Saturday, April 20, 2013

#ChemMovieCarnival: Take Two!

(Missed the first act? Click here!)

We're on location, tracking down the best (and worst) in cinematic chemistry.
What have our chemists-cum-scriptwriters come up with today?

10. First, Vinylogous over at Not The Lab visits 1971, learning all he can from a snooty science teacher more interested in nitric acid 'wart remover' than proper pedagogy. H-O-H, indeed!
Film: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

11. Vulcans bleed green; the Predator's blood glows in the dark. If you've ever wondered why all these aliens circulate such odd visceral hues, ScienceGeist has the explanation. Trimeric copper complexes? Yes, please!
Films: Star Trek, Predator, Avatar, Alien

12. Andre the Chemist storms back into the ring for another round. This time, he considers chemical "Rosetta Stones" - does our scientific notation only make sense to us? And where does the Enterprise store all those extra atoms for the replicator?
TV Show: Star Trek: TNG, Futurama
Film: Contact

13. Superma, err, Stu Cantrill, flies around Earth beyond the speed of light, all the way back to 1983. There, he meets Richard Pryor, who computes the precise elemental make-up of Kryptonite. Who knew there'd be that much dialium? DANGER!
Film: Superman III

14. At Kentucky Chemistry, N. Tesla opines on the oft-utilized plot device of lit cigarettes creating fireballs from gasoline vapors. Please don't try this at home; peer-reviewed pyrolysis research (!) suggests it's pretty tough, and Tesla's home experiments (!!!) seem to corroborate.
Film: Zoolander

15. Next, Trends In Science's Marcel Swart reviews the emotional chemistry found in a personal cinematic favorite. Lead character Tita cooks with some decidedly 'non-traditional' ingredients: catalyic tears, sensual rose petals, and fiery match-heads.
Film: Como Agua Para Chocolate

16. Over at Wired, plucky Deborah Blum picks apart the highly suspect "HCN disfigurement" scene from the recent James Bond flick, much to her son's chagrin. Who knew spies used to carry around poisonous eyeglasses?
Film: Skyfall

It's still not too late...submit those Chem Movie Carnival entries before Monday! Send to seearroh_AT_gmail, or @seearroh on Twitter. Hashtag: #ChemMovieCarnival. See you at the movies!

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