Monthly Archives: December 2008

Have tunes? Gotta dance?

Posted on December 25, 2008 by alan

Piles of paper surround me. Wrapping paper for presents. Your exams and lab reports. (Not to worry, no one in the family received socks wrapped in a lab report.) And it's snowing. So what do I do?What would anyone do?Surf… Continue reading →

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Rate of Nucleophilic Substitution Contest – My Response

Posted on December 18, 2008 by alan

If you recall, the winners of this contest were chosen by pulling cards out of a hat, an unusually large (size 7 3/4") black top hat. The questions asked by the winners* were:Fluffy C. – Are the low reactivity of… Continue reading →

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Cations, crowns, and phase transfer catalysts

Posted on December 9, 2008 by alan

The following images (click image for full-size view) show potential maps (0 –> +1500), ball-and-spoke formulas, and space-filling formulas of(CH3CH2CH2CH2)N+ (top left)PhCH2N(Et)3+ (top center)18-crown-6(K+) (right)Li+, Na+, K+ (bottom left) The potentials surrounding the organic cations are more moderate, but not… Continue reading →

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S/P electrophiles & crown ethers

Posted on December 5, 2008 by alan

The PowerPoint slides from today's lecture can be downloaded here. A couple of comments on each slide …… Continue reading →

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From O Chem to the Oregonian

Posted on December 1, 2008 by alan

The Oregonian ran an article today titled, "Markets Threaten Oregon University Endowments" (Nov 30, 2008, Metro NW section, B-1). The article profiles Reed College's finances (which are gloomy, but probably no worse than anyone else's) and it features a nice… Continue reading →

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