Uses, speculative

It is fruitless to attempt detailed study of a phenomenon whose products are not well identified. It is unfortunately frequently noted in the literature, especially in cases of column chromatography, that fractions are only identified as to the chemical operations which brought them to light. Fractions are identified, for example, only by the solvent used. Speculations as to the composition of the radioactive solutes in such solutions can seldom be really reliable, and the presence of an unexpected radioactive species is in such cases undetectable. It is also important in reading the literature to watch out for cases in which the chemical yields of the carriers have not been measured. Extensive decomposition can often occur on silica gel and alumina columns, especially when photosensitive or moisture sensitive compounds are used. For these reasons much of the information now existing in the literature must be regarded as only exploratory, awaiting the development of better analytical methods for separation, purification, identification and determination of the products —known or expected. 

Much of the discussion of this subsection has been based on the behavior of hydrogenated diodes annealed under reverse bias. Annealing under forward bias has also been studied, though less extensively, and some of the observations have suggested the possibility of a new type of thermal breakup of BH complexes, namely BH + e— B + H° (Tavendale et al., 1985, 1986a). These authors reported breakup of BH in a few hours at 300 K under forward bias, both in Schottky diodes and in n+-p junctions. However, in a similar experiment with an n+-p junction, Johnson (1986) found a slight buildup of BH under forward-bias anneal. Available details of the various experiments are too sketchy to allow useful speculation on the reasons for the different outcomes or possible mechanisms for accelerated breakup. 

As discussed in section 6.1, a relatively exhaustive HRTEM and AFM study was conducted by Mitter-dorfer and Gauckler of how secondary phases form at the LSM/YSZ boundary and how these phases effect electrode kinetics. This study placed the time scale for cation-transport processes in the correct range to be consistent with the theory described above. However, while all this may be interesting and useful speculation, to date no in-depth studies of the LSM surface as a function of A/B ratio, polarization history, or other factors have been performed which would corroborate any of these hypotheses. Such a study would require combining detailed materials characterization with careful electrochemical measurements on well-defined model systems. Given the... 

Tazuke et al. investigated briefly the role of this initiator in the polymerisation of N-vinylcarbazole in the context of a wider study involving metal salts as promoters. They found that aqueous nitric acid in dioxane was able to induce the polymerisation of this very sensitive monomer. Concentrations of 10 to 10" M gave 50% conversion in several hours. No useful speculation can be offered about the meaning of these results considering the very odd medium used and the rvelldcnown idiosyncra of the monomer. The pK of this acid is 8.9 in acetonitrile and 10.1 in acetic acid ... 

ZUles C, Sohi G (2001) Execution-based predictiOTi using speculative slices. ACM SIGARCH COTnput Architect News 29(2) 2—13... 

Economy in the use of a few primary metabolites has been of importance in allowing the development of useful ideas [3] about alkaloid biosynthesis, e.g. tropine 6.3) and hygrine 6.2) could be thought of simply as deriving from ornithine and acetate (see Scheme 6.1). Two further things have been important in useful speculation... 

Let us speculate further. There is one advantage for Astronauts whose life chemistry depend on ammonia as solvent they could easily be frozen and then waked up at arrival on some distant stellar system since ammonia does not expand when frozen and the cells are not destroyed. 

It is an interesting speculation as to how much more difficult the isolation of these two elements might have been if the periodic classification had not provided us with a very good preview of their chemistries. 

In view of the electron affinity of a fluorine atom, we can speculate on what would be the result of a collision between two fluorine atoms. Will a reaction occur The energy is one of the factors which determines the answer. First let us consider a reaction that does not occur spontaneously. 

What is the world made of The ancient Greeks speculated about earth, air, fire, and water today we turn to the periodic table for more reliable information. The story of how we got from there to here is full of fascinating people, and in this elegant, entertaining book, Paul Strathern introduces us to ancient philosophers, medieval alchemists, and the earliest chemists—and to dimitri Mendeleyev, the card-playing nineteenth-century Russian who claimed that the answers came to him in a dream"... 

Based on the experimental data and some speculations on detailed elementary steps taking place over the catalyst, one can propose the dynamic model. The model discriminates between adsorption of carbon monoxide on catalyst inert sites as well as on oxidized and reduced catalyst active sites. Apart from that, the diffusion of the subsurface species in the catalyst and the reoxidation of reduced catalyst sites by subsurface lattice oxygen species is considered in the model. The model allows us to calculate activation energies of all elementary steps considered, as well as the bulk... 

As for the new electronic theories, they are not sufficiently developed for serving as the basis for speculations in organic chemistry, despite all the promises they offer to chemists. In this text, they will not be laid aside systematically, but for the moment will remain discreetly in the background and it is still the very fruitful conception of Le Bel and van t Hoff which will constitute the surest guide for us. 78... 

In summary, we note that almost all of the products observed by investigators for the photodegradation of PET and PECT are nicely accounted for in the summary schemes we have proposed. Additionally, there are several products that should be sought to prove or disprove additions to the previously reported pathways proposed by us and by others. It should be noted, however, that until more proof of these various schemes is obtained, then the mechanisms are still speculative even though they are very consistent with all of the available data. 

These elements perplex us in our rearches [sic], baffle us in our speculations, and haunt us in our very dreams. They stretch like an unknown sea before us - mocking, mystifying, and murmuring strange revelations and possibilities (Sir William Crookes, February 16, 1887) . 

The New never grows from nowhere, but is rooted in the Old and Unexpected. The latter is a function of curiosity and emotional not rational involvement in the subject. We hope that the following chapters will stimulate emotion and thought, and provoke new systematic and empirical research. The dilemma is that in one sense, we as humans abhor speculation and the unknown, but that in another sense, as scientists, we need the speculative as life needs water. Curiosity drives us and fills the gap. And fortunately, theories pass over, but the frog persists, as Jean Rostand expressed so succinctly the relation between conjecture and refutation [ Les theories passent, la grenouille reste. Carnets d un biologiste]. 

Harder EC (1919) Iron-depositing bacteria and their geologic relations. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 113 Hartman H (1984) The evolution of photosynthesis and microbial mats a speculation on banded iron formations. In Microbial Mats Stromatolites. Cohen Y, Castenholz RW, Halvorson HO (eds) Alan Liss Pub, New York, p 451-453... 

Back in the not-so-good old days, scientists speculated and experimented about the molecular nature of the genetic material—the stuff of genes— for several decades. Prior to 1944, and actually for some years beyond that, most scientists believed that genes were proteins. This was a reasonable point of view given the many roles that proteins were already known to serve. But it is not so and Oswald Avery (1877-1955) is the person responsible for telling us, elegantly and persuasively, that it is not so. 

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