• FeatherConstrictor@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    24
    ·
    13 days ago

    Hello I think this is funny because I think I understand more or less what this is implying (atoms and electrons? And because it’s missing one electron etc.)? I think?

    But would love if someone explained it for those that are way less smart than me who wouldn’t get the joke, unlike me.

    • Wugmeister@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      32
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      13 days ago

      Free radicals are essentially ionized molecules. So radical Islam is just like normal Islam but missing an electron.

      • deranger@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        25
        ·
        edit-2
        13 days ago

        Free radicals and ions are quite different. Consider the .OH radical and -OH ion.

        .OH radical - no charge, one unpaired electron

        -OH ion - negative charge, no unpaired electron

        Radicals have an unpaired electron, ions have a charge. They may or may not occur alongside one another. You can have ionized free radicals but it’s not always the case, as shown in the example above.