From: andrewh@panix.com (Andrew Huie)
Subject: Need answers for chemistry questions
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 03:54:31 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC

The following is a request for information from a friend of mine who originally
posted it on RIME (sp?).  Please address your replies to him, but e-mail
them to andrewh@panix.com.  Also please try to restrict your replies to e-mail,
as there is no guarantee I will see posted messages (I'm not a regular reader
of this base).  Thanks in advance!

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Message # 76                                     Area :  76  Replies
From : Patrick Smith                             11-10-92  08:00
To   : All                      
Subj : Sci Opinions/Help Wanted
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The following is spliced from a conversation between Eric Francis and John 
Wilsona :

EF>>We all know that at Absolute Zero molecules become so inactive that a
EF>>vacume is created. But is there an absolute ABOVE zero?
EF>
EF>That's not entirely true.  Absolute zero (more formally, the zero of
EF>thermodynamic temperature) is a the lowest temperature theoretically
EF>attainable.  At that temperature, the internal kinetic enertgy of
EF>atoms is minimized.  It's impossible to cool something to absolute
EF>zero.
EF>
EF>A whole bunch of science-fiction authors have made speculations about
EF>what would happen if you could cool something to absolute zero (for
EF>instance, Greg Bear in _Heads_).  The truth on the matter is, though,
EF>that you just can't do it in the first place, so what would happen if
EF>you could is a meaningless question.

Greetings...
  I someday hope to be one of those authors mentioned above.  Till
then though, I have a question (several in fact) that I hope someone here
will be able to help me with.
  I am currently working on a novel which somewhat touches upon the
discussion above as well poses other questions which I don't really
have enough working knowledge to answer on my own.  Although the
story in question will be a work of fiction, I would like to hedge it
with as much scientific fact and accepted theory as possible.
  In my story there is a character who is a mutant, an otherwise normal 
human being but also possessing psionic (mental powers) abilities.  In
this case, the character has the the ability through psionic 
telekinesis to manipulate any substance she desires.  This is to say
that she can move matter by her own thought.  The size of the matter to be
manipulated varies from a fairly large (but finite) scale down to
the molecular level. i.e. she cannot affect anything smaller than a
molecule.  I am going under the definition that a molecule is the smallest
piece of a substance that you can get that still has the properties of 
that substance.

The practical limitations I have placed on her ability are as follows :
  1. While she can strip Oxygen, Hydrogen, and other "free" molecules
    from the very air about her, she could not liberate the first two
    molecules from plain (un-oxygenated) water since they are chemically
    bonded to form HO BUT she could, however, manipulate the     same 
    individual water molecules.
  2. She has to have some measure of understanding of the molecular     
    structure she is attempting to manipulate.  Free elements would be    
    easy (she's a molecular chemistry student in grad school), complex    
    molecular chains would be harder unless she has studied them or       
    chemically similar chains so that she can "envision" their structures 
    and behaviors.
  3. She can use the free molecules at her disposal to "bind" them into 
    whatever substance she can imagine, privided she abides by the first  
    two criteria stated above.  The new "bonds" can either be maintained 
    through whatever molecular bonds now known to science (i.e. ionic, 
    covalent, etc.) or the unstable structure can be held together by 
    continuous application of her mutant ability.

What I need from the conference is the following :
  IYHO's, what are the practical ramifications and side effects of such an 
  ability when she applies it?

  In one for instance that comes immediately to my mind, the character is 
  placed in a situation where she is quite close to an explosive device as 
  it is about to detonate.  I would have her protect herself in the     
  fastest, most instinctive method available to her.  She liberates as    
  much free Oxygen as she can from her surroundings (this she can     
  accomplish: getting a very large amount almost instantaneaously)  and   
  errects a barrier of pure oxygen before her.  The barrier is completely 
  solid and uniform, its molecules packed as tightly as she can, to   
  prevent any leakage of the explosive force.

QUESTION(s):
a. Would such a dense barrier still be permeable to gases, light, or any
   form of radiation?
b. Would the barrier be visible to an observer?
c. Is the barrier itself combustible since it is made of pure Oxygen?
d. (MOST IMPORTANTLY) Since the barrier is made up of molecules forced 
   into close confinement and held static (that is to say, the molecules
   themselves cannot move but their sub-atomic particles are still free to
   do so), would there be a drop in temperature in the immediate
   vicinity of it???   Liquid Oxygen (LOX) is a very cold substance.  The
   barrier above is made up of oxygen molecules close enough together to
   form a dense solid so does that make the substance temperature approach
   ABSOLUTE ZERO given the three statements above?
e. Could she by present day application of scientific rules and/or 
   theories, inadvertently "induce" nuclear fusion and a reaction by      
   packing any element (Hydrogen, Deuterium, Tritium, etc.) to close to
   one another?
f. Finally, my high school/college chemistry is kind of weak.  I need a   
   quick synopsis of all the molecular bonds that are presently known to  
   man (ionic, covalent, etc.).

Although everyone is invited to throw in there opinions, since all will 
help me with this project, it would be appreciated (but not required :) of 
those giving "expert" advice to indicate credentials or at least sources
for my peace of mind.

Thanks again to all in ADVANCE.
.Patrick.
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Newsgroups: sci.chem