• Question: •What Is The Most Dangerous crystal?

    Asked by bradleyford to Ben, Dave, Ed, Sam, Susana on 24 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: David Briggs

      David Briggs answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      The most dangerous crystal I have encountered was one made of a protein called “botulium neurotoxin” which is made by some bacteria – there was enough toxin in a single tiny crystal (o.1 millimeters across) to kill a fully grown man.

    • Photo: Susana Teixeira

      Susana Teixeira answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      I hear Mercury fulminate must be fun to crystallise! It is the compound used in the past to trigger dynamite because a shock or spark can make it explode.

      Many crystals are dangerous though, either because they contain toxic heavy metals, or some toxin that can cause disease (see Dave’s example), or even virus crystals for example.

    • Photo: Sam Horrell

      Sam Horrell answered on 25 Jun 2013:

      Quite a few viruses have been crystallised. HIV, Denge virus, foot and mouth, enterovirus, tobacco necrosis virus and lots more. You’d want to be pretty carful handling any of them. Proteins in a crystal are still biologically active so all these viruses still have the potential to infect people.

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