Tiny soldiers of IPA: An insider unsung story of IIT Madras
Riding along the roads covered with trees dating back to century, listening to the thrumming sounds, is ecstatic for us. It was the month of March 2020; fear of coronavirus had begun to materialize in India. As usual, we went along the road to relish the bicycle ride. “The sanitizers are no longer available in the market”, says our student physicist, Suman. “You know they are about to ask students to vacate the hostels”, says our nonchalant, Rishav. “Pallavi, the 70% IPA(Isopropyl Alcohol) solution you use in your cleanroom, can it be used as a sanitizer”, says a restless soul, Shiv. “Yes, the sanitizer has more or less the same composition, 70% IPA solution is used worldwide in cleanrooms”, says the student monk, Pallavi. This was just a random discussion, like thousand others we had before. Rarely, we agreed to prototype it in the lab tomorrow. “Discussions at the ease hours if turned into actions are boundless”. Next day in late afternoon, that was generally our cricket time behind