Letters: May 2018

‘Chemical weapon’ is a chilling title that causes a shudder and taints the world of chemistry. We don’t refer to swords and daggers as metallurgical weapons; nor do clubs, cudgels, spears and sundry pointy-sticks get called arboreal weapons; and knuckles, feet, knees and heads are not seen as anatomical weapons. Further back in time, ‘lapideous weapons’ would have been a difficult grunt in the Stone Age. Against this backdrop, chemicals can be seen in a kinder light – as long as that light is not laser-sourced from a directed-energy weapon!