In the movie Young Tom Edison, he secretly made nitroglycerin to satisfy his scientific curiosity. At fourteen, I followed in his footsteps. I chilled fuming acids… carefully added glycerin drop by drop…and watched golden droplets settle to the bottom… transferred the droplets to the lab bench…and experimented with controlled ignitions and detonations. Then, one drop of the vasodilator touched my skin. My heart raced. My head pounded. I never did that again.
Edison walked away from explosives. He chose discovery over destruction. That choice made him great. Ethical scientists don't just chase power. They learn from their mistakes, and in that way they turn awe into wisdom...and wonder into progress.
Today, Edison's experiment would be a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 842(a)(1) and Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.17. Don’t do this experiment at home.