RyanJ

I'm not sure about buying iodomethane but you can certainly make it. Warning: I have not attempted this reaction and looked it up in a textbook. The reaction is exothermic and I DO NOT recommend trying it as it may be dangerous to do so. [ce]5CH3OH + P + 2 \frac{1}{2}I_2 -> 5CH3I + H3PO4 + H2O[/ce] However you would probably need to distill the iodomethane off and remove the excess iodine. Another reaction I turned up was the addition of dimethyl sulphate too calcium carbonate in aqueous potassium iodide. [ce](CH3O)2SO2 + KI -> CH3I + CH3OSO2OK[/ce] Apparently both have high yields industrially I would probably think it would be produced in a similar way too chloromethane, methane in an atmosphere of chlorine under UV light leaving too free radical substutution although it will probably be far less vigorous than that of of chlorine. Also, just to re emphasize what Woelen said, iodomethane is an irritant and toxic if swallowed so don't try any of these reactions without the correct safety apparatus and experience. Edit: Woelen, wouldn't iodomethane be quite unstable due to the long bond length of the I-C bond?

As always the safety stuff: http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/t1820.htm Other than that there seems too be very little about the compound (a lot of cruff on Google). What information are you looking for exactly?

Reading Wiki's entry is interesting because it suggests Buckminsterfullerene doesn't actually delocalise over the whole system but others actually may. If this is the case then this would be of great interest because of the similarities it may have with benzene (and the extreme differences). Your correct, my research shows that adding any molecule within the fullerene does affect its electron structure. Depending on the molecule of course. (Wasn't using a metal within the atom or replacing one of its carbons with a metallic element something they consider to be a potential super conductor?). I've heard of grouped being bonded to the outside of the molecule but not the inside, I wonder if this is some indication as too the bonding within the molecule. Research suggests the bonding within the molecule may be similar too graphite, if this is so then it does explain some of its properties such as electrical conductivity. I quote:

Actually it does provide more of an answer than you would think. If this can't actually occur for larger fullerenes as it would have an adverse affect on stability, maybe it could still occur on smaller ones. If the electron density is higher inside the actual molecule this also makes for some interesting discussion points, the fillerenes should be quite inert but if you could construct one with molecules inside it then it should be far more reactive and able to form different compounds. I wonder if there is a way to test this? I've heard of metals being "sealed" within the fullerene as well as other things but I wonder if the inner surface would actually be more reactive. If anyone has any more information please post, fullerene's are very interesting and I'm interested in their chemical properties.

A question I came upon when I was reading about fullerenes today. In benzene we have one non-bonded p electron in each carbon atom. Due to the overlap in the p shells the electrons are dissociated above and below the plane of the molecule in a pi delocalised system. In a fullerene that for example has carbons linked in the same way, with only three bonds leaving one non-bonded electron. Would the p orbitals in adjacent carbon rings over lap allowing the electrons to be dissociated over the whole molecule or are they limited to just a few ring groups? Thanks!

That's interesting John Cuthber. That explains why the direct nitration of the benzene ring won't work fo 6 substitutions. It also explains the extreme instability of the compound, benzene normally being stable but with its pi delocalised electron system removed (or altered) will be very unstable.

I thought you couldn't actually detect an individual quark (or was that observe) due too the confinement property of a quark?

Its simple to install, trust me - if I can install it anyone can ;-)

How about Xampp?

I think that's the point I'm trying to explore in the current context of the chemistry we understand, where are its borders? What actually defines the difference between an organic compound and an inorganic one? I'm hoping there would be some generalisation that could be used to decide but it seems not

Interesting comments as always 5614 I'd agree with you about the general statement (maybe a few other things like carbides added to your list?). However there are compounds that still seem on the edge of what I would consider an organic compound like trimethylsilyl chloride, dimethylcopper lithium, tetrkis triphenylphosphine palladium. They all are clearly organic compounds on closer inspection but they really don't look like it from a molecular formula. I'm glad you brought up organometallic compounds. These are really interesting substances. I would clearly consider them organic but they also seem like it when looked at from a general formula. (I'm actually fascinated by these, its a shame they aren't covered much in our chemistry modules though). I'm just curious why you won't generalise carbonates and the like as organic? They fit your description of an organic compound because they do contain carbon. Even though I agree with you when you have to generalise that much the borders between organic and inorganic seem to have a merged definition. Thanks for commenting 5614!

I thought benzene always "liked" to form a planar structure as its more stable. In nitrobenzene I think that the nitrogen is in plane with the carbon to which its attached with the two oxygen's raised above the plane of the ring? Maybe it would vary from the lone pair repulsion from the nitrogen's? (I don't know much about VSEPR unfortunatley.) My guess would be that any other nitrite groups bonded directly too the ring would also be in plane with the ring but I have no basis for this belief PS: Sorry mods, this should have been under organic chemistry.

Hey there everyone! I thought this may make an interesting debate, we had this debate today in chemistry and I would be very interested to hear your insights. Organic chemistry is normally considered to be mainly involving compounds involving mainly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, some sulphur, nitrogen, phosphorus and halogens too. In recent years this seems to have changed some what, we now have compounds that seem to break the traditional rules of what exactly defines an organic compound. Some compounds contain all sorts of things such as transition metals, alkali metals etc. My question too you is this: How far does the distinction of an organic compound go in out current understanding of chemistry and what exactly do you think defines an organic compound today? I'm hoping this will inspire some debate as it did in chemistry today, it was very interesting. I'm still unsure how exactly to define an organic compound. Some of the molecules we have looked at certainly look like they are organic but their molecular formulas make me think again. -- Ryan Jones

Thats a big question. As with any protein the composition can vary from one too another, this makes it very hard to measure its composition with any degree of accuracy. Research shows that its approximate composition is

Interesting so it does have an evolutionary purpose! That also explains why they are so provocative, even in low concentrations. Thanks for the information

Hey everyone! Just a question out of curiosity. Humans (other animals too) appear to be very sensitive to the smell of any thiol compound (some can be detected in parts per billion). I was wondering if there is a biological reason why this is so? Is it intended for something such as a defence mechanism or is it a by product of being able to smell other aromatic compounds and such? Thanks for the information. -- Ryan Jones

Interesting, like a form of indirect nitrating in this case. Looks like I'll have to dig out my organic chemistry books top find out what's going on here. Thanks for the interesting information YT! -- Ryan Jones

Actually I was more interested in the chemical reason for their formation (seeing as they do from your examples). I'm guessing as I said earlier they are probably not very stable due to the effect having multiple groups attached to the ring in place of hydrogen would have. Can you at least tell if they require high temperatures or a catalyst as I would probably expect? (High temperatures probably isn't the correct solution if the compounds are in any way unstable though). I'm also guessing that this probably shouldn't (or can't) be done by direct substation into the ring (maybe forming a temporary compound and then working from that to get the complete ring substation). From the names I can see where your going by not specifying a way to make them by the way -- Ryan Jones

Hey there everyone! I've been wondering about this for a while. We've been studying the electrophilic substitution of various things into the benzene ring. This normally occurs best when something like a hydroxyl group is attached to the ring as the electronegative oxygen draws the electrons towards it, allowing electrophiles to more easily attack the bond. I am curious however as to why there is almost never complete substitution into the ring, there are normally 2 or three substitutions but I haven't seen any (I can remember) examples where there has been full substitution. I'm guessing it is possible, but maybe somewhat unstable if it affects the delocalized electron system. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to form a complete substation into the benzene ring and the chemistry behind such a reaction? My guess would be high heat (high temperatures making the compound unstable and making it decompose?) or maybe something like is done for the substitution of a halogen into the ring using a halogen carrier but with some form of catalyst? Thanks for your insights!

I'm glad the IE team started work on standards support once again (even though a few years too late). Their implementation of tabs is crummy at best though, I do however like their quick tab preview, that is quite an interesting feature. Firefox 2 still wins hands down for me though -- Ryan Jones

Hundreds of people Probably took days worth of work to compile all the data, clarify it etc. -- Ryan Jones

Those are ptryy impressive, thanks for posting them guys! -- Ryan Jones

A few months ago a new from appeared on Jupiter and scientists all around the world have been watching it progress and develop in hopes it would lead to insights of how the Great Red Spot originally formed. The Little Red Spot is gaining strength and its wind speed is increasing although scientists have no idea why at this time. http://www.physorg.com/news79713185.html -- Ryan Jones

Just a notr for some strange reason some programs that use automatic updates (such as anti-virus applications) use the .bin extension to store definition list's and the like, probably because [ui]bin[/i] represents binary[/b], the format in which the information is stored. -- Ryan Jones

for basic reading this may prove interesting (as well as the links to information on the functional groups) -- Ryan Jones