gregorus
Nick Orlowski
poober“The simpler the molecule, the better the drug. So the best drug is oxygen. Only two atoms. The second-best, nitrous oxide – a mere three atoms. The third-best, ethanol – nine. Past that, you’re talking lots of atoms.”
- Zodiac by Neal Stephenson
Sangamon’s Principle is named after a character in Neal Stephenson’s second book, Zodiac. In the book, the character is a fan of using nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, as a recreational drug. He claims this is the best recreational drug due to the simplicity of the molecule; the idea is that more complex molecules are more unpredictable (and hence possibly more likely to have a variable effect on different people).
I avoid recreational drugs, but I am a fan of Stephenson’s work and thought this concept was really cool. Someone on Wikipedia apparently agreed with me and had made a list of recreational drugs ordered by the number of molecules, but the Wikipedians deleted it! Such an outrage! So, I’m going to put it here, and I’m going to add a few more things to the list, mostly some prescription “brain medicines.”
| # Atoms | Drug | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xenon | Xe |
| 2 | Oxygen | O2 |
| 3 | Nitrous oxide | N2O |
| 9 | Ethanol (alcohol) | C2H6O |
| 14 | Muscimol (Amanita muscaria) | C4H6N2O2 |
| 15 | Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) | C4H8O3 |
| 23 | Amphetamine | C9H13N |
| 24 | Caffeine | C8H10N4O2 |
| 26 | Nicotine | C10H14N2 |
| 29 | Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy) | C11H15NO2 |
| 36 | Methylphenidate (Ritalin) | C12H17N2O4P |
| 36 | Psilocybin (mushrooms) | C12H17N2O4P |
| 43 | Cocaine | C17H21NO4 |
| 45 | Escitalopram (Lexapro) | C20H21FN2O |
| 45 | Dextromethorphan | C18H25NO |
| 49 | Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) | C20H25N3O |
| 50 | Diacetylmorphine (heroin) | C21H23NO5 |
| 53 | Tetrahydrocannabinol (cannabis) | C21H30O2 |
Filed under: Links, Political Tagged: | chemistry, drugs, molecules, neal stephenson, nitrous oxide, wikipedia, zodiac
