Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid. Geophysical Institute - Interpreting the Aurora Forecast. In the Pipeline: Cadmium is bad news. Lead and mercury get all the press, but cadmium is just as foul, even if far fewer people encounter it. Never in my career have I had any occasion to use any, and I like it that way. There was an organocadmium reaction in my textbook when I took sophomore organic chemistry, but it was already becoming obsolete, and good riddance, because this one of those metals that's best avoided for life. It has acute toxic effects, chronic toxic effects, and if there are any effects in between those it probably has them, too. Fortunately, cadmium is not well absorbed from the gut, and even more fortunately, no one eats it.
Dimethyl cadmium, then, represents the demon plunked in the middle of the lowest circle as far as this element is concerned. Even though dimethylcadmium does not instantly turn into a wall of flame, it can still liven the place up. I'm saddened to report that the chemical literature contains descriptions of dimethylcadmium's smell. April 5, 2013 Posted by Derek. AuVtu.jpg (JPEG Image, 950x848 pixels) Information Is Beautiful | Ideas, issues, concepts, subjects - visualized!