Technical Thinking By Mark Jones
Purple dye and satellites It was a surprising night for Michigan in April, both warm and clear. With all the lights off, I positioned myself on the patio staring at the sky hoping to enjoy the Lyrid meteor shower. High-country camping during my time in Colorado hooked me on meteor showers. There was no moon and Jupiter was high in the sky and bright. I wasn’t expecting the shows I’d seen above the timberline but thought it still worth a try. I never saw a meteor, but I did see some satellites. I’m now almost 40 years removed from my high-country star gazing. The satellites were a dramatic change. In my time staring at the sky in the mountains, I don’t have a clear memory of seeing anything man-made, save the occasional plane. I am a chemist by training and have studied the history of chemistry as a hobby. Seeing the satellites caused me to draw parallels to the chemical enterprise. William Perkin started a dye factory in Greenford, England around 1857, only about a year after he inadvertently produced the purple dye, mauveine, while trying to synthesize quinine in a home laboratory. Recognizing the value of a synthetic purple dye ultimately made Perkin a rich man. Many credit Perkin with starting the synthetic chemical industry. He can be credited with unintentional consequences too. 48
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Perkin and other early chemists had no concept of waste management. Water from Perkin’s dye works flowed into the nearest waterway. Water laden with mauveine and other byproducts, both colored and clear, went into the ditches. The River Brent reportedly ran with a distinctly purple hue. Laws were enacted as early as 1876 to limit discharge of pollutants. It may have been lucky that the unnatural color attracted public ire. The invisible materials in the discharge were far more dangerous. Illness in dye factory workers, particularly bladder cancer, is at the heart of the earliest systematic study to link chemical exposure to disease. The witch’s brew of the dangerous byproducts of dye production was more than just an eyesore. The chemical industry was on the bleeding edge of questions about protecting the commons. Regulation added cost. Industry didn’t like that. Fouling the river impacted many while a few benefited handsomely. It established a paradigm still followed today. Industry dislikes regulation and society distrusts industry. Chemistry held a unique position among the sciences. Like other sciences, it explains and catalogs the natural world. Chemistry is also creative, allowing creation of things not found in the natural world. It has now been joined by biology, physics, and even
AUGUST 2026
Will nighttime views like this one, of the Summertime Milky Way, as seen from the top of Maui’s Haleakala, eventually be crisscrossed with satellites? Paul J. Heney.
computer science. All are now causing concern. Add companies going into space to the list. The Kessler Syndrome is a theoretical scenario where the density of space debris in Low Earth Orbit becomes so high that collisions cause a runaway, selfsustaining cascade of further collisions. This chain reaction could render critical orbits unusable for decades, threatening satellite operations, GPS, and space exploration. Back in 2018, the estimate for collisions to begin should satellites in lowearth orbit lose ability to maneuver was 164 days. It is down to 2.5 days today. It is almost a textbook Hardin tragedy. My observing satellites during my recent star gazing may be analogous to the River Brent running purple. It might be an indication of more serious problems to come. Just as the chemical industry opposed regulations, regulations on satellites are opposed by launch companies. Just as chemists developed technical solutions to counteract problems created by chemists, technical solutions are being proposed by aerospace companies. Several companies are proposing schemes for space junk removal. Just as with the chemical industry, many may be impacted by the actions of a few. DW www.designworldonline.com
7/30/26 11:03 AM