On the nature of pulsars

The paper contains a relatively non-technical summary of some recent work by the author and Jeremy Butterfield. The goal is to find a way of assigning meaningful truth values to propositions in quantum theory: something that is not possible in the normal, instrumentalist interpretation. The key mathematical tool is presheaf theory where multi-valued, contextual truth values arise naturally. We show how this can be applied to quantum theory, with the ‘contexts’ chosen to be Boolean subalgebras of the set of all projection operators.     

Preparation of polyfunctional zinc organometallics using an Fe- or Co-catalyzed Cl/Zn-exchange

A new Fe- or Co-catalyzed Cl/Zn-exchange reaction allows the direct transformation of aryl, heteroaryl, and also alkyl chlorides into the corresponding zinc reagents. The method tolerates functional groups such as a nitrile or an ester. Remarkably, secondary and tertiary alkyl chlorides are suitable substrates for the Cl/Zn exchange.