Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Exocharmic Reaction (humour)

wg48temp9 - 19-2-2020 at 03:00

I discovered a paper on exocharmic reactions. Here is a short snip from the paper.

"An entry in Davy's notebook concludes with the statement, "Capital experiment, the little metallic globules always appeared at the cathode, and these had an astonishing way of bursting into flame when thrown into water. They skimmed about excitedly with a hissing sound and soon burned with a lovely lavender light". Clearly these chemical changes evolved not only several forms of energy, but also a great quantity of charm [charmer a trait that fascinates, allures or delights)"

I would rate Davy's experiment as a 10 out of 10 for charm. About equal to removing a stick of yellow P from a jar in a garden shed laboratory on hot and sunny summer day.

Yes there are occasional hot and sunny days in the UK. In the future we may get more of them assuming we don't all get washed into the sea by the increased rain fall.

See: Attachment: exocharm-ramette1980.pdf (2.6MB)
This file has been downloaded 331 times

[Edited on 2/19/2020 by wg48temp9]

12thealchemist - 19-2-2020 at 10:52

You give a rating out of 10 for charm, but could this be quantified? ;) :P

My first reaction as PhD was making benzyl potassium, and the brilliant orange-red precipitate that forms is glorious to behold. Not exactly hobby chemistry territory, but certainly charming. Potassium mirrors are also very beautiful when just formed.

[Edited on 19-2-2020 by 12thealchemist]