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2014 | Book

Misconceptions in General Read chapter Read first chapter

100 Chemical Myths

Misconceptions, Misunderstandings, Explanations

Authors: Lajos Kovács, Dezső Csupor, Gábor Lente, Tamás Gunda

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

100 Chemical Myths deals with popular yet largely untrue misconceptions and misunderstandings related to chemistry. It contains lucid and concise explanations cut through fallacies and urban legends that are universally relevant to a global audience. A wide range of chemical myths are explored in these areas; food, medicines, catastrophes, chemicals, and environmental problems. Connections to popular culture, literature, movies, and cultural history hold the reader’s interest whilst key concepts are beautifully annotated with illustrations to facilitate the understanding of unfamiliar material. Chemical Myths Demystified is pitched to individuals without a formal chemistry background to fledgling undergraduate chemists to seasoned researchers and beyond.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
1. Misconceptions in General
Abstract
The word ‘chemical’ has an increasingly bad reputation in today’s world. Several of the 12 stories collected in this chapter try to illuminate the sources of this undeserved negative image. For scientists, any substance is a chemical, irrespective of the natural or artificial origin. The most poisonous materials known all come from nature. The health effects of artificial substances must be tested in detail, whereas the same is often not true for supposedly natural products, which might not be as natural as advertised after all. The European Union introduced legislation, called Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals, in 2007 in order to control the production of industrial chemicals and have them tested for their health effects systematically. This legislation has an immense effect on the chemical industry and on the job market in Europe, but its benefits in terms of human health are not beyond doubt. A story in the chapter explains that the ozone hole is by no means an actual hole, and the scientific principles behind skating are described. The last story is devoted to a geoengineering experiment named LOHAFEX, which aims to fertilize oceans with iron.
Lajos Kovács, Dezső Csupor, Gábor Lente, Tamás Gunda
2. Food
Abstract
The diverse world of cuisine and food is very important in the everyday lives of more than seven billion people on Earth. The 25 stories in this chapter are linked to the scientific study of the benefits and risks in this ever-changing field. It is often very difficult to find objective and reliable information because there are major financial interests behind selling vast quantities of different products. Consumers will find some fact-based guidance in these stories to make their own informed choices on food-related questions such as: Does spinach, Popeye’s favorite meal, contain a lot of iron? Should food additives be avoided? Are substances listed with E numbers on food labels artificial and harmful? Why is the Greek letter omega so important when fatty acids are mentioned? Does red wine protect people from heart disease? How should decisions be made between butter and margarine, white sugar and brown sugar, mined salt and sea salt? Is there anything useful in grapefruit seed extract? How do people benefit from consuming olive oil? Are organic vegetables healthier than the traditional alternatives?
Lajos Kovács, Dezső Csupor, Gábor Lente, Tamás Gunda
3. Medicines
Abstract
Finding or manufacturing medicines has always been a major driving force of scientific activities and is also one of the most profitable businesses in the twenty-first century. This chapter presents 34 short case studies on various substances with supposed or real medicinal effects. A wide field is covered beginning from outright hoaxes, which have never been tested simply because they are not known (such as vitamin B17 or xeronine from the fruit noni) through harmless but costly ‘treatments’ without any proven positive effects (such as glucosamine or aromatherapy) to reliable medicines, which are very useful for certain purposes but often misused or misunderstood (such as antidepressants or antibiotics). The difference between original and generic drugs is shown to be the price but not the effect on humans. The legal stature of homeopathic medicines is made clear, which are the only substances that can be sold in drug stores without proving their health benefit, and the scientific background of the placebo effect is described briefly. Drugs used for sports performance enhancement are also mentioned along with the infamous former East German state-sponsored doping program.
Lajos Kovács, Dezső Csupor, Gábor Lente, Tamás Gunda
4. Catastrophes, Poisons, Chemicals
Abstract
Catastrophes always attract a lot of public attention and, naturally, in the rush of the events that enter the news cycle in the media, there is seldom much chance to verify the accuracy of the background information. The 29 stories in this chapter cover nuclear disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima, cyanide spills, red mud slides and mass poisonings well after the events themselves, which provides sufficient time to understand the reasons and consequences. A closer look will be taken at the persistent rumor about Napoleon’s death by arsenic poisoning, and the supposed or sometimes very real toxicity of natural gas, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, cyanides, sorrel, Erin Brockovich’s chromium slats, acids in general, ozone, plastic resins, dioxins and bisphenol A. The stories also answer some interesting questions that have probably been never asked: Is a fire possible aboard a spaceship? What could have Sherlock Holmes meant when he identified a substance as ‘bisulphate of baryta’?
Lajos Kovács, Dezső Csupor, Gábor Lente, Tamás Gunda
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
100 Chemical Myths
Authors
Lajos Kovács
Dezső Csupor
Gábor Lente
Tamás Gunda
Copyright Year
2014
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-08419-0
Print ISBN
978-3-319-08418-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08419-0

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