Sarin is an organophosphorus compound. It's a colorless and odorless liquid, used as a chemical weapon owing to its extreme potency as a nerve agent. Even at very low concentrations, sarin can be fatal within one minute after direct ingestion of a lethal dose.
As you know, President Obama is urging Congress to approve a strike against Syria for using chemical weapon. Earlier this week, Secretary of State John Kerry asserted forensic evidence pointed out that the Syrian government used the nerve gas sarin to kill more than 1,400 people (including more than 400 children). But have you ever wondered how sarin came to be? Or even how it got its name?