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In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions to [[Cueball]] that their company spends a lot on chemicals for which you can find formulas online. She suggests assembling chemicals from atoms "bought in bulk," holding a sheet of paper with the {{w|empirical formula}} C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub>, which designates [https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C6H5NO2 hundreds of compounds] including {{w|nitrobenzene}}, {{w|niacin}}, {{w|isonicotinic acid}}, and {{w|picolinic acid}}, followed by their component elements listed with quantities and prices. The ambiguity of chemical formulae is one of the jokes in the comic.
 
In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions to [[Cueball]] that their company spends a lot on chemicals for which you can find formulas online. She suggests assembling chemicals from atoms "bought in bulk," holding a sheet of paper with the {{w|empirical formula}} C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub>, which designates [https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C6H5NO2 hundreds of compounds] including {{w|nitrobenzene}}, {{w|niacin}}, {{w|isonicotinic acid}}, and {{w|picolinic acid}}, followed by their component elements listed with quantities and prices. The ambiguity of chemical formulae is one of the jokes in the comic.
  
While many expensive chemicals are composed of inexpensive and easily available elements, "assembling" those elements into specific molecules is rarely as simple as Megan implies. That work is the primary purpose of the global chemical industry. In-house {{w|chemical synthesis}} is usually not cost effective, because end users have limited time and are generally unable to leverage the {{w|economies of scale}} inherent in bulk manufacturing by specialist industrial firms.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880393/] They are also not able to benefit from synergies by simultaneous synthesizing different compounds. However, we don't know whether Megan and Cueball work in a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIHxPc7EpP8 laboratory,] factory, or some other industrial setting. If they need chemicals in bulk, or only very small quantities, synthesizing them might be cost effective. In any case, producing chemicals from their constituent elements, or — as is far more common — {{w|Precursor (chemistry)|precursor compound}}s, is difficult and time-consuming, usually requires expensive equipment, and is often fraught with peril.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwW2owNWgc] It's conceivable that this could change as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology develop, but it is a far fetch given the relative ease of synthesizing chemicals from other chemicals. {{w|Nitrobenzene}}, one of the C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> compounds, is an excellent example because it is explosive and extremely toxic, and its synthesis is highly exothermic, making it one of the most dangerous syntheses in the chemical industry.[https://www.icheme.org/media/10339/xiii-paper-36.pdf] Such issues answer Cueball's question as to why more places don't manufacture their own compounds from atoms. Megan seems to be imagining synthesis as a much simpler process without reactivity, energy release, or hazardous intermediate substances. The characters' naivety also gives rise to the humor of the comic.
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While many expensive chemicals are composed of inexpensive and easily available elements, "assembling" those elements into specific molecules is rarely as simple as Megan implies. That work is the primary purpose of the global chemical industry. In-house {{w|chemical synthesis}} is usually not cost effective, because end users have limited time and are generally unable to leverage the {{w|economies of scale}} inherent in bulk manufacturing by specialist industrial firms.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880393/] However, we don't know whether Megan and Cueball work in a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIHxPc7EpP8 laboratory,] factory, or some other industrial setting. If they need chemicals in bulk, or only very small quantities, synthesizing them might be cost effective. In any case, producing chemicals from their constituent elements, or — as is far more common — {{w|Precursor (chemistry)|precursor compound}}s, is difficult and time-consuming, usually requires expensive equipment, and is often fraught with peril.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwW2owNWgc] It's conceivable that this could change as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology develop, but it is a far fetch given the relative ease of synthesizing chemicals from other chemicals. {{w|Nitrobenzene}}, one of the C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> compounds, is an excellent example because it is explosive and extremely toxic, and its synthesis is highly exothermic, making it one of the most dangerous syntheses in the chemical industry.[https://www.icheme.org/media/10339/xiii-paper-36.pdf] Such issues answer Cueball's question as to why more places don't manufacture their own compounds from atoms. Megan seems to be imagining synthesis as a much simpler process without reactivity, energy release, or hazardous intermediate substances. The characters' naivety also gives rise to the humor of the comic.
  
 
"Big Molecule" is an [[2130: Industry Nicknames|industry nickname like Big Oil or Big Pharma]], amusing in its own right, and conceivably implying that the chemical industry is conspiring to prevent end users from synthesizing their own compounds. Big Oil and Big Pharma are real industrial nicknames, referring to large industries run by a relatively small number of massive and hugely profitable companies.  These companies are sufficiently wealthy and influential that they exert significant control over the marketplace, and even over government policy. Consequently, many consumers believe that their influence allows them to price products unfairly and prevent competition. "Big Molecule," on the other hand, is not a common term.  It could be used to refer to the global chemical industry, but that industry is neither seen as being excessively powerful, nor does it impact consumers as visibly, and so doesn't merit a similar nickname.  ''Literal'' big molecules tend to be more difficult to synthesize than little ones, with the difficulty increasing more rapidly than the size.  Some big molecules such as synthetic DNA are constructed chainwise from sub-units, and in these cases the difficulty is (approximately) linear with size.
 
"Big Molecule" is an [[2130: Industry Nicknames|industry nickname like Big Oil or Big Pharma]], amusing in its own right, and conceivably implying that the chemical industry is conspiring to prevent end users from synthesizing their own compounds. Big Oil and Big Pharma are real industrial nicknames, referring to large industries run by a relatively small number of massive and hugely profitable companies.  These companies are sufficiently wealthy and influential that they exert significant control over the marketplace, and even over government policy. Consequently, many consumers believe that their influence allows them to price products unfairly and prevent competition. "Big Molecule," on the other hand, is not a common term.  It could be used to refer to the global chemical industry, but that industry is neither seen as being excessively powerful, nor does it impact consumers as visibly, and so doesn't merit a similar nickname.  ''Literal'' big molecules tend to be more difficult to synthesize than little ones, with the difficulty increasing more rapidly than the size.  Some big molecules such as synthetic DNA are constructed chainwise from sub-units, and in these cases the difficulty is (approximately) linear with size.

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