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[sciencewhizard]

[ Insert a bunch of equation balancing up here - scratched out attempts and so on. ]

10NaHCO₃ + 15C₂H₄O₂ = 2H₂O + 20CO₂ + 10C₂H₃NaO₂

[ Have some scribbles of Wally adding up molar masses of individual elements into the compounds. ]

1M NaHCO₃ = 84 g
1M C₂H₄O₂ = 60 g
1M H₂O = 18 g
1M CO₂ = 44 g
1M C₂H₃NaO₂ = 82 g

840 g Baking Soda + 900 g Acetic Acid = 36 g Water + 880 g Carbon Dioxide + 820 g Sodium Acetate

If distilled vinegar is 5-8% acetic acid, that means you need 11250-18000 g of distilled vinegar for a complete reaction.

1 kg baking soda needs 13.39-21.43 kg of distilled vinegar.

Now where do I get that?

[ Someone should really question Wally's goals here. ]

Comments

[under_the_wire]

Is this some sort of shorthand? What are you trying to do?

[He recognizes a few words, but the rest of it is incomprehensible.]

[sciencewhizard]

I guess you could say that.

[ He's not questioning that someone's unfamiliar with chemical notation, just cause he's met aliens- so of course they don't know Earth's system. ]

What I'm trying to do is get some sodium acetate for cooking. And also have a little fun.

[under_the_wire]

What do you cook with [he carefully copies the unfamiliar words] sodium acetate? What sort of ingredient is it?

[He doesn't cook nor does he know much about cooking, but any and all information about something that could possibly be produced for profit gets filed away.]

[sciencewhizard]

Well, I guess lots of things. But they use it in salt-and-vinegar potato chips.

[ IE. Wally likes snacking and will go to any chemical lengths. ]

[under_the_wire]

I see! So it's a seasoning that you can manufacture. Is it expensive?

[If anyone could see the dead serious look on his face as he waits for a reply, they'd probably die laughing.]

[sciencewhizard]

Yep! Well... I don't know about here, but where I'm from an ounce of gold'd probably get you 1,000 times what you'd need for the equation I wrote down, so not at all.

[under_the_wire]

You shall have to let us know if you succeed in making this! I'd like to know if I can make it back home. Does it transport well? How do you store it?

[While he's busy badmouthing his king to Eponine, he might as well do something constructive as well.]

[sciencewhizard]

Will do! Not gonna pass up the chance to make these babies. Totally the best chips ever.

Oh, and you store it like salt, pretty much. After you boil off the water.

[under_the_wire]

Perfect. Thank you very much. Hopefully your experiment will succeed!

[peckish4action]

Looking for ways to impress the ladies?

[ Oh, look, somebody's feeling better. ]

[sciencewhizard]

What

Oh yeah, totally. Know what they say- women love a man who can cook.

[peckish4action]

I was thinking more dazzling them with science, but that could work, too.

Unless you eat all that you cook, and mor--

[ Dick struck that out really quickly. And thoroughly. ]

Does that mean groceries are next on your to-do list?

[sciencewhizard]

[ He saw some of that, Dick. Squint. ]

Probably. I mean, baking soda and vinegar shouldn't be hard to come by, right?

[peckish4action]

Nope.

Grocery store seeking trip time?

[sciencewhizard]

Or maybe a black market merchant.

Black markets for baking soda and vinegar.

It's a cold day in hell somewhere.

... -> action.

[peckish4action]

[ ... yeah, Dick raises his head from his journal, finds a bit of paper to wad, and throws it at Wally's head. SRY, BRO. ]

[ He tries to go back to writing, and then just. Nope. ]

You're in a mood.

action.

[sciencewhizard]

[ Wince. ]

We've been stuck here for days, dude.

action.

[peckish4action]

No kidding.

[ Apologetic face. ]

Wanna go out and just. Do things? It might help, a bit.