The Crystal Structures of Corundum and Hematite

Corundum, Al2O3 (aluminum = silver; oxygen = red). A hexagonal (rhombohedral) crystal system constructed of aluminum atoms that are each surrounded by six oxygen atoms. The oxygen atoms are not bonded at the corners of a regular octahedron. Hematite, Fe2O3 (iron = orange; oxygen = red). A hexagonal (rhombohedral) crystal system constructed of iron atoms [...]

The Crystal Structure of Molybdenite

[Ed note: This is the first in a six part series of posts featuring models of crystal structures solved by Linus Pauling during the early years of his career.  The models were built by two undergraduate students working in the OSU Libraries Special Collections.  More about their work can be found on page 10 of [...]

Linus Pauling, Vitamin C and the AIDS Crisis

“Many orthomolecular substances are so free from toxicity that they show beneficial effects over a 10,000-fold range of concentrations. Yet if you take even ten times the amount of aspirin that many patients take, for example, you’d be dead; hundreds of people do die every year from aspirin poisoning. And all of the other major [...]

Thinking Structurally: The Roots of Pauling’s Hemoglobin Work

“Linus Pauling is one of that select group of individuals whose lives have made a discernible impact on the contemporary world. His contributions to molecular chemistry have been substantial and fully deserving of the recognition that he received in the form of a Nobel Prize in chemistry….Pauling continued to do productive scientific work throughout his [...]