Fringe: Season 2: Episode 9: “Snakehead”

Walter finally gets his solo mission.

Without getting too much into the allegory of our comfortable First World lives being possible only by the exploitation of the poor, this week’s investigation does skirt around a few uncomfortable truths. The usual impossibilities to do with rapid growth aside, this episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

The name of the Triad gang, Sun Hung (孙空; correctly Romanised from the Cantonese as syun¹ hung¹; the Fringe cast pronounce it as “Sun Hong”) approximates to “Grandchild/Empty”.

Breaking Bad : Season 2 : Episode 13 : “ABQ”

Walt pulls Jesse out of his retreat.

The season ends with both Walt’s and Jesse’s hopes for the future falling down around their ears, like aeroplanes out of the sky. Events have conspired to keep Walt out of the lab and classroom, so this episode contains nothing of note. Check back soon!

You can read more about this episode at AMC, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Elements in the credits

I’m not sure why Michael Slovis wasn’t assigned iodine (I), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), sulfur (S), oxygen (O) or vanadium (V).

Breaking Bad : Season 2 : Episode 12: “Phoenix”

Walt shows off the college fund.

As the season nears a close, it looks like Walt and Jesse are going to divide the profits and part ways. Events have conspired to (mostly) keep Walt out of the lab and classroom, so this episode contains nothing of note. Check back soon!

You can read more about this episode at AMC, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Elements in the credits

I’m not sure why Michael Slovis wasn’t assigned iodine (I), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), sulfur (S), oxygen (O) or vanadium (V).

Breaking Bad : Season 2 : Episode 11: “Mandala”

Walt waits for the deal to end all deals.

Walt and Jesse decide to get out of the distribution business and focus on production, which is significantly safer. Events have conspired to (mostly) keep Walt out of the lab and classroom, so this episode contains nothing of note. Check back soon!

You can read more about this episode at AMC, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Elements in the credits

I’m not sure why Michael Slovis wasn’t assigned iodine (I), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), sulfur (S), oxygen (O) or vanadium (V).

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 8: “August”

The restaurant runs out of chili peppers.

There’s more than one of everything – even Observers! This episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

That would have to be one of the most expensive security cameras in the world to be able to show the flight of a bullet. We can have a think about what would actually be required with a back-of-the-envelope calculation:

At the slower end, a handgun bullet might travel at 300 m s^-1 (just under the speed of sound), and the horizontal distance covered by the camera when Astrid was clicking through video frames was about a metre (based on the size of August’s arm). The bullet travelled about 60 % of the distance, or 0.6 m, in three frames and so we can conclude that each frame lasted for about 0.00067 s, which is 1500 frames per second. By way of comparison, video cameras generally capture around 30 fps.

Once again we can see some old-school communication equipment; this time a dot matrix printer. I posit (Walterism) that communication between the two worlds is only possible with equipment that existed before the event that caused them to diverge. It therefore looks like the two timelines separated in the 1980s, right when Walter was retrieving Peter.

This is bordering on the obsessive, but if Flight 821 went down two hours out of Rome then it could not have been off the Italian coast and was probably not in the Atlantic Ocean. Either it was two hours away and in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain or Portugal (or possibly France), or it was in the Mediterranean Sea (or even the Tyrrhenian Sea – technically these are within the Atlantic Ocean, but they are always referred to by their localised names) and closer than two hours to Rome.

The photographs and paintings of The Observer at key points in history reminded me a little of James in 12 Monkeys (he’s shown in a WWI trench). Perhaps it’s also how J. Robert Oppenheimer got the idea for his hat.

As is fairly common knowledge, screw-on silencers (or, more correctly, suppressors) do not “silence” bullets very much at all.

The Lewis Code

We are treated to another chemistry-inspired code this week, this time to do with the Lewis structure of atoms. However, like the code in Earthling it’s pretty much impossible to decipher.

Different atoms have different numbers of electrons, and this is one of the ways we can tell different atoms apart (it’s called the atomic number). However, the Lewis bonding model is all about electrons in the outer shell of an atom (the valence electrons), which are not so unique. Each atom in a group (a vertical column in the periodic table) has the same number of valence electrons as the other atoms in the group – this is one of the reasons why those atoms have similar properties. This means that for every dot diagram that Walter noted, there would be at least four elements that it could match (and possibly six, depending on the group in question).

Walter's Lewis structure code.

Firstly, Astrid’s code-cracking program would have picked up on some of the repeated symbols – for example, “7″, “As” and “N” are the same. Secondly, the numbers in the address do not seem to correspond to the number of electrons. It seems to be (number of electrons)+2 except in the case of “2″, though how Walter would know this is beyond me (perhaps there isn’t a 2536 Hastings). Thirdly, as I mentioned above, each symbol can represent different atoms (this is illustrated in the code with “As”/”N” and “Ti”/”Ge”). Walter would have found the address with a lot of trial and error, and could easily have gone to the wrong place – for example, by taking other elements in the same groups, we could make vaguely plausible names like “Kassipsis” (K-As-Si-P-Si-S).

A less ambiguous code?

On top of all that, titanium (Ti) is a transition metal and has partially filled d-orbitals. We do not normally describe transition elements using Lewis structures, as they tend to break the rules – this is one of the reasons why the Lewis model is not used very much in modern chemistry. Titanium does have four valence electrons, but it would be unlikely to come to mind from a Lewis four-electron diagram (though perhaps Walter thinks in unconventional ways).

In order to make the code clearer, there would have to be some method of either identifying the correct period (row), or identifying the number of electron sub-shells underneath the valence shell (though of course this would also make it easier for someone else to decipher). I propose a second symbol (inside the large circle) to identify the electron shell that is being filled, and more dots to identify the correct period. Thus an empty circle would be interpreted as a number, a second circle (s-orbital) as groups I and II, a looped cross (d-orbital) as groups III-XII and a figure of eight (p-orbital) as groups XIII-XVII. The code would then look like the second diagram on the left – more complex but unambiguous.

For background information on this topic, see the primer on atomic structure.

Breaking Bad : Season 2 : Episode 10: “Over”

Walt investigates the water heater.

With a little down-time, Walt embarks on some home improvement and Worst Role Model projects. In this post, I’ll be talking about safety matches.

You can read more about this episode at AMC, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

When Walt is extolling the virtues of the new water heater to Walt Jr, he says that it’s “117,000 BTUs.” The British thermal unit is an older unit of energy that has now been effectively replaced by the joule.

When Walt was walking away from the would-be-meth-cooker’s abandoned equipment, I was certain that he’d mutter “amateur” under his breath.

Phosphorous in matches

Our uninformed cooks are buying matches for a source of red phosphorous, which is required in the red, white and blue process to convert (pseudo)ephedrine to methamphetamine. Walt points out that they need the striker strips rather than the match heads – “strike-anywhere” matches do contain phosphorous, but the safety matches that are more or less ubiquitous these days do not. The dangerous components are segregated into the strips and heads, which means that matches cannot ignite by accident (e.g. on cowboy stubble).

Matches are (intentionally) ignited through friction – dragging the head against a rough surface generates enough heat to convert some red phosphorous (in the striker strip) into highly reactive white phosphorous, which then ignites upon contact with the air. This additional heat is enough to decompose an oxidising agent in the match head (usually potassium chlorate), releasing oxygen. The oxygen-rich atmosphere around the match head plus the heat from the white phosphorous are enough to ignite the main component (sulfur), which burns for long enough to set the wooden matchstick alight. The characteristic smell of a burning match is caused by sulfur dioxide, with perhaps a dash of carbon (soot) and phosphorous pentoxide.

Elements in the credits

I’m not sure why Michael Slovis wasn’t assigned iodine (I), carbon (C), hydrogen (H), sulfur (S), oxygen (O) or vanadium (V).

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 7: “Of Human Action”

Olivia and Walter in the aftermath of a typical action.

Amazingly, an experiment at Massive Dynamic had some unforeseen (?) consequences and a psychopathic teenager with the ability control minds is let loose. The usual impossibilities aside, there isn’t very much physical science here so this episode contains nothing of note. Check back soon!

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 6: “Earthling”

The cosmonaut's final journey.

Monsters! From outer space! And Cold War references! Typically poor alien logic aside, this episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

The “dust” that our victims are turned into appears to be vacuum cleaner lint, which may be why Walter requested a Dust Devil. If a body had indeed been reduced to its “elemental components”, it would be much smaller as the gases (most of the human body being hydrogen and oxygen) would have dispersed.

Once again, the slightest shock will incapacitate women – even professional nurses – by causing uncontrollable screaming.

If the space shadow needed to feed on radiation, it seems odd that it’d go around killing people when it could just go hang out inside an X-ray machine or PET scanner.

The chemical code

At first glance, the formula puzzle that Tomas sent to Broyles all those years ago appears to be some kind of porphyrin. Porphyrins are quite common in nature and biochemistry, one of the better known derivatives being haem B (found in blood). Peter was right in recognising it as a “complex organic compound”, though it’s more strictly an organometallic and the term “molecular model” is generally reserved for 3D representations (either physical or computer-generated).

The puzzle molecule and porphine, a simple porphyrin.

Of course, we don’t know what all the Russian notes and Greek letters mean – though we may speculate that Tomas’s γ key doesn’t work given the use of α, β, “C” and δ to label the pyrrole rings. Also, the molecular diagram as shown in the episode has double bonds between every atom in the α ring – this structure cannot exist, and so I’ve left it out of the diagram above. The Φ should represent a metal of some kind – in haem, this is iron (Fe).

The groups linking the pyrrole rings together are less easy to interpret, as four of them (CHα-, CHHHβ, HHα and HHδH) cannot exist. CHα- and CHHHβ have carbon exceeding its maximum valency (i.e. the atoms have more than four bonds), and HHα and HHδH make no sense (I suspect that HHδH is a typo, and that it should be CHδH – though this still cannot exist). Similarly, the CO₂H groups – normally representing carboxylic acids – cannot exist as drawn.

Moving on to the functional groups, the “M” in CMα and CMδ can be used to represent a metal. However, direct carbon-metal bonds usually form only under very specific conditions and are highly unstable. M may therefore be a reference to another molecule, such as another organometallic.

Finally, the [αβ], [αα], [ββ] and [βα] again make little sense without further information. We can, however, see the Roman numerals I, II, III and IV, which Walter seems to think represent four nucleobase-like molecules. They aren’t the bases that make up human DNA, but they have very similar shapes and so might be considered nucleic acid analogues (and therefore space creature DNA). Later on, Walter starts drawing what look like polysaccharides – large polymeric molecules used for storing energy in living systems.

Walter also mentions titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄), which is not shown directly in the diagram. Instead, we see a dimeric form of titanium trichloride (Ti₂Cl₆ = 2 x TiCl₃), which can react at high temperature to form TiCl₂ and TiCl₄.

The gigantic molecular model that Walter and Peter build towards the end of their research looks like a small protein, or possibly a Theo Jansen piece. Presumably the linking bond means that human and alien parts are irreversibly entwined – but this should also have been clear from the 2D diagrams.

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 5: “Dream Logic”

Olivia in search of business cards.

Just when we finally meet a suspect who cooperates fully, he turns out to have an evil alter ego who’s been mainlining dreams. The usual impossibilities aside, this episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

Our opening victim may have been a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as his “demons” looked like they’d been lifted straight from Sunnydale.

I thought that Walter, in his relatively advanced age, shouldn’t have been stuck carrying all the equipment – Peter or Olivia should at least have offered to take some of the bags.

I’m not sure what was in the vial that Walter tricked Kashner into smelling, but for it to knock him out so quickly it would have been so strong as to cause permanent damage.

I’m fairly sure that it would have been more efficient to unplug something or yank the swimming cap off Nayak’s head than to shoot the server rack at random.

Olivia’s anagram – OAUGENYIRENBEFO – can, according to The Internet, be arranged into around 66,667 phrases of varying complexity and sneaky 1- and 2-letter word content. I think my favourite is nu age bee of irony.

The poster in Peter’s room reads, “Challenger Mission 11 June 28 1984″ – in our universe, the space shuttle Challenger was lost during mission 10 in 1986.

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 4: “Momentum Deferred”

Physics is a bitch.

“Are you Olivia Dunham?” Shapeshifting cyborgs from the future another dimension start combing the area for mercury and frozen heads. The usual impossibilities aside, this episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

No, you cannot gain the memories or experience of things that you eat – if you could, all meat-eaters would start lusting after fields of grass and become wary of men in overalls. It’s possible that Walter’s worms contained some psychoactive material, like the Colorado river toads from season one.

If I were faced with bodies bleeding mercury, I wouldn’t have handled them as casually as Walter did – examination in an unventilated room without masks? Crazy.

I’m sure that the parallels to Terminator 2 here have passed no-one by, in fact the T-1000’s “mimetic polyalloy” might have been a little more believable than mercury. I have high hopes for someone saying, “Come with me if you want to live,” in a future episode.

Nina fluffs the Pauli exclusion principle a little – in general chemistry, it’s usually expressed as, “two identical fermions cannot have the same quantum state at the same time.” A fermion is a type of particle (common examples include protons, neutrons and electrons), and a quantum state is a collection of properties that completely describe said particle. This can be extended into a general statement about matter (which is mostly made up of fermions), but it would go something like, “no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time with the same energy.” Physics is a bitch, eh?