61: Super Trouper

This episode discusses the controversy over the carbocation in organic chemistry in the 1950s, and experiments done to resolve the argument through the early 1960s, using superacids, especially in research by George Olah, William von Eggers Doering, and Lawrence H. Knox. We mention the main proponent, Saul Winstein and the main nay-sayer, Herbert Brown. We also take you through the basics of what a superacid is--and is not--and how dangerous superacids can be in the laboratory. Supporters of the podcast at Patreon can download a supplemental sheet with molecular structures.Support the Show. Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook