AwkwardFerret

████

“Self-Sustaining Cyclical Reaction”

Item #:SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: All known documentation currently relating to the overall reaction scheme central to SCP-XXXX is to be kept on the Site-██ servers. All efforts to access said documentation must go through the head researcher currently attached to the project for approval. Any printouts or other physical copies of this documentation are to be destroyed 24 hours after their creation. Failure to destroy the documentation in the allotted time is grounds for an official reprimand and possible demotion.

Articles suggesting that key substances involved in the reaction have hazardous properties, including carcinogenic and mutagenic effects, are to be published through Foundation front organizations and pseudonyms in order to discourage experimentation. Furthermore, efforts are to be made to maintain difficulty of acquisition of the components of the reaction in order to further discourage using them for experimentation.

All experiments involving SCP-XXXX are to be performed in glassware rated for temperatures of at least 1000 K. At all times, an equivalent volume of 95% ethanol must be ready for introduction into the main reaction mixture in order to terminate it. Otherwise, standard laboratory safety procedures are to be followed, and safety data sheets of all relevant substances are to be available to those performing the experiment.

ADDENDUM XXXX-ALPHA ██/██/████: After the incident on ██/██/████, no experiments utilizing SCP-XXXX are to be performed with more than 250 mL of reaction fluid. See attached Test Log 3.

Description: SCP-XXXX refers to a particular series of chemical reactions, involving more than 20 different reagents in varying amounts, including isophorone, cyclopentanone, and [REDACTED]. The overall reaction is cyclical; that is, all reagents will eventually return to their base forms through a complex chain of reactions involving ██ mechanistic steps. The last mentioned substance, [REDACTED], forms the crux of the reaction and is traceable from the beginning to the end of the cycle. Almost all substances involved in the reaction are ketones or otherwise possess a carbonyl functional group; therefore, introducing any alcohol, such as ethanol, is sufficient to cause those reagents to undergo nucleophilic addition and change into substances that do not undergo the same sort of reaction. This reaction is fully independent once it begins; no human intervention is normally required to maintain the cycle, and no theoretical limit on the number of cycles is known to occur. However, due to the anomalous nature of the reaction sequence, lab materials will often end up damaged or destroyed, typically hampering or halting the cycle outright. Due to the danger this poses to personnel and Foundation infrastructure, it is preferable to not allow such to occur.

The anomalous effect of this reaction relates to its overall change of enthalpy. Though the change in enthalpy in a cyclic reaction would normally be zero1, SCP-XXXX's change in enthalpy is positive. The reason for this is unknown; despite extensive research, no cause for this discrepancy has been found. SCP-XXXX, for all intents and purposes, seems to create energy with each cycle. With 250 mL of mixture in the standard volumes and concentrations (as described in Document XXXX-1), each cycle produces about ████ kJ of heat and takes approximately 12 minutes.

History: The overall reaction was first discovered by Dr. Joseph Ayers, formerly of ███████ University, during a study on the enthalpies of reaction and formation of various obscure organic and inorganic compounds. During the month of ████ in 20██, Dr. Ayers reported that he realized some of the reactions could be used in a cyclic process, and his original calculations determined the change of enthalpy of this cycle would be zero, as would be expected. However, experimenting with the cycle showed that it was independently exothermic, thus violating his original prediction and the expected result. Dr. Ayers was, at this time, on the short list to join the SCP Foundation and was already in contact with Agent Richards. Upon reporting his findings to Richards, Dr. Ayers was fast-tracked into the Foundation and all his notes confiscated, under the guise of an early retirement brought on by disease. Since then, Dr. Ayers has continued studying the reaction with other Foundation scientists in an effort to understand the nature of the cycle and the source of the anomalous effect.

Experiment Log:

Test 1 - ██/██/████

Procedure: 5 mL of reaction mixture were placed inside a common glass test tube in a standard fume hood with the barrier closed and allowed to run without interruption.
Results: The reaction proceeded without incident for three hours and forty-seven minutes before Dr. Ayers elected to terminate the reaction by introducing 5 mL of ethanol. The ambient temperature of the fume hood was noted to have raised slightly, though the reaction mixture itself had barely increased in temperature at all before termination.
Analysis: The results suggest that very small amounts of the reaction mixture do not produce sufficient heat per cycle to be particularly dangerous. Dr. Ayers suggested allowing the reaction to run in a specially-designed NMR spectroscope; a device as described is currently being produced by Foundation engineers.

Test 2 - ██/██/████

Personnel Present: Dr. Ayers, Assistant Researcher Johnson
Procedure: 200 mL of reaction mixture was inserted in an insulated 400-mL vacuum chamber that was then sealed off. A remote thermometer was prepared to measure the temperature as the cycle progressed. A tube connecting to an emergency supply of ethanol was prepared in the event of an emergency.
Results: The reaction was allowed to run for one hour and thirty-eight minutes. The temperature of the reaction mixture and chamber increased in a linear fashion over this period. At the end of the period, the insulating material was noted to be glowing red-hot by AR Johnson, and the emergency ethanol supply activated, terminating the reaction. A large portion of the ethanol was noted to have vaporized upon analysis of the chamber; however, none of it was observed to escape, and the remaining ethanol was sufficient to terminate the reaction.
Analysis: These results confirmed that the reaction does not rely on atmospheric molecules to proceed. It also confirmed that, if not allowed to dissipate, the heat generated by the reaction will remain within the mixture. It is theorized that this could lead to certain components of the reaction vaporizing; however, it is not known if this would terminate the reaction.

Test 3 - ██/██/████

Personnel Present: Dr. Ayers, Assistant Researcher Johnson
Procedure: 500 mL of reaction mixture was placed in a 1000-mL glass beaker and placed inside a closed fume hood and allowed to run without interruption, analogous to Test A.
Results: After roughly thirty minutes into the procedure, AR Johnson noted a glowing light forming in the center of the reaction mixture. Dr. Ayers instructed him to observe carefully, while himself stepping back. This soon resulted in a [REDACTED], severely injuring Assistant Researcher Johnson with second- and third-degree burns, and starting a large fire within the fume hood. Dr. Ayers was successfully able to use a fire extinguisher to stop the blaze before it spread, also terminating the reaction due to the CO2. AR Johnson was placed in critical care shortly after. Dr. Ayers was issued an official reprimand for failure to use safe procedures, and removed from the project.
ADDENDUM XXXX-ALPHA ██/██/████: Due to the incident observed, no experiments are to be performed with more than 250 mL of reaction mixture. Additional containment measures are currently being considered due to the potential risk displayed by the reaction.