I’d bet that enrollment in chemistry courses would expand past pre-med students and chemistry majors if Walt White were the instructor. Walt is the main character in the series “Breaking Bad” ,which will begin its fifth and final season this year on AMC.

The basis of the series is that chemistry teacher Walt White is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and enters the business of producing and selling crystal meth in order to earn enough money to support his family when he passes.  Simply put, crystal meth is a process of reducing and altering either ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which are found in common cold and allergy medicines.  However, the process is extremely dangerous due to the possible hazardous vapors produced and potential explosions that may occur.

The science behind the making of meth is on the forefront of the producer, Vince Gilligan’s, mind.  In an interview with Gilligan published in Chemical & Engineering News, he cries out for assistance from a chemistry expert who can help guide the show to portray more accurate science.

With 165,000 geeky subscribers, one would assume a large volume of interested chemists would step forward.  Surprisingly, only one brave soul was up to the challenge: Donna Nelson, a chemistry professor at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to the assistance of Nelson, the show was using online sources such as Wikipedia for their science information.  Nelson justified her help with the show as an act of community service by helping reduce the amount of bad science seen on television.

The details of the science provided by Nelson are showcased in an episode where White asks his fellow meth maker Jesse to purchase a plastic container to store hydrofluoric acid in.  Jesse returns with a glass jar, to which White responds by saying, “You see, hydrofluoric acid won’t eat through plastic; it will, however,  dissolve metal, rock, glass, ceramic. So there’s that.”  Who knew?