this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
408 points (99.0% liked)

Science Memes

11414 readers
3257 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] beckerist 40 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I was looking for information on how it smells and I'm only finding pages that say it smells terrible. Even the Wikipedia only mentions "Due to its diminished vapor pressure, its odor, while unpleasant, is less objectionable than related thiols"

I'm still curious what it smells like though...

[–] [email protected] 45 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Rotten fish/eggs, skunky, very strong, and it lingers. Even the smallest amount will clear a room.

Found this.

And this.

[–] beckerist 24 points 10 months ago

I'd seen that first link already but the second link got it, thank you! For those that don't want to click:

beta-Mercaptoethanol: rather similar to ethanethiol, but the extra OH group gives it some real staying power. Sort of the "sun and sport" version of the parent compound.

and

Ethanethiol: the prototype of the class. All the basic sulfur-stink notes - skunky and intestinal. Very volatile, too, which really gives it a quick wallop, but at least it doesn't stay around forever.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Can confirm. I use it under the chemical hood with gloves on, and even if I use just a few microliters I can still smell it on my fingers hours later