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Unsolved Chemistry Problems

Title text: I'm an H⁺ denier, in that I refuse to consider loose protons to be real hydrogen, so I personally believe it stands for 'pretend'.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a Loose Proton Called H+ - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.

There is a list of mathematical problems that are yet to be solved (such as P=NP). This comic makes a spin on it, by stating that there are (as of yet) unsolved chemistry problems.

Arbitrary Enzyme Design:

Enzymes are molecules (usually proteins) that act as catalysts to speed up biological processes. These are often important in understanding and curing diseases, so being able to design new enzymes can be critical in medical research.

Protein Folding:

Proteins are large molecules that consist of chains of amino acids. These amino acids chains become folded folded in extremely complex ways into intricate 3D structures, and the way a protein is folded is of critical importance to its function. "Misfolded" proteins like prions can be inactive or cause other proteins to become misfolded, which can lead to fatal illnesses. Because of the huge importance of proteins to biological life, biologists have devoted significant attention over many decades to the problem of protein structure prediction. This refers to the ability to predict the 3D structure of a protein based on the amino acid sequence, and remains one of the most important problems in computational biology.

Depolymerization:

A process in which polymers are broken down into monomers. This is done through a variety of processes such as using radiation, electrolysis, adding chemicals, and other means. Monomers are described as molecules, typically organic in nature, that can bond with at least 2 other molecules (polyfunctionality), resulting in the formation of large molecules (polymers). Polymers are substances made of very large molecules linked together into chains of repeating subunits.

What the “p” in pH stands for:

“p” shows up in pH, pKa, pKb, and other things related to the concentration of H+ ions and OH- ions. The meaning of the "p" in "pH" has been the subject of much dispute. It is sometimes referred to as "power of Hydrogen", but the term was introduced by Søren Peter Lauritz Sørensen, who did not publish his results in English. The letter p could stand for the French puissance, German Potenz, or Danish potens, all meaning "power", or it could mean "potential". All of these words start with the letter p in French, German, and Danish, which were the languages in which Sørensen published.

In the title text, someone, presumably Randall Monroe, claims that they refuse to believe that loose protons are hydrogen atoms, and as such, the “p” stands for pretend. This could work, by saying that it is the pretend Ka and the Pretend Kb. However, Hydrogen atoms and loose protons each have a single proton. An Ion is any atom with a number of electrons not equal to the amount of protons in an atom. This counts for both more electrons (Anions), and less electrons (Cations).

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

[Hairbun stands behind a lectern on a podium with two Cueballs and Megan standing behind her. There is a "Grand Opening" sign hanging in the background along with some ornaments.]

Hairbun: Our lab will be working on chemistry's top unsolved problems: arbitrary enzyme design, protein folding, depolymerization, and, of course, the biggest one of all:

Hairbun: Figuring out what the "p" in "pH" stands for.

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