Silk Road forums

Discussion => Philosophy, Economics and Justice => Topic started by: Adasel on January 12, 2013, 03:56 pm

Title: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: Adasel on January 12, 2013, 03:56 pm
Yup.  I got the Chemistry for Dummies book for Christmas and i cannot believe how interesting a subject it is.
What can i hope to gain from learning it and how can i help to benefit the SR in the future??!
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: SpaceAce on January 12, 2013, 04:34 pm
Read a lot more books and make us some pure LSD-25!
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: nanpa2001 on January 12, 2013, 04:51 pm
Good. Another budding chemist!
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: sdesu on January 12, 2013, 05:20 pm
I assume you're reading more of general chemistry? The real fun begins in organic chemistry. If you're in college/university take chemistry lectures and labs. You will learn a lot, trust me. Don't learn chemistry solely for making drugs, you are setting yourself up for failure. Learn chemistry for your own intellectual growth, and from there you can apply your knowledge to other areas.

sdesu
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: Limetless on January 12, 2013, 05:50 pm
Read a lot more books and make us some pure LSD-25!

Trying.
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: Ben on January 13, 2013, 02:46 am
I've never read the book, but i assume it provides some interesting anecdotes and information.

Studying chemistry to the level of a bachelor or masters degree is another matter though. To obtain these degrees you will need to demonstrate a pretty solid understanding of physics and math as well. Understanding what routes organic synthesis reactions take requires a fair amount of insight and experience, i doubt a book the size of a typicial 'for dummies' release can provide.

That said, i'd always promote people to conduct chemistry experiments as long as they are reasonably safe. I would seriously recommend against trying to synthesize any substance to be used on your body unless you have both the experience to carry out their synthesis and a means to verify your results. Especially the latter is difficult since it often takes pretty expensive equipment to verify the quality and purity of your reaction products.

Even if you are a proficient chemist, you would want to check your synthesis results using the best methods available before even thinking of dosing humans. Equipment required would be GC/MS and perhaps NMR. Equipment for doing such analysis comes at the price of a brand new luxury car at minimum. And that is considering you buy used yet good equipment, brand new analysis gear is very very expensive.
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: Limetless on January 13, 2013, 04:31 am
And that is considering you buy used yet good equipment, brand new analysis gear is very very expensive.

Too fucking right it is.
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: BigPeyote on January 13, 2013, 05:40 am
I've never read the book, but i assume it provides some interesting anecdotes and information.

Studying chemistry to the level of a bachelor or masters degree is another matter though. To obtain these degrees you will need to demonstrate a pretty solid understanding of physics and math as well. Understanding what routes organic synthesis reactions take requires a fair amount of insight and experience, i doubt a book the size of a typicial 'for dummies' release can provide.

That said, i'd always promote people to conduct chemistry experiments as long as they are reasonably safe. I would seriously recommend against trying to synthesize any substance to be used on your body unless you have both the experience to carry out their synthesis and a means to verify your results. Especially the latter is difficult since it often takes pretty expensive equipment to verify the quality and purity of your reaction products.

Even if you are a proficient chemist, you would want to check your synthesis results using the best methods available before even thinking of dosing humans. Equipment required would be GC/MS and perhaps NMR. Equipment for doing such analysis comes at the price of a brand new luxury car at minimum. And that is considering you buy used yet good equipment, brand new analysis gear is very very expensive.

how many of the chems do here on the road do you think are tested this way?  ::)
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: lesseroftwoweevils on January 13, 2013, 09:09 am
As others have noted, the real fun begins when you get into Organic Chemistry!

I think the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to not be intimidated by the seemingly complex jargon and elitism found in the field. Approach it like you would any new area of study, be that a foreign language, a musical instrument, or another scientific field. It has rules and concepts that you need to piece together to understand, but in no way is proficiency reserved for only the "brightest"of minds (much like the Silk Road).

For a review of the field taught in a way anyone can understand and appreciate, check out khanacademy's videos that systematically break down its important aspects. I can't tell you how much they helped in gaining confidence in my own abilities:

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/organic-chemistry 

Best of luck! :D

Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: nanpa2001 on January 13, 2013, 09:37 am
lesseroftwoweevils, good find. I had forgotten about Khan Academy. Wonder if he will teach an MDMA synth LOL.
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: DrDeepWood on January 13, 2013, 09:43 am
Holler at me if you really want your moneys worth in the field of chemistry education. 
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: n1ll0 on January 13, 2013, 08:49 pm
As others have noted, the real fun begins when you get into Organic Chemistry!

I think the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to not be intimidated by the seemingly complex jargon and elitism found in the field. Approach it like you would any new area of study, be that a foreign language, a musical instrument, or another scientific field. It has rules and concepts that you need to piece together to understand, but in no way is proficiency reserved for only the "brightest"of minds (much like the Silk Road).

For a review of the field taught in a way anyone can understand and appreciate, check out khanacademy's videos that systematically break down its important aspects. I can't tell you how much they helped in gaining confidence in my own abilities:

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/organic-chemistry 

Best of luck! :D

seconded! I actually suggested the same site in another organic chemistry basics thread. I'm actually surprised the site hasnt been mentioned more here as it is probably the simplest, structured breakdown of the topics of chemistry and ochem that I have seen.
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: echo_ on January 13, 2013, 11:11 pm
If you want to get a little more advanced in drug chemistry, check out

DMT-Nexus
The Vespiary
Blacklight
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: PizzaBrain on January 14, 2013, 03:01 am
maybe find a "rhodium archive mirror". i think this is available as a torrent but its definitely online in a few places.
you probably won't learn much from there as a beginner but it's still fun to have a look at if that stuff interests you. it's a collection of drug synths and precursor synths
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: _dzzzlzzzd_ on January 14, 2013, 05:38 am
I was just reading the rhodium archive today.  Here's the link:  http://y47ylcppnh3afqk4.onion/rhodium/index.html
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: Adasel on January 14, 2013, 05:47 pm
Thanks for that guys!.

Is the stuff on the deep web reliable?, the last thing i want to do is go blowing off my hands trying to make a drug but instead get instructions for C4!!
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: bull3gern on January 18, 2013, 03:12 am
Yeah, chemistry can blow off parts of your body if you're not careful, or even if you ARE careful. I had considered reading both "Chemistry for Dummies" and the "Organic Chemistry for Dummies" as well. I took both while in college amnu moons ago - general chem wasn't too bad, quite fun, actually. Organic chemistry was a 2 semester nightmare - FUCK it was difficult, but even at the time I could tell how very useful it could be. Yes, if you do well at it you will have the knowledge to produce LSD-25 & many other cool things (I made, if my memory serves me correctly, polyester (it may have been nylon: in a beaker I had an aqueous layer and a non-polar layer - one was clear, the other milky. the interface between the two layers (where they touched) was the polyester (or nylon). It involved taking a wire with a hook on it & snagging the interface layer and pulling it out. The membrane formed was like heated milk that cools & gets that nasty layer on it. To continue making the polymer, one merely kept adding the 2 solutions together. That was really, really far-out!! Best of luck to you for learning a difficult but rewarding subject!!
 :D
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: Adasel on January 18, 2013, 04:41 pm
Thanks for that bro, at last someone who understands where i am coming from!
The thing that attracted me to chem in the first place was the untold amount of rewards from hard study.
Once i get there, i am hoping to start making my own LSD
I will keep you guys updated.
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: blurr22 on January 23, 2013, 09:44 am
 I feel its more understanding concepts than complex math.  I don't think any of it is hard, especially when your book holds the instructions to everything. Just read  , understand, read some more until it sticks. I completed gen chem I,II and organic in college before changing to business and IT; that's the extent of my chem knowledge , and my $.02 .
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: AlistairCook on January 25, 2013, 03:32 pm

Quote
how many of the chems do here on the road do you think are tested this way?  ::)


Many:

dexamphetamine
Alprazolam

to name but 2
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: C20H25N3O on January 25, 2013, 10:35 pm


The Hive link   http://y47ylcppnh3afqk4.onion/
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: raynardine on January 26, 2013, 09:38 am
Holler at me if you really want your moneys worth in the field of chemistry education.

I am very interested! I need to learn math and basic chemistry, first, however.

I do not wish to waste your time.
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: bull3gern on January 30, 2013, 04:17 am
Whoever mentioned the learning a bit about physics is on to something as well. I could never figure out why one compound would prefer to latch onto location X on a molecule and not another (seemingly) identical location (usually on a benzene ring or amine ring (4 carbons, 1 nitrogen I THINK). Also, learning to use analytical equipment like a GC machine can be as bad as learning organic chem itself. I did buy a small portable GC machine (for field testing) and a book for grad students dealing with GC & HPLC. Turns out, depending on what you're wanting to analyse, you need to have different typed of columns packed with whatever is compatible with your chem in question - a polar molecule (soluble in water) would need a column packed with a polar compound. I bought mine off E-bay (fortunately not much, about 3,5 BTC) for the purpose of making high quality biodiesel, then I realized I had the wrong column (mine was for water samples, biodiesel is non-polar, ie, it don't work for me. The company that made the GC had been bought up or went under in the 70's, so I couldn't find pre-packed columns.

My actual point is that there are chemical tests you can run on compounds to see what they are, or at least get real close to their composition. If you can find a cheap one, an IR spec machine would be good to have (cheap is relative here - $8000 may get you a lite-duty one)
Title: Re: Currently studying chemistry!!
Post by: raynardine on January 30, 2013, 05:00 am
I had considered reading both "Chemistry for Dummies" and the "Organic Chemistry for Dummies" as well.

Those books are really good to get you started. I am still chewing through those. I wish it was easier to build a real laboratory to play around with.

Chemistry is COOL.