Negative thinking.The article "Sweet Glow: Nanotube A carbon molecule that resembles a cylinder made out of chicken wire one to two nanometers in diameter by any number of millimeters in length. Accidentally discovered by a Japanese researcher at NEC in 1990 while making Buckyballs, they have potential use in many applications. sensor brightens path to glucose detection" (SN: 1/1/05, p. 3) mentions "ferricyanide fer·ri·cy·a·nide n. Any of various salts containing the negative trivalent radical Fe(CN)6 and used in making blue pigments. Noun 1. , an electron-hungry molecule." This puzzled me no end. Aren't ferricyanide molecules, unlike their ions, electrically neutral? I'm trying to visualize ravenous molecules gobbling up innocent electrons. ERNEST NUSSBAUM, BETHESDA, MD. Ferricyanide is indeed an ion, with a negative charge of -3. It's electron hungry because, counterintuitively coun·ter·in·tu·i·tive adj. Contrary to what intuition or common sense would indicate: "Scientists made clear what may at first seem counterintuitive, that the capacity to be pleasant toward a fellow creature is ... , it draws an electron from the carbon nanotube to become ferrocyanide ferrocyanide an organic compound used in industry that is reputed to be virtually harmless in spite of its cyanide content. (charge of -4). The reaction tends in that direction because ferrocyanide is more stable thermodynamitally than ferricyanide is.--A. GOHO |
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