Atom Bonds: Exhibit Shows How History Can Change When Molecules Form

By Tom Keyser, Albany Times Union, N.Y.

Sep. 24–Now settle down, class. Your teacher is speaking.

“A molecule is formed when two atoms bond together and form a substance that is different from either individual atom,” says Ray Giguere, chemistry professor at Skidmore College. “I give you an example: Water. In the case of water there are three atoms that bond together, one hydrogen, one oxygen and another hydrogen. They form two bonds; each hydrogen bonds once to the oxygen.

“Now hydrogen, of course, is a gas that’s flammable. Oxygen is 21 percent of the air. But when you combine them in this formulation HOH, or H2O, you get a liquid.”

Changing your life

Hmmmmm … Atoms bonding to create something different, something new … something that changes your life … like, say, penicillin. Now that would be a molecule that matters.

And indeed it is. Penicillin is one of the 10 molecules showcased in “Molecules That Matter,” an exhibition at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. Before you raise your hand to escape to the bathroom, listen to your teacher.

“We scientists know we’re never going to compete with the Beatles, Stones, Madonna; pick your favorite artist,” Giguere says. “We understand that people might not be interested in this stuff. But be happy somebody is.

“Scientists try real hard to make things better. That affords us the possibility of changing our world. If you subtract these molecules from your life, it doesn’t take long before you’re holding candles in caves.”

Putting it together

Giguere, who has taught organic chemistry at Skidmore since 1988, conceived of this exhibit and then teamed with John Weber, Tang director, to put it together. They’ve combined artwork (paintings and sculptures) and cultural artifacts (such as an aspirin dispenser from 1910 and nylon stockings from the 1940s) with scientific information about the molecules.

The exhibit highlights one significant molecule representing each decade of the 20th century, starting with aspirin in 1900 and ending with buckminsterfullerene (buckyball) in 1990. You’ve likely taken aspirin for a headache, but maybe you’ve never heard of buckyball, let alone buckminsterfullerene.

That’s OK, the teacher says, maybe even preferable.

“You should come to this show, especially if you don’t know what a molecule is,” Giguere says. “This is a teaching museum; that’s the whole point.

“What a museum does is put an object or a piece of art on a pedestal and illuminate it. When you put a molecule there you realize that molecules are the pedestal of our lives. Most everything we have and are made of, and much of the world, is molecular.”

Tom Keyser can be reached at 454-5448 or by e-mail at tkeyser@timesunion.com.

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