can somebody solve this reaction that i have seen in a book
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:40 pm
(CH3)C6H2(NO2)3 + Hg(CNO)2 = ?
Oh, ha ha!viggen wrote:(CH3)C6H2(NO2)3 + Hg(CNO)2 = ?
Hahahahah...Heh. Its' not an actual reaction as such. I suspect the book was engaging in a chemistry pun, being a play on words (or symbols).
The compounds are Trinitrotoluene and Mercury Fulminate.
Mercury Fulminate is a primary explosive, highly sensitive to friction and shock, used as a trigger for other explosives. Trinitrotoluene is, of course, T.N.T..
In other words: Explosive + Detonator = Earth Shattering Kaboom!
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PS: A little googling turns up this quote. I knew it sounded familiar.
Classic! Probably the origin of the "smoking boots" schtich.Aldous Huxley wrote:From Brave New World (1932)
"(CH3)C6H2(NO2)3 + Hg(CNO)2 = well, what? An enormous hole in the ground, a pile of masonry, some bits of flesh and mucus, a foot, with the boot still on it, flying through the air and landing, flop, in the middle of the geraniums–the scarlet ones; such a splendid show that summer!"