Isopropyltrimethylmethane and unabomber
Ken Shirriff
interesting) and I noticed that he twice mentioned isopropyltrimethylmethane.
Is there anything interested that can be concluded from this? (Other
than that he's not a member of the IUPAC :-)) It looked like a made-up
name at first, but it seems like a reasonable trivial name for
2,2,3-trimethylbutane. Is this the same as iso-heptane? Is there any
tie-in to explosives? Are there any industries that use this chemical?
Where could he have come across this rather obscure chemical name?
[*] see http://www.pathfinder.com/pathfinder/features/unabomber/index.html
Ken Shirriff shir...@eng.sun.com http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~shirriff
A guy from the Ekerdt Lan
> interesting) and I noticed that he twice mentioned isopropyltrimethylmethane.
> Is there anything interested that can be concluded from this? (Other
> than that he's not a member of the IUPAC :-)) It looked like a made-up
> name at first, but it seems like a reasonable trivial name for
> 2,2,3-trimethylbutane. Is this the same as iso-heptane? Is there any
> tie-in to explosives? Are there any industries that use this chemical?
> Where could he have come across this rather obscure chemical name?
2,2,3-trimethylbutane (isopropyltrimethylmethane):
IS explosive in air from 1% to 7%.
Has a very low flash point at 20 F.
Is heavier than air so may travel across the ground to a source of ignition.
I have no good ideas as to who uses it but, I believe it has a very high
octane number. That may be where he gets it, if he is using it.
David Sullivan
Chem Eng
Univ of Texas at Austin
Jeff E. Janes
: I was reading the Unabomber manifesto [*] (which was actually reasonably
: interesting) and I noticed that he twice mentioned isopropyltrimethylmethane.
: Is there anything interested that can be concluded from this? (Other
: than that he's not a member of the IUPAC :-)) It looked like a made-up
: name at first, but it seems like a reasonable trivial name for
: 2,2,3-trimethylbutane. Is this the same as iso-heptane? Is there any
: tie-in to explosives? Are there any industries that use this chemical?
: Where could he have come across this rather obscure chemical name?
Well, isobutyltrimethylmethane is synonym of isooctane (Which I believe
defines the 100 mark on the octane scale for gasoline). I would imagine
that isopropyltrimethylmethane is also a component on gasoline.
--
Jeff Janes jej...@mtu.edu at Michigan Technological University
Second Law of Thermodynamics:
The enormousfees of the university is ever increasing.
David Sullivan
> defines the 100 mark on the octane scale for gasoline). I would imagine
> that isopropyltrimethylmethane is also a component on gasoline.
The octane scale is:
n-heptane = 0
i-octane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane or isobutyltrimethylmethane) = 100.
2,2,3-trimethylbutane has an octane number of 113.
This is the highest octane number for any C7, non-aromatic hydrocarbon.
For comparison, toluene is 124, 2-methylhexane is 41 and
2,2-dimethylpentane is 89.
The methods of octane boost are to increase the degree of branching,
cyclization and formation of aromatics. Note that tetraethyl lead
(C2H5)4Pb is a very good octane boost, hence "leaded gasoline" - too bad
it's dangerous for your health.
I have no doubt that 2,2,3-trimethylbutane is a component of gasoline but,
it is probably also available in fairly pure form for adding directly to
your car's gas tank for your own little octane boost.
Tom Upshaw
> > I was reading the Unabomber manifesto [*] (which was actually reasonably
> > interesting) and I noticed that he twice mentioned isopropyltrimethylmethane.
> > Is there anything interested that can be concluded from this? (Other
> > than that he's not a member of the IUPAC :-)) It looked like a made-up
> > name at first, but it seems like a reasonable trivial name for
> > 2,2,3-trimethylbutane. Is this the same as iso-heptane? Is there any
> > tie-in to explosives? Are there any industries that use this chemical?
> > Where could he have come across this rather obscure chemical name?
>
>
> 2,2,3-trimethylbutane (isopropyltrimethylmethane):
> I have no good ideas as to who uses it but, I believe it has a very high
> octane number. That may be where he gets it, if he is using it.
>
> David Sullivan
It looks like a reduced by-product of diisobutylene production,
possibly. The latter can be puchased from 2 or 3 petroleum companies.
The fact that Unabomber calls it "isopropyltrimethylmethane" means he
had at most one undergrad organic chem course and doesn't quite
remember his IUPAC, or he found a less-used common name for it
somewhere. It might be instructive for the FBI to find out what
texts/sources use that name for it.
Tom
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jim bell
>> > Where could he have come across this rather obscure chemical name?
>> 2,2,3-trimethylbutane (isopropyltrimethylmethane):
>> I have no good ideas as to who uses it but, I believe it has a very high
>> octane number. That may be where he gets it, if he is using it.
>
>possibly. The latter can be puchased from 2 or 3 petroleum companies.
>The fact that Unabomber calls it "isopropyltrimethylmethane" means he
>had at most one undergrad organic chem course and doesn't quite
>remember his IUPAC, or he found a less-used common name for it
>somewhere. It might be instructive for the FBI to find out what
>texts/sources use that name for it.
In what context does he mention this chemical? It's just a hydrocarbon, for heaven's sake!
Jim Bell
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