How the chemistry of Star Trek changed my life – from a gunpowder plot to ‘red hellfire’

How the chemistry of Star Trek changed my life – from a gunpowder plot to ‘red hellfire’

I’ll admit it, I’m a Trekkie. I blame my mother. It was on her insistence that my brother and I watched endless re-runs of the original Star Trek series, which is now celebrating its 60th anniversary. She took us further into the unknown with The Next Generation – and I’ve stayed loyal to the franchise ever since. I’m also a chemist. Was my career choice inspired by Star Trek? Indubitably. What other television series has put the “central scienc…