Word: carbonizing
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...telescopes, astronomers have lately discovered a number of complex molecules in interstellar space: water, ammonia, formaldehyde and pairs of hydrogen and oxygen atoms that are ingredients of many other chemical combinations. Now the list has been further expanded. Researchers at the Bell Telephone Labs have detected large quantities of carbon monoxide in vast clouds of gas and dust in the Milky...
...astrochemistry-is dependent on a fundamental property of molecules. When they are bombarded by radiation from the stars, they respond in a precise and predictable way: they radiate electromagnetic waves at characteristic frequencies. Detected by radio telescopes, these waves are the "fingerprints" that scientists use to identify interstellar molecules. Carbon-monoxide molecules, for example, radiate at an incredible 115 billion hertz (115 billion cycles...
...recalls, he saw "a bump that hadn't been there before." When the antenna was slightly moved, the bump disappeared. The scientists could scarcely believe their eyes. Though the equipment had just been switched on, it was already vigorously responding at 115 billion hertz-the fingerprint of carbon monoxide. The carbon-monoxide signals are, in fact, so strong, Jefferts says, that they almost "jump up and bite you." Any lingering doubts were totally dispelled in the next few nights. Shifting their telescope to other areas of the Milky Way, the astrochemists found at least ten galactic clouds that contain...
...thing, the power is almost entirely free (only 13 kilowatts of electricity are needed to operate the mirrors). More important, the furnace gives off what he calls "aristocratic" or uncontaminating heat; there is, for example, none of the adulterating carbon that is produced by the hot electrodes in ordinary high-intensity electric arc furnaces. Thus the solar oven is ideal for the production of chemically pure materials...
Guillet's team got around such problems by finding a way to chemically bond groups of "sensitized" molecules directly into the plastic's carbon chain. When these "S" groups absorb ultraviolet light from direct sunlight, he says, their carbon "backbones" soon begin to be decomposed by microorganisms. But indoors-even in front of glass windows-they will not be affected. Guillet claims that the speed of the breakdown can be controlled by varying the number of "S" groups bonded into the plastic molecules. He also thinks that the process would raise the price of plastics by only...