Breaking Bad "magic" Chemistry - Liquid + CO2 = Sheet of Salt?
As many of us in the chemical industry know, this show is not known for its tedious accuracy. While their are ways to yield that kind of high purity
chiral product, the way the shows discuss chemistry doesn't seem like they put much thought into it. The mixing of different incompatible synthesis,
etc. Though, I recall one of the cast interviews claiming they had a professional Organic Chemist on set all the time helping making the show seem
realistic in the chemistry aspects. Most of its fairly reasonable in the right context, chiral catalyst.... colored impurity from such (no idea why it
cant be washed out), etc.
As a big fan of the show, there is one thing I cannot wrap my mind around. In one of the episodes in Season 5 Walter mentions they 'Freeze the Final
Product with CO2", and this somehow forms of perfect tray of the crystallized product.
How is that possible? It is even plausable to melt something like that in its hydrochloride salt form and pour it into a tray? Being in Industry that
is certainly never a technique I have read about or encountered, and I have read several texts on crystallography, which, supposedly Walt is an
"expert" at. The only problem with this idea, even if the salt will melt without decomposing, in one of the earlier seasons he produces a perfect
meth-sheet in his RV lab, without any equipment fancy enough to melt the salt with such accuracy.
So is idea just a fanciful idea to fuel the show? Or is it based on some sort of advanced crystallization technique?
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