Household Words

Aerosol spray cans were invented in 1929, and perfection of a reliable valve and development of disposable cans took place in the 1940s. Shortly thereafter, aerosol became a household word. Like many other modem conveniences, however, the aerosol spray can has drawbacks as well as advantages. Because the particles in an aerosol are extremely tiny, they are quite mobile. They last for a long time in the atmosphere and can affect the climate, as already described. They can penetrate deep into our lungs and cause adverse health effects. Thus, anthropogenic aerosols have both global and local side effects. Despite increasing scientific studies, these effects are not yet fttlly understood. 

The chemical industry is actually a set of related industries with many diverse functions and products. Certain raw materials are used to prepare key chemicals, monomers, and intermediates that may be sold independently or used directly in additional steps to give various polymers and end chemicals. These in turn can be formulated and fabricated into chemical products, which can sometimes be modified into finished products. There is a flow of materials and products from raw sources to finished formulations. Although the division is approximate, about 60% of the chemical industry manufactures industrial products that are further modified, whereas 40% of their products are sold directly to the consumer. Chemistry may not be a household word, but it should be. Actually, the older name for the Chemical Manufacturing sector is Chemicals and Allied Products, still used sometimes and a term that adequately describes the breadth of the industry. 

There is one more gluey story that merits telling. It s all about Spencer F. Silver. Granted, his name may not be a household word, but one of his inventions certainly is Post-It notes. In 1998 the American Chemical Society presented its award for creative innovation to Silver, 3M s chief scientist, for inventing a glue that sticks when you want it to and releases when you want it to. And what a curious history this substance has. 

In 1957 Dr. Humphry Osmond first coined the word "psychedelic" to describe the mind-expanding drugs, then familiar to only a small minority of researchers and "acid-heads." In these remarkably few years, this term—and the drugs it refers to— have become household words. Ominous headlines have warned us of their dangers, while Madison Avenue has revelled in the delights of the psychedelic sub-culture. 

Herbal remedies have become a major component of American health care. Botanicals like ginseng, ma huang, St. John s wort, and valerian are now household words throughout the world, and the sales of herbal medicine are increasing exponentially. 

The term atom and the names of its constituents—protons, neutrons, and electrons—have become almost household words during the last decade. The schematic sketch of the solar-system atom with a nucleus at the center and electrons revolving about it in circular or elliptical orbits has become as familiar as many of the commercial trademarks. This picture of the atom is that which is often presented to the student during his early chemistry courses while such a picture fits a number of important properties of atoms, it is no longer regarded as a good approximation. 

In addition to quality control over compound collections, the issue of purity of synthetic libraries derived using combinatorial chemistry quickly came under the microscope. In the early to mid-1990s, combichem became a household word throughout the pharmaceutical industry and was believed to be a key technology that would revolutionize drug discovery. The basis of... 

Though one can consider the effect of CO2 increase on individual plants, animals and human beings, it is next to impossible to say anything meaningful about the effect on entire ecosystems. This is because it is hard to express in functional terms the present relations between ecosystem composition, function and dynamics and either CO2 levels or the existing climate. By pure chance I happened to be present when Tansley first used the term ecosystem . In the ensuing half-century I have seen it become a household word, and the central notion in the theory of the... 

Twenty-five years ago, few people knew what cholesterol was or had even heard of it. Today it s a household word. As one of the Big Three risk factors for cardiovascular disease, it s something that just has to be controlled. Doing so is easier and more effective than ever before, and the cholesterol-blood pressure connection has been well established. 

Tug term "rare elements" is conveniently applied to those members of the Periodic Table whose chemistry is little known. Home of these elcmenls are so scarce that, their study has of necessity been difficult others are abundant in nature, hut their development has hcon retarded hy lack of swdirient interest still others have only recently been discovered, and sufficient time has not yet elapsed for them to lose the ini crest inherent in newness. The "rare elements" then should Is- understood to include those elements which are little known either because of scarcity, neglect, or ignorance. The chemistry of some of these elements is developing rapidly, since we are just liegmiiing to appreciate something of their interest and usefulness. Rapid advancement has followed surh an awakening, and the names of some such substances have become household words, In other oases interest has Iteen less keen and advancement Inis linen slaw. 

Other SSRIs developed during this period that have become household words include paroxetine (patented 1975 by Ferrosan to SmithKIineBeecham to GlaxoKline), citalopram (patented 1979 Lindberg, licensed to... 

These include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), escitalopram (Lexapro), and citalopram (Celexa). Prozac has become a household word. It was the first to be approved by the FDA, in 1987.3 SSRIs increase the level of serotonin in the synapse, at least initially, and ultimately contribute to regaining a sense of well-being. Side effects may include sexual dysfunction, nausea. 

On criticisms of the language of the play, see Lisa Hopkins, Household Words Macbeth and the Failure of Spectacle , Shakespeare Survey 50 (1997), loi—10. 

Everyone by now is aware of pearlescent and interference pigments. Although not a household word, they are used extensively in every imaginable application. They are incorporated in plastics, coated on substrates, used in printing inks, in cosmetics and used extensively in... 

DNA, the double helix, and the genetic code—through the media s popularization of science—have become household words. And they represent one of the greatest triumphs ever for chemistry and biology. 

More than a dozen oxides of sulfur are known, but some of them are rather unimportant cyclic monoxides formed by treating a puckered ring of 5 to 10 sulfur atoms with a per-oxy acid, and others are unstable acyclic species. Two of the acyclic oxides, however, are extremely important sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfur trioxide (SO3). In the decade of the 1980s, when acid rain became a household word, these two compounds and their roles in acid rain formation became as familiar to the educated laity as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. 

In summary, the world has changed considerably since the September 11,2001, incidents. The term weapons of mass destruction or WMD has become a household word. Among WMDs, nuclear, biological, and/or chemical weapons are among the highest-ranked possibilities for terrorist groups to deploy besides those used in the 2001 incidents. We have limited this book to the discussion of topics related to chemical weapons. 

Grains and seeds were the progenitors of NIRS application in commerce and industry. The first nonacademic applications were made to grain, specifically to wheat. Since those days, the embryo has grown into a lusty child, and NIR technology has become a household word, to the extent that most of the world s wheat of commerce is tested rapidly and accurately for protein and moisture contents by NIRS instruments. 

Z. Charles Dickens, The Sunday Screw , Household Words (z2 June 1850), in Dickens s Journalism The Amusements of the People and Other Papers Reports, Essays and Reviews, 1834-18 1, ed. Michael Slater (London J. M. Dent, 1997), pp. 2,49-57 (PP- 2-50, 256). 

---