Editing Thiotimoline (section)

==Background==
In 1947 Asimov was engaged in doctoral research in chemistry and, as part of his experimental procedure, he needed to dissolve [[catechol]] in water.  As he observed the crystals dissolve as soon as they hit the water's surface, it occurred to him that if catechol were any more soluble, then it would dissolve ''before'' it encountered the water.<ref name="earlyyears488_501">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/earlyasimovorele00asim#page/488/mode/2up |title=The Early Asimov; or, Eleven Years of Trying |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=1972 |publisher=Doubleday  |location=Garden City NY |pages=488–501}}</ref>

By that time Asimov had been writing professionally for nine years and would soon write a doctoral dissertation. He feared that the experience of writing readable prose for publication (i.e. science fiction) might have impaired his ability to write the turgid prose typical of academic discourse, and decided to practice with a spoof article (including charts, graphs, tables, and citations of fake articles in nonexistent journals) describing experiments on a compound, thiotimoline, that was so soluble that it dissolved in water up to 1.12 seconds before the water was added.{{r|earlyyears488_501}}

Asimov wrote the article on 8 June 1947, but was uncertain as to whether the resulting work of fiction was publishable. [[John W. Campbell]], the editor of ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'', accepted it for publication on 10 June, agreeing to Asimov's request that it appear under a pseudonym in deference to Asimov's concern that he might alienate potential doctoral examiners at [[Columbia University]] if he were revealed as the author.{{r|earlyyears488_501}}

Some months later Asimov was alarmed to see the piece appear in the March 1948 issue of ''Astounding'' under his own name, and copies of the issue circulated at the Columbia chemistry department. Asimov believed that Campbell had done so out of greater wisdom. His examiners told him that they accepted his dissertation by asking a final question about thiotimoline, resulting in him having to be led from the room while laughing hysterically with relief. The article made Asimov famous for the first time outside science fiction, as chemists shared copies of the article. He heard that many children went to the [[New York Public Library]] trying to find the nonexistent journals.{{r|earlyyears488_501}}