Science Notebook | A Rethink of the 100-Year-Old Bredt’s Rule, a Hybrid Magnet in China Sets a New World Record and More

Published : Nov 22, 2024 09:44 IST - 0 MINS READ 100-year-old rule in organic chemistry broken Chemists at the University of California, Los Angeles have just found that a fundamental rule of organic chemistry that has been around for 100 years is not true. A rule known as Bredt’s rule, which dates back to 1924, states that molecules cannot have a carbon-carbon double bond at the ring junction of a bridged bicyclic molecule, also known as the “bridgehead” position. “What this study shows is that contrary to one hundred years of conventional wisdom, chemists can make and use anti-Bredt olefins to make value-added products.” Garg’s laboratory treated molecules called silyl halides with a fluoride source to induce an elimination reaction that forms ABOs. Nuclear electric propulsion for European space missions A project on nuclear electric propulsion for space exploration, called RocketRoll, commissioned by the European Space Agency to a consortium led by the Belgian engineering firm Tractebel has defined a comprehensive technology road map, including a candidate design for a demonstrator spacecraft, to equip Europe with advanced propulsion systems capable of undertaking long-duration missions. “This innovative propulsion technology has the potential to transform space exploration and space mobility by enabling longer-duration missions, potentially shaping the future of interplanetary exploration.” “NEP would enable exploration and in-space logistics in Earth Orbit and beyond on a scale that neither chemical nor electrical propulsion could ever provide,” the ESA said.