricu lum vivid and meaningful. I am not yet certain whether good instructors are born or can be trained. For what it is worth after 25 years of college teaching, it seems to me that a good instructor must have three charContinued on page 65
58 C&EN MARCH 8, 1871
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE
Letters
I
Continued from page 58 acteristics and I list them in order of importance. First, the instructor must be an actor, a ham actor if you will, with a sense of the dramatic, a sense of timing, and a delivery worthy of a professional actor. Second, he must be a psychologist, not the kind who has gone through several psychology courses in college but one who, through experience or innate intelligence, has an intuitive understanding as to how students think. One who knows beforehand what difficulties students will meet in the subject matter and so points his lecture to attack these difficulties before they arise. One should teach not what the students can and will learn easily by themselves but those points with which the students will have difficulty. Third, and least important, the instructor should know his subject matter. Without these characteristics in an instructor, no curriculum will succeed. Persistent curricular revision merely satisfies the "organizational man" within us—one who delights in semantics and phrases such as "better communication" and "greater awareness." Those who manipulate curriculums must be aware that the instructor's characteristics are the hub of the problem. Other aspects are relatively insignificant. Better to stop playing with curriculums and devote the huge effort to the development of vivid instructors. Walter E. Miller Professor of Chemistry, CCNY, New York, N.Y.
Oppose Davis-Giaimo bill SIRS: I read with disbelief the note in C&EN (Feb. 1, page 22) that a bill had been introduced by Rep. John W. Davis (D.-Ga.) and Rep. Robert N. Giaimo (D.-Conn.), called the Conversion Research and Education Act of 1971, which would retrain aerospace scientists and engineers for "peacetime R&D." It would allocate $450 million over the next three years for this retraining. The proposal to divert these unemployed professionals into civilian R&D career fields, already disastrously overcrowded, is at best shortsighted and at worst cruel. I have nothing at all against government-financed retraining of these unfortunate people who were victims of government misfunding similar to the Davis-Giaimo bill all during the 1960's. There are many areas that will be obviously short of well-paid professional personnel in the 1970's and 1980's, especially in medical fields. Physical therapists and doctors are in critically short supply with no plans apparent for subsidizing medical training. I could build some dandy medical schools with half a billion dollars. In the very city in which I live there was an effort to build a new medical school which was opposed, successfully, by the local American Medical Association. One way for the Society to show it is truly concerned for its own members as well as aerospace professionals is to oppose this bill and support one which will retrain defense-related scientists and engineers for nationally needed areas such as medicine and health. T. C. Shields Charleston, W.Va.
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