Chemistry, technically, is the study of matter. But Walter White prefers to think of it as the study of change.
鈥淚t is growth, then decay, then transformation. It is fascinating, really,鈥� says the character.
To that extent, the Breaking Bad antihero 鈥� portrayed by Bryan Cranston in AMC鈥檚 hit series 鈥� is the fictional embodiment of his own words. Over five seasons, viewers have witnessed the exothermic transformation of the timid, middle-class high school chemistry teacher into Heisenberg, the manipulative alpha male meth mogul. Along the way, he鈥檚 used his scientific acumen to build his empire and dispose of his adversaries.
But with his life collapsing around him and the series barreling ahead to a climatic finale, it begs the question: Is Heisenberg鈥檚 science up to snuff? We put that question to some of Dal鈥檚 scientific experts.
[Warning: contains spoilers for seasons 1-4 of Breaking Bad.]
Dissolving the evidence
In season one, White and his partner-in-crime, Jesse Pinkman, need to dispose of a dead drug dealer. To avoid drawing unnecessary attention, the duo decides to use hydrofluoric acid (HF) to dissolve the body. Their plan goes awry when Pinkman liquifies the corpse in his porcelain bathtub rather than a plastic container. The acid eats through the tub and the ceiling, with the gory remains splattering on the hallway floor below.
Professor John Gosse, who uses HF to dissolve rocks and minerals to isolate their isotopes, said the scene isn鈥檛 as scientifically realistic as it seems.
鈥淸The hydrofluoric acid] would probably go through the drain first because it鈥檚 going to dissolve whatever鈥檚 easiest to dissolve,鈥� says Dr. Gosse. 鈥淵our chrome plated hardware around the drain and the plug itself would probably get eaten first, so it wouldn鈥檛 have to go through a porcelain tub.鈥�
Dr. Gosse says there are other challenges the characters would face in this scenario, such as procuring enough acid to dissolve a body. (In future episodes where this approach is needed, the characters use plastic barrells instead of bathtubs.) A gram of pure quartz takes three to four hours with very concentrated HF, says Dr. Gosse.
鈥淧orcelain would be easier to dissolve than quartz, so less than a few hours to get through a gram of the equivalent thickness of porcelain,鈥� he says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 plausible, I鈥檇 say.鈥�
Mercury explosions
In season one, after getting his meth stolen and Pinkman being beaten inches from death, White decides to strike back against notorious drug tycoon Tuco Salamanca. He brings a batch of fulminated mercury 鈥� a compound which looks almost identical to meth 鈥� to a meeting with the volatile drug dealer. But there鈥檚 one crucial difference: it鈥檚 highly explosive.
When White throws a small crystal of the fulminated mercury to the ground, the explosion levels Salamanca鈥檚 hideout.
鈥淚t鈥檚 reactive as hell,鈥� says chemistry professor Mark Stradiotto. 鈥淜ind of like T.N.T. It releases nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide very quickly.鈥�
Dr. Stradiotto says the ingredients would be relatively easy to come by for the characters and the explosion plays out like it would in real life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a shockingly energetic reaction,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely realistic.鈥�
Poisonous flora
In season four, White poisoned young Brock, son of Pinkman鈥檚 girlfriend Andrea, in an attempt to manipulate Pinkman into sharing his view that kingpin Gus Fring had to be eliminated. For many of the show鈥檚 fans, even though White intended to sicken Brock but not kill him, this was the character's point-of-no-return. He had become the show鈥檚 villain.
While the plant he used, Lily of the Valley, may look harmless, it鈥檚 extremely poisonous according to Claude Caldwell of the Department of Plant and Animal Sciences.
鈥淧oison is in the dose,鈥� says Dr. Caldwell, who is also associate dean in the Faculty of Agriculture.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e an animal and you have a predator coming, you either run away or hide,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e a plant you don鈥檛 have those options. You only have a couple things to protect yourself, and one is poison.鈥�
Lily of the Valley contains cardiac glycosides, which can be used to treat heart failure, but over-ingestion can cause stomach pain, vomiting and even heart attacks.
The deadly and ubiquitous plant can be found growing in the wild from New Mexico to Nova Scotia. For White to have it growing in his backyard is credible, says Dr. Caldwell.
鈥淪o I hope people aren鈥檛 finding it, grinding it up and putting it in juice boxes in Nova Scotia,鈥� he laughs.*
*Editor's note: While the scene in which White poisons Brock is never shown, the show's writers have suggested that White did so at school with a juice box.
Crystal blue persuasion
But what of the chemistry at the show鈥檚 very core: White鈥檚 incredibly pure (and popular) blue meth? Heisenberg鈥檚 trademark meth appears in the season one finale, when White and Pinkman switch their precursor from pseudoephedrine to methylamine. Their meth turns a light blue colour, which they attribute to its 99.1 per cent purity.
But Dr. Stradiotto says the idea of blue meth is creative liberty on behalf of the show鈥檚 creators.
鈥淢ethylamine is definitely not blue; it鈥檚 a colourless gas. And crystal meth itself is not blue,鈥� he says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a plot device; all the materials are colourless,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 your creative license.鈥�
In many ways, though, Breaking Bad鈥檚 science checks out. The show鈥檚 scientific accuracy transcends White鈥檚 downward spiral and complex personal transformation. Through the struggles and the tragedies, science is White鈥檚 saving grace 鈥� sometimes his downfall 鈥� and a huge part of the show鈥檚 appeal.
As Pinkman exclaims during an episode of the show鈥檚 first season: 鈥淵eah! Science!鈥�