Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Bad days in the lab or with glassware?

Bad days in the lab or with glassware?

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aonomus - 3-1-2010 at 19:03

So I'm sure that while accidents aren't funny, I'm sure we have some minor things that aren't major accidents, or involve breakage of glassware. I thought I'd share my bad day in the hopes that others have had similar experiences. Perhaps there is something to learn?

So today started out fine enough, and I was in the process of recovering a nice CuSO4 crystal that I slowly grew over a few days in a desiccator. Once I had it out, I managed to drop it from about 4ft off the ground, having it shatter. I was dejected, but kept on working and recovered the bits of the crystal.

Later on, a housemate drops a can of pepsi from about waist height onto my big toe while I was taking a short break from cleaning glassware.

Limping over to the lab I finish rinsing my glassware, and set down a 29/42 to 24/40 adapter on a plastic tray to dry. It rolled about 1 inch and hit another piece of glassware, taking a big chip out of the adapter....

Notice how the adapter instantly makes a sad face

So instead, I decided to make fun of the broken adapter, and personified it.

[Edited on 4-1-2010 by aonomus]

12AX7 - 3-1-2010 at 19:10

Aww, Mr. Adapter is sad. He should rub himself against his wrists in angst.

Tim

psychokinetic - 3-1-2010 at 22:02

I once knocked a cheap 250ml beaker off my desk, had it bounce and roll. No problems. Wiped forehead and continued.

Half an hour later I was washing a much more expensive, durable boiling tube with a soft cloth and had it shatter in my hands. That was fun, picking out the pieces from my hand! Typical.

anotheronebitesthedust - 3-1-2010 at 22:27

How about getting excited about a new shipment of glassware that you spent $500 on only to find that 2 of the flasks have air bubbles in them, and the other flask and the condensers are shattered.

woelen - 4-1-2010 at 01:20

I once made some bromine (distilling from NaBr+KBrO3+H2SO4 all in water). I had 10 ml of bromine in a little flask. I decided to dry this with 10 ml of H2SO4 which works great. Next I went outside and wanted to separate the H2SO4 and bromine. I went outside because of the bromine vapors. I poured the mix of Br2 and H2SO4 in a separating funnel, only to discover that the liquids simply run through

. I had forgotten to close the funnel at the bottom and all liquid (and a lot of work and time) was gone. Fortunately no personal accident happened and the mess was outside. I cleaned the mess with dilute ammonia (giving dense white smoke of NH4Br).

Panache - 4-1-2010 at 03:12

the first time i made a sodium solution in ammonia the rb flask cracked in the alcohol bath without my knowing allowing very wet alcohol to seep in, i discovered it a few minutes later when i went to photograph the glorious blue to find it had all gone white. I calmly removed the flask and placed it with a bucket within a bucket. there was only ~1g of sodium in it so i guess not really that much could have happened.
Undeterred i managed several lovely attempts crystallizing the sodium out of the evaporating ammonia solution, forming intricate sodium dendrites up the walls of the flask, glistening with sodiums metallic luster. So fragile both mechanically and chemically it is special to witness.

User - 4-1-2010 at 04:05

Ow yes i remember a couple of bad days.

This one is not my fault and could have been fatal.

In my second year of education (chemistry) I was in the lab with a girl next to me.
She was doing a filtration using a ceramic filter and a thick walled erlenmeyer.
It was almost time for a coffee break and i went to the other side of the lab to get my coat and cigarettes.
The girl that was next to me left the lab right before me.
Suddenly a very loud explosion occurred.
Pieces of glass smacked against the wall just inches away from where i stood.

Well what had happened...
The girl had left the vacuum open, the filter clotted and the vacuum got so deep that the flask was not capable of holding it.
It imploded and if course exploded directly afterwards.

Would it been a minute earlier i could have been perforated with thick pieces of glass.
I was lucky, very lucky.

guess one could call this a bad day

aonomus - 4-1-2010 at 05:14

Quote: Originally posted by User

Well what had happened...
The girl had left the vacuum open, the filter clotted and the vacuum got so deep that the flask was not capable of holding it.
It imploded and if course exploded directly afterwards.

Wow, the house vac at your undergrad lab was that good? Usually during the lab hours, the vacuum pressure drops significantly, to the point where water aspirators do a better job. I suppose its all a matter of scale, but when you have 100+ students vacuum filtering with the same vacuum system in the building, plus a bunch of rotovaps humming away, things get to the point where even if you left the vac open, you wouldn't get too strong a vacuum.

Good to see that no one has hurt themselves here, but it goes to show how Murphy shows his face from time to time with all of us...

User - 4-1-2010 at 05:37

It was at the end of the day.
Could well be that she was the only one using the system.

She wasnt really one of the smartest persons in the class

Working with some people made me feel more insecure than the most dangerous and maybe even irresponsible experiments that I performed.
I also remember some dude that wiped a complete distillation set-up filled with hot solvent off the table.
Ouch..

I barely broke glass in the last couple of years.
A short while ago i did something stupid.
I had a 2 litre erlemeyer with a ground joint.
An adapter had frozen in the joint :S
I applied some force , not that much.
I broke the whole damn top off the flask.
Guess it was already weak.
Still those damn things are expensive.

[Edited on 4-1-2010 by User]

mr.crow - 4-1-2010 at 07:07

I guess glass breaks when it wants to

Does anyone think the adapter is still usable or is it filled with internal stress and could shatter at any moment?

woelen: Holy cow thats the worst time to have an open sep funnel

bbartlog - 4-1-2010 at 07:11

Wandering a little offtopic, but... should the strength of the vacuum even be all that relevant? I would think that a flask designed for vacuum would have some safety margin, and the difference between a hard vacuum and a relatively poor one wouldn't be all that much in terms of forces exerted on the flask.
Kind of curious since I have a heavy-walled 2l Erlenmeyer which is supposedly designed for vacuum, and I would prefer not to have to be overcautious in terms of how hard a vacuum I subject it to... I'd hope that an implosion would be a result of cracked or flawed glassware.

JohnWW - 5-1-2010 at 02:40

In some instances, where a breakage is not in a critical part of a piece of glassware, and it is not likely to be subjected to high temperatures or mechanical stresses, e.g. a piece broken from the foot of a measuring cylinder, it may be possible to glue it back together with a two-pack epoxy glue (Araldite etc.).

medchem - 7-1-2010 at 06:19

ya I remember (may be 1 year back), I had a bad experience with methylene chloride filled glass jar. I kept methylene chloride in normal glass vessel without any space (full). It was summer and after few hours there was big sound BuMMMM. To my surprise, there was methylene chloride all over the floor and I saw the glass vessel was broken (due to pressure exerted by methylene chloride vapor). Since then, I started leaving some space for solvent vapors to play freely...GOOD LESSON

aonomus - 7-1-2010 at 06:32

Yikes, DCM is one of those solvents I'd rather not have spill all over a lab floor....

Jor - 7-1-2010 at 06:42

Some DCM on the floor is no problem at all. DCM is alo in paint stripper, and i guess many people use it in great quantities without high quality ventilation. It quickly evaporates, leaving no residue. What is much worse is spilling non-volatile toxins. I have twice kicked over a beaker by accident. One time it contained a conc. copper sulfate solution and once it contained a Cr(III)-solution. These are quite nasty experiences, having to clean it all up. When I spill solvents I just let it evaporate.
Also I once had a wet precitipate of PbI2, wich i was heating with my burner, as i was impatient to use the hotplate, wich i normally use (at bout 90C). I heated to fast, and some water boiled splattering small amounts of PbI2 crystals all in the hood, staining the bench. it was a total of 200mg i think. This is also very annoying to clean up.

My most nasty spill ever, was about 200mg of HgO (long time ago) on the bench. It also stained my bench, so i had to pour acid on the bench to dissolve the stains, and absorb into paper. Now I always work over containment when working with things like Hg, Pb and Cr(VI), unless test-tube scale.

medchem - 7-1-2010 at 07:57

Quote: Originally posted by Jor

Some DCM on the floor is no problem at all. DCM is alo in paint stripper, and i guess many people use it in great quantities without high quality ventilation. It quickly evaporates, leaving no residue. What is much worse is spilling non-volatile toxins. I have twice kicked over a beaker by accident. One time it contained a conc. copper sulfate solution and once it contained a Cr(III)-solution. These are quite nasty experiences, having to clean it all up. When I spill solvents I just let it evaporate.
Also I once had a wet precitipate of PbI2, wich i was heating with my burner, as i was impatient to use the hotplate, wich i normally use (at bout 90C). I heated to fast, and some water boiled splattering small amounts of PbI2 crystals all in the hood, staining the bench. it was a total of 200mg i think. This is also very annoying to clean up.

My most nasty spill ever, was about 200mg of HgO (long time ago) on the bench. It also stained my bench, so i had to pour acid on the bench to dissolve the stains, and absorb into paper. Now I always work over containment when working with things like Hg, Pb and Cr(VI), unless test-tube scale.

Ya its volatile and easily evaporates. Even then we can't risk to its exposure as it has been classified as carcinogen (though many compounds fall in this category). Yes, you are rite it is used in paint but due to its toxicity (though mild) people are trying to ban or lessen the concentration. Pls check out the link below.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/064...

There was no problem cleaning methylene chloride but it was quite boring to collect glass pieces. It might be dangerous if someone was present there during the breakage.

aonomus - 7-1-2010 at 08:19

I fear for the undergraduate chem labs at my uni who have a lab of 24 students work with DCM at the bench for the first time ever, packing and running microscale columns.

I remember walking by and nearly keeling over from the fumes in the hall, I don't know how they survive in that lab. One spark and the whole place would go off.

Magpie - 7-1-2010 at 08:50

For practical purposes DCM is non-flammable in the typical undergraduate laboratory setting. I believe that is why it has replaced ether as a solvent whenever possible. For a truly hazardous situation go back to the 1960's when the lab could be filled with the smell of ether.

24 students in one organic lab seems like too many. But then maybe I've been spoiled.

Jor - 7-1-2010 at 09:13

Well, at our uni laboratory, we use ether in organic synthesis instead of dichloromethane.
I don't understand it, as I consider dichloromethane one of the safest solvents, due to its non-flammability, relatively low toxicity (if you handle it in a well ventilated area at least).
But they say it's dangerous as it's a carcinogen... I mean, common, if you use this stuff in a fume hood it is EXTREMELY safe, outside a hood but with good ventilation it is still one of the safest solvents as long as you don't use it daily.

But they are pretty paranoid here. Chloroform and toluene may not even be used by 1st year undergraduates (although in second year it is used as a starting point for synthesis). Well finally I convinced them I could use some toluene after a lot of arguing. Also for one synthesis I needed 400mg of sodium, but this was not allowed... I just needed to dissolve it in benzyl alcohol, I mean what is dangerous about that, you even need to heat to dissolve it.
Mercury compounds are completely banned AFAIK on our uni... (that's just insane, banning an element from a research institute).
But it's ironic that they let us weight out p-toluidine and p-nitrotoluene just in the open, no hood. Especially the former is quite nasty, especially compared to toluene....
Well not really a problem for me

I have most things at hand at home anyways, so I can use these materials when I want

It's remarkable how safely you learn to work at home, if you experiment a lot. At home you are responsible, and you experiment a lot more (at least I do) than do students, and you work very carefully. My supervisors (3rd or 4th years students) were quite stupid on safety point of view, I saw them doing things wich I would never do. And they don't even know what's gonna happen. For example, for analytic project, we had to dissolve brass in nitric. Well the supervisor (a woman), thought it was too dangerous using the conc. acid (as she thought the reaction might be somewhat explosive

), so she thought let's dilute the acid to 2M. The dissolving took a LONG time.
Also they stress us here to add acid to water instead of reverse. I was diluting 4M HCl in the reverse order and they freaked out

. I mean an experienced chemists should know that on a small scale this rule only applies (of the standard acids) to conc. H2SO4, and to some extent to 37% HCl. All these people only get to learn safety theory, but no practise.

[Edited on 7-1-2010 by Jor]

DJF90 - 7-1-2010 at 09:38

Whilst diluting 4M HCl your way may indeed be fine, I beleive its more about the principle. They don't know you wouldnt change the order if it was conc. sulfuric, and its good lab practice to ALWAYS add acid to water, regardless of the concentration.

woelen - 7-1-2010 at 12:12

I agree with Jor. You have to know what you are mixing, otherwise you should not be mixing anything at all. With conc. H2SO4 I always pour acid in water, but with 4M (appr. 12% HCl) I just do what is most practical and convenient and do not care about the order of adding. The same is true for 30% HCl or 65% HNO3. Adding water to 90% HNO3 is stupid, but mixing such a concentrated form of HNO3 with water is stupid anyway, for that purpose we have the much easier to obtain 65% or 53% grades of HNO3.

bbartlog - 7-1-2010 at 13:56

The more conservative rules and heuristics are designed to protect those who don't know as much about the properties of the chemicals they're dealing with. For example, standard safety procedures for chemical spills at my company are fairly agnostic about *what* medical/therapeutic agent is spilled, so that in theory at least a broken beaker that results in a puddle of potassium chloride solution is going to be treated much the same way as a spill of some quite toxic chemotherapy agent. Whether the lab techs actually use their knowledge of chemistry to downgrade the level of protection when it's not needed, I don't know - but they aren't supposed to.
As that pertains to home chemistry though I would quote William Blake: 'One law for lion and ox is oppression'.

crazyboy - 7-1-2010 at 15:24

I have broken a number of pieces of glassware but the most frustrating is breaking beakers or Erlenmeyer flasks because I purchsed them as a set from 50ml to 1L and I can't get individual beakers or flasks of the same make without purchasing the whole set again. :mad:

Panache - 8-1-2010 at 02:27

Rules, laws, guidelines etc are written so the stupidiest person covered by them will not hurt themselves/get into trouble. Try pointing this out to a policemen when you are explaining to him that because you know why the law was written and that this 'spirit of the law' was not intended to be applied in such a circumstance. Policemen do not enjoy being asked questions they cannot answer.
Jor i feel your pain, throughout undergrad i had constant disagreements with the demonstration staff (usually 3rd or 4th years) regarding 'modifications' to the procedures i employed to expedite the tedium of our prac lessons. When asked why the procedure was written as such they usually had no idea, they were just dogmatically following some code they didn't understand.
That said it gets very dangerous when you start being so arrogant as to believe you understand the motivations ffor all such guidelines and i have made many mistakes thus.

aonomus - 8-1-2010 at 05:55

To provide counterpoint, in one of the 3rd/4th year teaching lab courses, the professor does use current syntheses from the literature alongside older syntheses, however sometimes modifications are made, possibly to the students detriment. Additionally, it seems short notice is always given, so the lab tech and I are always scrambling to make up new solutions and switch things around.

Fortunately though, in the teaching labs there is quite a bit of sanity regarding spills and glassware breakage - ie: if you know what was in the glassware, you can grade the threat/hazard accordingly. No worries for clean empty beakers, minor slip hazard for water baths, NaCl sol'ns, etc. like mentioned above.

Magpie - 8-1-2010 at 09:38

In my recent refresher organic classes there weren't any ludicrous rules. Of course elemental phosphorus is long gone from any experiments, most likely due to concerns about diversion rather than hazards. We used elemental sodium for fusions for qualitative analysis with no undue concern. An oxymercuration experiment had been removed to eliminate the use of mercury compounds. A "thought experiment" was substituted for this.

I did witness one dramatic fire. This was caused by the spillage of a flammable solvent onto the bench and a plastic distillation kit case with the foam padding. This, along with a lit bunsen burner, resulted in an immediate and sizeable fire. The instructor kept his head and quickly put it out - with just water.

Bad days with glassware

Formatik - 8-1-2010 at 16:20

I've had plenty of those. Thermometers, beakers, flasks, distillation flasks, you name it. The real heart-breakers are the more valuable and hard to get items.

The most recent break occurred some time ago with a several year old 1-L Schott FB flask after being heated on a hotplate (which got over 500º according to the multimeter), simply after removing the flask and setting it on a warm room temperature surface was enough to put several cracks in it (I should have clamped the flask and let it air cool instead :mad:

). Heating it over instead of on the heat source should have helped too.

psychokinetic - 9-1-2010 at 12:20

My old chemistry teacher was a rugged sort - he's not allowed curtains anymore.

anotheronebitesthedust - 10-1-2010 at 16:03

I've broken so many lab glass items it's not even funny.

1L erlenmeyer flask
1 600mm gram condenser
2 600mm allihn condenser
1 5L1-neck RBF
1 5l 2-neck RBF
1 2L Sep funnel
1 4L Sep funnel
1 1L RBF
1 2L Beaker
1 50ml Pipette

The list goes on, I'm such a klutz, I need a new hobby.

Magpie - 10-1-2010 at 16:12

Quote: Originally posted by anotheronebitesthedust

I've broken so many lab glass items it's not even funny.

1L erlenmeyer flask
1 600mm gram condenser
2 600mm allihn condenser
1 5L1-neck RBF
1 5l 2-neck RBF
1 2L Sep funnel
1 4L Sep funnel
1 1L RBF
1 2L Beaker
1 50ml Pipette

The list goes on, I'm such a klutz, I need a new hobby.

Wow, you work on a large scale. Maybe that is a factor breaking more items than usual?

aonomus - 11-1-2010 at 15:08

... add one 400mL beaker to the list

Stupid saturated sodium carbonate solution was slippery as hell when I was washing it in a tub, let it slip, it landed ontop of a half-submerged filter flask, and shattered. Not a scratch on the filter flask though (thank goodness).

JohnWW - 11-1-2010 at 16:12

Do not throw the broken glassware out, even if unrepairable! You should save up all the broken Pyrex (or other borosilicate brands) glass, until you have enough to do your own glassblowing, to make your own custom glassware.

havarti_gouda - 29-1-2010 at 19:12

Here's something I learned which resulted in a SLICED UP hand and ruined glassware.

NaOH + glass = SEALED.

I was trying to pull the glass stopper out of an RBF, that had NaOH solution sitting in it and sealed, with a pair of plyers among other things. Put a HUGE gash in my hand when glass broke.

Moral of the story: Don't let strong NaOH solutions sit for several days in closed up glassware. :-)

Otherwise, butter fingers and not realizing something is blazing hot have been the causes of me breaking a plethora of glassware.

User - 29-1-2010 at 20:04

Little of topic maybe but..
How bad is NaOH in solution for glassware.
Oke, I know that NaOH eats glass.
But to what extend can this do damage to glassware??
I understand that having molten hydroxides in a glass container is just plain stupid but how about strong heated alcoholic solutions?
I normally use old glass for reactions with OH's.
Is it really something to be considering or are the rates so low that it might be just panicing over nothing.

User

entropy51 - 30-1-2010 at 08:05

Quote: Originally posted by havarti_gouda

Moral of the story: Don't let strong NaOH solutions sit for several days in closed up glassware. :-)

Best to avoid glass stoppers with strong bases. If you use them, and I sometimes do, use good stopcock grease on the stopper. When I want to avoid grease, I put a strip of filter paper about 5 mm wide into the joint with the stopper. The paper strip prevents the stopper from sealing tightly and sticking.

I once broke a small bottle of Br2 in the same way. But I had on thick work gloves and got neither cut nor burn. The red clould does tend to focus one's attention however.

User - 7-2-2010 at 09:55

Ohm man today sucked.
I broke a mercury thermometer.

I was cleaning the wall of my lab with some ammonia really nice black smudge coming of.
There was a thermometer hanging on the wall, it was an old one and the mercury had split because apparently it was lying down for a long time.
Anyway somehow I and my stupid head tipped the thing of the hook and it fell down on my desk.
It god damn shattered. :mad:

So yeah i had tiny drops of Hg all over the fucking table top.
I spent 2 hours of cleaning it with an eye dropper and still not convinced that it is all gone.
I used the last of my sulphur on the floor.
Now ill be putting the radiator at max with the window open hoping to evap all of it.
Maybe ill put my gassmask on and use a blow-dryer.

What a way to start your freaking day.
Any one got some tips?

Jor - 7-2-2010 at 10:52

Zinc powder is more effective than sulfur. You COULD use the vaccuum cleaner, although this is generally not recommended and is dangerous, as lots of vapours form, but i think you will be fine as long as the exit (where the hot air comes out of the cleaner) is going into a hood or outside.
Well in a thermometer there is only a few grams. Say you cleaned most of it, the amount of mercury present is only a threat if you live in the room daily but if your lab is your garage and it has ventilation, I think you'll be fine.

User - 8-2-2010 at 10:29

Well i cleaned up the mess.
Had an electric heater running all night with the window open.
This morning i vacuum cleaned my whole lab.
Had a ventilator running and I was wearing a gas mask.

Maybe iam over reacting but i hate the idea of chronic poisoning.

I feel quite convinced that its fine now, my lab has never been this clean.
Also I have a nice sealed of glass tube with some Hg.

bbartlog - 8-2-2010 at 10:50

Shattered a porcelain dish in the microwave yesterday. Had some mixed CuCO3/NiCO3 that I had partly decomposed into oxides by heating on the hot plate, but being unsatisfied with the progress I put them in the microwave. CuO however is quite a good microwave susceptor, and after just a few minutes the thermal stress cracked the dish. Luckily the microwave was unharmed.

rrkss - 9-2-2010 at 11:03

Got a new delivery of glassware. Everything was intact except for one multinecked 250 mL Roundbottom

was planning on starting a multistep temperature controlled synthesis tommorow using that flask but now I have to wait until it gets replaced.

anotheronebitesthedust - 13-2-2010 at 07:09

Quote:

Well i cleaned up the mess. Had an electric heater running all night with the window open. This morning i vacuum cleaned my whole lab. Had a ventilator running and I was wearing a gas mask. Maybe iam over reacting but i hate the idea of chronic poisoning.

http://www.test4mercury.com
There's a video at this website that shows the mercury vapors.

Ozone - 13-2-2010 at 08:08

Here's one of the more recent "tragedies". Bottom fell out of this flask while it was in the sonicator.

Solves that ship in the bottle problem, though

.

Cheers,

O3

2L with actinic_01_small.jpg - 199kB

[Edited on 14-2-2010 by Ozone]

The_Davster - 13-2-2010 at 08:58

Popped the stopper in my column for flash chromo the other day while adjusting the nitrogen flow. Glass stopper went up, and came down landing on a funnel, shattering it. Oh well, it was filled with used drying agent, and was at work. No personal investment, no loss.

UnintentionalChaos - 13-2-2010 at 10:51

Quote: Originally posted by bbartlog

Shattered a porcelain dish in the microwave yesterday. Had some mixed CuCO3/NiCO3 that I had partly decomposed into oxides by heating on the hot plate, but being unsatisfied with the progress I put them in the microwave. CuO however is quite a good microwave susceptor, and after just a few minutes the thermal stress cracked the dish. Luckily the microwave was unharmed.

I'll do you one better. Was dehydrating MgSO4*7H2O in the microwave in a glass dish with fairly thick walls, which goes fairly readily and gets pretty hot. I've previously done CaCl2 with no hitches and once dry, let it run a few minutes more just to make sure. Well, anhydrous MgSO4 seems to be a better microwave acceptor than anhydrous CaCl2, because during those few extra minutes, the bottom of the glass dish melted and fused to the glass plate in the microwave under it.

crazyboy - 14-2-2010 at 16:00

Quote: Originally posted by UnintentionalChaos

I had that happen to me once, had to replace the microwave, but I guess that's what happens when you try to cut time.

Safetylast - 15-2-2010 at 15:45

When I was a kid I would use a large 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup placed directly onto a hot plate for boiling. It worked fine for a while, but one day I was boiling a KCl solution for KClO3 production and couldn't dissolve all of the KCl. I stupidly added some room temp water to the measuring glass full of boiling solution and BOOM, hot water and broken glass everywhere. It scared the piss out of me. Luckily I was uninjured, I made a lot of dumb mistakes as a kid.

Panache - 16-2-2010 at 03:00

Quote: Originally posted by JohnWW

Do not throw the broken glassware out, even if unrepairable! You should save up all the broken Pyrex (or other borosilicate brands) glass, until you have enough to do your own glassblowing, to make your own custom glassware.

Yeah right, your own custom glassware, have your tried this shit, i have most of the requisite tools (well a glassblowing torch, a lathe (actually that's an old rotovap converted, and a kiln, i do however have shitloads of new glassblowing blanks, fittings etc, oh i also have several books and brass tools) and my best work is so crap that it cracks if you walk with it past the refrigerator, or the oven, even if neither are on, it just gets scared. I would not trust it to do anything in.

However i have some other advice, if you give a toss about recycling, don't throw your borosilicate into the glass recycling even small inclusions decrease the efficiency of the processes dramatically. I shared a lab with a laser dude once who was trying to develop a fast detection method to enable a process line to punch out of the line any possible borosilicate.

rrkss - 25-3-2010 at 21:57

Was doing a reaction that involved a solution of NaOH. Ended up freezing the joints to one my adapters. Being stupid, I took a pair of pliers and got the joints free but at the expense of shattering the adapter.

In short, don't use pliers to free frozen joints and use grease if you are working with strong bases.

JohnWW - 26-3-2010 at 01:16

Quote: Originally posted by JohnWW

I can suggest another two uses for broken pieces of heat-resistant borosilicate pyrex-type glass:
(b) After breaking them into reasonably uniform sized pieces, they could be used as packing for a packed column, which could be used for two-phase gas-liquid reactions, in which usually the liquid enters from the top and the gas is forced in from the bottom.
(c) Broken into fairly small pieces, they could be used as "bumping chips" in beakers or flasks in which a liquid is boiled.

Skyjumper - 28-3-2010 at 18:40

Lets see

Glass stir rods x5
Glass tubing I dont even know
3 earlimyers, 250-500ml
Plenty of beakers
a pipette pump

Skyjumper - 31-3-2010 at 17:54

add to that a glass reagent bottle filled with 12.5 molar NaOH. To answer your question, it seals up glassware damn good.

bbartlog - 1-4-2010 at 05:35

Quote:

I can suggest another two uses for broken pieces of heat-resistant borosilicate pyrex-type glass

...)
(c) Broken into fairly small pieces, they could be used as "bumping chips" in beakers or flasks in which a liquid is boiled.

This sounds good in theory, but when I've tried it (I used bits of broken glass tubing) it didn't work well at all. Not enough nucleation sites compared with stuff usually used as boiling chips (activated carbon and the like), I'm guessing. Of course it could be ground down even smaller to solve this problem but once it's 'ground glass' rather than macroscopic bits, then you have a new set of inconveniences to deal with.

[Edited on 1-4-2010 by bbartlog]

jon - 1-4-2010 at 05:43

this one was bad a heavy walled flask used for a pressure rxn unbeknownst to me had a star crack.
a variation in temp caused it to explode at easily 5 atm.
i was laziez fare at the time wound up with deep lacerations on the chest.
and having to concoct a story for the emts.

The WiZard is In - 15-4-2010 at 12:34

LIQUEFIED AIR EXPLODES
Prof. Fay Mixed It with Red Phosphorus, with Startling Result
He And A Student Injured
New York Times, October 22, 1898.

Experiment Took Place at the Polytechnic Institute, and Explosion
Luckily Was Downward.**

Experiments with liquefied air in the laboratory of the Polytechnic Institute
Brooklyn, yesterday afternoon ended in an explosion which tore a hole through
the table, knocked out same panes of glass,: and severely injured the professor
in charge. The experiments tried yesterday In the Polytechnic Institute by Prof.
Irving W. Fay are entirely new. It was in trying the effect of mixing liquefied air
with red phosphorus that the explosion was brought about. Prof. Fay will
probably lose the sight of one eye and. will always bear the marks of the
explosion on his face. Lincoln Burrows, a student, was also burned about the
face, but not severely.

Four gallons of liquefied air were taken to the institute on Thursday
afternoon. Yesterday afternoon Prof. Fay, who is the head of the chemistry
department, lectured before the Chemical Society, composed of students in the
institute, and illustrated his lecture by some familiar experiments. When the
lecture ended, half a dozen of the students remained to observe. the professor
try some original experiments. Kerosene, alcohol, and turpentine were among
the objects experimented with, and they wore frozen by the application of the
liquid air. Then yellow phosphorus was taken up. The professor placed it to a.
glass beaker and poured some of the liquid air upon it. The effect was to change
the phosphorus to crystal in structure.**

The professor then determined to try red phosphorus. Red phosphorus has
al ways been held to be indissoluble, and it was the professor's idea that possibly
liquid air might dissolve It. He accordingly placed some of it to the beaker and
poured air upon it. He then poured the mixture on a piece of paper on the table
and bent over it to observe the result. His pupils also bent over it to study it, and
wait for his comments, but were not so near it as he. Burrows was by his side.
The liquid air rapidly evaporates, and in a very short time there was nothing on
the paper but a little pile of red phosphorus. The professor and students examined
it eagerly to note the changes
produced. After a moment he called their attention to the fact that the
phosphorus was a lighter shade of red. He thought at first that the combination
might have changed it to yellow phosphorus, but a further examination led him
to believe that it had became CO2 solid carbon dioxide. [?]

While making these comments the professor stirred the he phosphorus with
a glass rod. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion. The table rocked and shook,
the room was filled with smoke, and the ease in the windows were shattered.
The professor gave a cry of pain and clapped his hand to his eyes. His face had
been torn and burned and his thumb nail torn completely off. The explosion was
a downward one, fortunately for the professor and his pupil and it tore a great
jagged hole In the table. But for the nearness of Dr. Fay’s face to the
phosphorus he would probably have escaped without serious Injury.
Dr. Henry L. Cochran of 141 Clinton Street was hurriedly sent for by his
father Dr. David H. Cochran, who is the President of the Institute. Prof. Fay was
removed to his home, 544 Ninth Street. Burrows's injuries were so slight that he
was able to go home without assistance, after having his wounds dressed by the
doctor. Dr. Arthur Mathewson, an eye and ear specialist, was called In to attend
Prof, Fay at his home.

The cause of the explosion is a question as yet. The theory held by some
of those who witnessed it is that after evaporating the air broke up into atoms,
which combined with the atoms of phosphorus, thereby causing the explosion.

* Explosions don’t “happen downward” they expand in every direction.

** My theory – The BP of LN2 is lower than that of LOX, therefore, as the
nitrogen evaporated the mixture became oxygen rich, the super cold phosphorus
and remaining LOX and coming into intimate contact.

Gilding the lily

SWilkin676 - 11-5-2010 at 05:43

I was using a bucket/pump recirculator for distillation and somehow a particle of something got into the bucket and got stuck in the condenser right at the point where the wall is closest to the alihn bulb. In hindsight it was pretty stupid thing to worry about, but that little spec was driving me nuts when I was cleaning. So I was fiddleing around with different things like pipe cleaners - flushing water etc etc until I wound up knocking the condenser against the edge of the sink. OUCH!
sighhh
Suzee

Mildronate - 11-5-2010 at 08:20

I breaking glass only in university

. Science glassblower can fix glasware sometimes.

rrkss - 19-5-2010 at 17:18

Was removing the plastic base from my graduated cylinder in order to dry it with a heat gun and somehow, the glass on the bottom broke making the cylinder useless.

psychokinetic - 20-5-2010 at 00:32

Apparently bromination of alkenes can fire a test tube across a lab.

*whistles innocently*

Surprisingly, my coat is still entirely white.

Chainhit222 - 27-5-2010 at 22:51

I had a bad week. During my ether distillation the flask bumped as I was adding more sand it shit spilled all over my fume hood, so I had to hose the whole thing down, then my hotplate started causing the circuit breaker to trigger, (the plate is cracked and acid leaked in). However, I took ti apart and after scrubbing the circuit boards clean with a toothbrush and water, it worked.

Also I broke a 90-110 degree thermometer, and vigruex column.....god damn my hands.

I learned that I need a sink to put glass into when I am done with it, so I don't need to carry it around and whatnot, I'm probably going to install one tomorrow.

A LESSON LEARNED IN BLOOD :mad:

rrkss - 28-5-2010 at 10:26

I've always done my ether distillations with boiling chips and not sand. Have never had a problem with bumping probably because the boiling chips have more trapped air bubbles than the sand for nucleation.

hissingnoise - 28-5-2010 at 10:51

Adding any antibumping granules to a hot liquid is practically a recipe for bumping.
They should be in before the heat goes on. . .

psychokinetic - 28-5-2010 at 14:11

I made a nice mess last week in the university lab.

We were doing a series of Benedict's and Tollen's tests for marking, and I dropped a test tube with Benedict's reagent in it (all set up to heat) on the table and shot pretty blue liquid and glass all over the table.

Most amazingly, I got nothing on my lab coat!

Chainhit222 - 29-5-2010 at 08:42

Quote: Originally posted by hissingnoise

Adding any antibumping granules to a hot liquid is practically a recipe for bumping.
They should be in before the heat goes on. . .

It would have been fine had I put the stopper on time D:, granted the rest of the glass would be covered in hard to clean gakk.... and whatever ether I made would be ruined.

[Edited on 29-5-2010 by Chainhit222]

rrkss - 1-6-2010 at 12:07

Was busy distilling anhydrous Ethyl Bromide from CaCl2 outside for a grignard when one of those freak summer storms hit out of nowhere. Went from clear and sunny to a massive rain storm in less than 2 minutes.

My drying tube was wrecked, mantle got wet, and I broke a bowl I use to cool the receiving flask to reduce evaporation.

In addition, both vessels, my distillation pot and receiving pot got water contamination. I now have to transfer everything to a new dry flask and redry everything over fresh CaCl2.

It also cost me a full bag of ice since my cooling water is now useless and my data on changes to the reaction conditions are useless do to product loss from this experience so I won't know if some changes I made in the EtBr synthesis were beneficial or not.

Chainhit222 - 3-6-2010 at 07:47

somehow my -20-400 c thermometer i bought from kantu200scientifcstore broke. I am absolutely certain I did not heat it over 140c, nor have I ever bumped it. I noticed it was stuck on 100c, so i gently touched the bulb and it fell apart. :mad:

avoid that cheap ass crap from http://www.kantu200scientificstore.ecrater.com/

I think its time to invest in thermocouples.

[Edited on 3-6-2010 by Chainhit222]

Human factors in chemical engineering

The WiZard is In - 7-6-2010 at 05:32

Theodor Grewer
Thermal Hazards of Chemical Reactions
Elsevier 1994

Case History 14. o-Chloroaniline + nitric acid [7-34]

o-Chloroaniline was transferred into a reaction vessel for nitration. On the
reaction vessel was a feed tank for the supply of mixed acid (30 %
nitric acid in sulfuric acid). Both products were conducted through
different meal hoses. On the day of the incident, the flexible metal
hose for the transport of the mixed acid had been removed for
repair. The operator took the hose which had been used for
o-Chloroaniline and screwed it on the feed tank for mixed acid.
After placing the end of the metal hose into the mixed acid barrel
he opened the valve at the feed tank and took hold of the metal
hose with both hands.

In this moment the metal hose exploded. A violent reaction in the
hose destroyed it for a length of 1 m. The operator was severely
injured. He lost some of the fingers and part of one hand.

Although the o-Chloroaniline had been carefully poured out of the
metal hose about 20 g had been left in hose as a succeeding test
showed. The explanation of the explosion is very simple:
According to the literature about rocket propellants,
o-Chloroaniline like many other amines forms a hypergolic
mixture with nitric acid [7-35]. By a simple laboratory
experimentit was shown that mixed acid had the same effects as
pure nitric acid: 20 g o-Chloroaniline were stirred in a glass
beaker. 50 cm3 of mixed acid (30% HNO3) were rapidly added. A
violent reaction accompanied by fire occurred immediately.

[7-34] Sichere Chemiearbeit 37, (1985)
[7-35] A. Dadieu, et al Raketentreibstoffe. Springer-Verlag, Wein,
New York 1698

----
The hose connections on my oxygen and acetylene welding tanks/torch
are both threaded differently to prevent mis-connection. I would suspect/hope
they changed connections to prevent a re-occurrence!

Sodium - water

The WiZard is In - 9-6-2010 at 05:50

2ii89 UPI Newswire

Teacher blinded as he saves students

DURHAM, N.C. (UPI) _ A high school chemistry teacher who raced
from his classroom with a vial of flaming chemicals to save his
students may have been permanently blinded when the vial
exploded, doctors fear.

But the quick action by Suryanarayana Chittilla saved the students
in his Class at Durham High School from being severly injured,
Durham School system officials said Wednesday. The accident
damaged the teacher's eyes and doctors are not sure how extensive
the damage is. The Durham Morning Herald reported Thursday
doctors have told Chittilla he has been blinded and they are not sure
if he will regain his sight.

George Wylie, assistant superintendent for city schools, said the
medical center has not released any word about Chittilla's eyes.
"They will remain bandaged for a couple of days and then the
doctors will give us some statement," Wylie said.

The accident occurred Tuesday morning when students were
arranging chemicals in a laboratory when water accidentally mixed
with a vial of sodium metal. Such a mixture turns into lye and can
explode.

Chittilla told the newspaper his only thought was getting the vial
out of the classroom. The windows were closed, so he grabbed the
vial and ran from the classroom and tried to leave the building,
Chittilla said.

"I didn't want the vial to explode in the school," Chittilla said. "I ran
down the steps with flames coming out of the container. I reached
the door and had my hand out to push the door open when the vial
exploded.

Principal Barbara Ellis accompanied Chittilla to the Duke Medical
Center.

"We are deeply saddened by this," Ellis said. "I want people to
know we have teachers who are willing to risk their lives for the
safety of students."

"There was glass on the ceiling, the walls and the floor. It was a
tremendous explosion," Wylie said of the hallway near the building
exit. "Were it not for his quick thinking this could have been a very
grave situation for more people."

The school system's personnel department said Chittilla is a native
of India who came to the United States in 1967. He has been
teaching at Durham High School since 1985.

----------
....when water accidentally mixed with a vial of sodium metal

You can file that with — The police were unable to immediately
explain how they shot the suspect in the back while he was
attacking them.

[Edited on 9-6-2010 by The WiZard is In]

Wizzard - 9-6-2010 at 06:44

On thick-walled pyrex vial, trying to insert a ground glass stopper, the opening expanded and broke

mewrox99 - 11-6-2010 at 20:40

One of my worst days in the lab.

It was when I was 12 at Montessori school.

I was bubbling Cl2 into KI solution to make Iodine water to test for unsaturation in cyclohexene.

The lab didn't have a sink. So for some stupid reason when I was cleaning up, I took the KMnO4 + HCl chlorine generator in a confined bathroom.

I got a fair amount of Cl2 gas and could feel the HCl and HOCl in my lungs. Luckily I was unharmed.

Learned a big lesson on lab safety.

Chainhit222 - 12-6-2010 at 14:41

Quote: Originally posted by mewrox99

One of my worst days in the lab.

It was when I was 12 at Montessori school.

I was bubbling Cl2 into KI solution to make Iodine water to test for unsaturation in cyclohexene.

The lab didn't have a sink. So for some stupid reason when I was cleaning up, I took the KMnO4 + HCl chlorine generator in a confined bathroom.

I got a fair amount of Cl2 gas and could feel the HCl and HOCl in my lungs. Luckily I was unharmed.

Learned a big lesson on lab safety.

I gave my AP chemistry class a field trip to the hospital because of a bromine spill. And evacuated the school. I was a hero the next day... And nothing on my permanent record either!

Dead at the bench

The WiZard is In - 15-6-2010 at 06:49

Obiturary.

Edward Charles Spurge.

Edward Charles Spurge, general manager of the Ozone Vanillin Company of
Niagara Falls, N.Y., died on November 6th, in his laboratory of that company, in
consequence of inhaling fumes of hydrocyanic acid with which he was
conducting some experiments.

Born in Witham, in Essex, he was a B.S. of the University of London, and a fellow
of the Institute of Chemistry. For several years he pursued research work in
Germany, France, and Italy. He went to the United States in the summer of 1904
and settled at Niagara Falls.

The Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry.
31 [24] 1167 December 31, 1912.

Explosion in high school chemistry class

The WiZard is In - 19-6-2010 at 12:04

Explosion in high school chemistry class injures teacher, 7 students
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
By The Daily Freeman

BOICEVILLE [NY]— Seven students and their teacher were injured Tuesday morning in
an Onteora High School chemistry class by an explosion that was strong enough to
damage windows, according to police and school district officials.

The eight people were treated at Kingston and Benedictine hospitals and released,
police said.

State police identified the teacher as Donald Bucher and said the students were 11th-
graders. School district officials declined to release the names of any of the injured
parties but said the parents of the affected students were notified.

The teacher and two of the students were treated for lacerations, apparently caused
by flying pieces of broken glass, and the other students were checked for minor
injuries, the district said. The nature of those injuries was not specified.

State police Capt. Patrick Regan described the laceration suffered by Bucher as
“significant” and said the students’ cuts were less serious.

State police said some people in the classroom also suffered temporary hearing loss.

The accident, which occurred about 11 a.m., drew the Olive police and fire
departments, the state police and several ambulance squads to the high school on
state Route 28 in Boiceville. Hazardous materials teams were not called, and the
school was not evacuated.

The explosion occurred during a fifth-period chemistry class while the teacher was
demonstrating the properties of the chemical potassium chlorate, the school district
said in a prepared statement. The statement said the teacher used fewer than 3
grams of the substance and that the blast, caused by an unexpected chemical
reaction, happened during a demonstration of potassium chlorate’s reaction to food
products.

Onteora Board of Education President Laurie Osmond said a faulty test tube might
have been to blame for the accident.

A science teacher in a different room described the explosion as sounding like a door
slamming loudly, though the blast was so strong that it damaged windows in the
room where it occurred, the district said.

Regan called the explosion “impressive” and said it was the result of an “experiment
that went awry.”

Teachers in the wing of the building where the explosion occurred rushed to the
classroom immediately, followed by the school’s Quick Response Team, the district
said. The response team comprises administrators, nurses, social workers and
counselors.

The high school was placed in modified lockdown — officially called a “stay put” — so
the injured students and staff member could be moved as efficiently as possible, the
district said.

The district said everything in the building was back to normal by 1:30 p.m.

Correspondent Jay Braman Jr. and staff writers Paul Kirby and Kyle Wind contributed to
this report.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/01/20/blotter/doc4...
30860.prt

-----------
Potassium chlorate and food? Other than the obvious “food” in its supermarket very
fine granulation……?! Gummi Bears perhaps. However, potassium
chlorates exciting cousin sodium chlorate is commonly used in
Parr Bomb calorimeters to measure heat content of foods &c. /djh/

Skyjumper - 19-6-2010 at 18:36

oh the molten Potassium chlorate demo.... I've almost blown the blast window on a school fume hood out doing a sodium demo...

mewrox99 - 20-6-2010 at 21:58

Today wasn't good.

Dropped a 1 week old 150mL Erlenmeyer flask onto hard tiles. Shattered and glass was everywhere. While I was sweeping up the glass I accidentally knocked the table. A 250mL Erlenmeyer flask filled with dilute NaOH, a beaker and a box of NaOH spilled everywhere.

At least the 250mL flask and beaker survived, but cleaning up bits of wasted money isn't fun

Perchloric acid

The WiZard is In - 21-6-2010 at 07:14

K. Everett and F.A. Graf Jr.
Handling Perchloric Acid and Perchlorates.
In:— N.V. Steere, ed.
Handbook of Laboratory Safety
Second Edition - 1971.

A violent explosion took place in an exhaust duct from a laboratory hood in which
perchloric acid solution was being fumed over a gas plate. It blew out windows,
bulged the exterior walls, lifted the roof, and extensively damaged equipment and
supplies. Some time prior to the explosion, the hood had been used for the
analysis of miscellaneous materials. The explosion apparently originated in
deposits of perchloric acid and organic material in the hood and duct.

An employee dropped a 7-lb bottle of perchloric acid solution on a concrete floor.
The liquid was taken up with sawdust and placed in a covered, metal waste can.
Four hours later, a light explosion blew open the hinged cover of the can.

A stone table of a fume hood was patched with a glycerin cement and several
years latter, when the hood was being removed, the table exploded when a
workman struck the stone with a chisel.

During routine maintenance involving partial dismantling of the exhaust blower on
a perchloric acid ventilating system, a detonation followed a light blow with a
hammer on a chisel held against the fan at or near the seal between the rear
cover plate and the fan casing. The intensity of the explosion was such that is
was heard four miles away and of the three employees in the vicinity, one
sustained face laceration and slight eye injury; the second suffered loss of four
fingers on one hand and possible loss of sight in one eye; the third was fatally
injured with the 6 in. chisel entering below his left nostril and embedded in the
brain.

JohnWW - 21-6-2010 at 13:46

The moral of that story is that concentrated perchlorates (along with chlorates, bromates, perbromates, iodates, periodates, permanganates, ferrates, plumbates, bismuthates, perxenates, and osmium tetroxide) and organic matter do not mix! That "employee" who mixed spilled concentrated HClO4 with sawdust to try to absorb it could hardly have made a better bomb; he should have used common silica sand instead, and should also have tried to neutralize the acid with a carbonate or bicarbonate solution.

Methy nitrate

The WiZard is In - 22-6-2010 at 05:30

Explosion Burns Instructor’s Face
University Laboratory Quakes and Chemicals Spill on a Worker.
Students Come Running
Flaring Bunsen Flame Reached Methy-Nitrate Howard Brownell
Was Experimenting With.
New York Times 2iii1916

While conducting an experiment in the Havemeyer Chemical
Laboratory yesterday Howard Brownell, an assistant instructor at
New York University received painful burns and lacerations to his
face as the result of the explosion of a vessel containing methyl-
nitrate with which he had been working. A Bunsen flame, which
had flared too near the apparatus containing the nitrate solution
[solution?] caused the explosion. Members of the faculty and
students on all parts of the University Heights campus heard the
report.

The explosion which occurred at 10:20 A. M. shook the three-story
laboratory building and shattered much glass. Ralph Murray, an
employee in the storeroom containing chemical supplies, was
slightly burned about the face when some chemicals fell from his
hand because of the sudden vibration.

Brownell went to a hospital, but Murray was not seriously injured.
The cuts received by Brownell were caused by fragments of glass
which flew in all directions when the vessel containing the nitrate
exploded.

The explosion occurred in a room immediately adjoining the
private office of Dr. Arthur E. Hill, Professor of Chemistry and
Director of the laboratory. The loud noise brought students
running from all parts of the campus.

Mr. Brownell is a graduate student at the university and was
graduated from Allegheny College.

mewrox99 - 22-6-2010 at 21:37

I love these stories the wiz puts up

psychokinetic - 22-6-2010 at 21:56

Same, but Wiz, I'd also love to know what you get up to/have got up to.

T-butyl lithium

The WiZard is In - 23-6-2010 at 05:48

Deadly UCLA lab fire leaves haunting questions
March 01, 2009|
Kim Christensen
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/01/local/me-uclaburn1

UCLA's Molecular Sciences Building was mostly closed for the holidays on Dec.
29 as research assistant Sheri Sangji worked on an organic chemistry
experiment.

Only three months into her job in the lab, the 23-year-old Pomona College
graduate was using a plastic syringe to extract from a sealed container a small
quantity of t-butyl lithium -- a chemical compound that ignites instantly when
exposed to air.

As she withdrew the liquid, the syringe came apart in her hands, spewing
flaming chemicals, according to a UCLA accident report. A flash fire set her
clothing ablaze and spread second- and third-degree burns over 43% of her
body.

Eighteen excruciating days later, Sangji died in a hospital burn unit.

=========
Same, but Wiz, I'd also love to know what you get up to/have got up to.

What do you want?
Information.
Who is Number One?
You are number ....

JohnWW - 23-6-2010 at 07:25

Something spontaneously flammable in both O2 and N2 like t-butyl lithium should be handled only in a glove box under argon. Or if that is not possible, with even a small quantity abstracted in a syringe from a sealed container, only if wearing an asbestos helmet/mask and coat and gloves, and thick heat-resistant safety goggles, of the sorts that firemen are issued with.

A chemist bown to pieces

The WiZard is In - 24-6-2010 at 06:44

Melbourne, November, 1893
A Chemist Blown to Pieces
Timaru Herald, Volume LV, Issue 5810, 10 November 1893, Page 3
http://tinyurl.com/2bcnskk

A FRIGHTFUL EXPLOSION.

A CHEMIST BLOWN TO PIECES. A fatality happened in the suburb of
Elsternwick, Melbourne, on October 24th, which in point of horrible detail has
rarely been equalled [sic] in the records of casualties in the colony. Mr W. Evelyn
Liardet, a scientific and experimental chemist, was experimenting with explosives
in his laboratory, when by some mischance the compound exploded and
shattered him to pieces. He succeeded in bringing his explosive to perfection,
and at an expense of £2200 had patented it throughout Australia, Great Britain,
America and other places. With the completion of this work he had, as ho
believed, invented a power twenty times stronger than gelatine or nitro glycerine.
He stated that he had sold the patent rights to a Company for £30,000, and
when this was completed be intended retiring from business.

In the morning Mr Liardot was at work as usual in his laboratory, and Dr
Backhouse, a personal friend, called to have a what with him. In order to show
the doctor the power of the " dynamo," Mr Liardet took a couple of ounces of it
and rolled it up loosely in his handkerchief with a piece of fuse and a detonator
cap, then tossing the handkerchief over the garden wall into the sea, be said, "
Wait half a minute and you will see the force of the dynamo." The handkerchief
sank beneath the surface of the water, and while the doctor was smilingly
thinking that the wetting would extract all the devil out of the dynamo a great
volume of water was thrown up about 30ft into the air. Mr Liardet offered to give
some other demonstrations of the power of the compound, but Dr Backhouse
was satisfied, and nervously anxious to get away, wished Mr Liardet " Good
bye," saying jocularly as he went, “Now, be careful, and don't let my next visit to
you be to pick up your pieces." Mr Liardet laughed, and said " Never fear, I have
had several escapes, and am convinced I was not born to be destroyed in that
fashion."

Dr Backhouse left, and Mr Liardet worked away until about a quarter to four
o'clock. Then a loud explosion was heard, followed by the cracking of timbers.
After the first sound there was no other, and though Mrs Liardet could see
nothing because of the dense smoke when she ran out of the kitchen, she
thought the absence of groans indicated that her husband was unhurt, and she
cried, " Thank God, he's safe." As she strained her eyes through the smoke she
tred upon something soft, which she picked up, and to her dismay found it to be
a portion of the body of her husband. In another moment the smoke lifted, and
beneath the kitchen window the wife saw the dismembered body of her husband
not yet dead, though mangled beyond description. Death, however, supervened
almost immediately. Dr Backhouse, who had so recently left the place, was
hastily summoned. At the explosion the laboratory had been shattered, and the
body had been forced through one of the walls, bursting a hole 3ft across as it
passed: Where it rested was about 15ft away from the scene of the explosion,
and as Mr Liardet was about 16 stone in weight, the force of the explosion may
be imagined. The body was literally smashed to piece. The left arm was severed
from below the elbow, and its bones and tissues were scattered round the
laboratory and yard. There was a terrible gap in the abdomen, and another in the
head through which a hand could be placed. Both legs below the knee were
reduced to a pulp, and both eyes were blown out. The face was blackened, the
hair burned, and the flesh of the body generally was torn off with strips of
clothing. When the doctor and others had gathered the portions of the body
together they wore placed in one of the rooms of the house, to await the inquest.

Wilbraham Evelyn Lilardet
US Patent 417 429
Dec 17, 1889
Manufacture of Explosives

Piciric acid w/ potassium nitrate

the Z man - 25-6-2010 at 04:14

Glassware:
For me glassware is very hard to buy. In my first (and probably last) order I got 2 flasks, 2 beakers, a glass stirring rod, a thermometer, a graduated cylinder and 3 test tubes.The first was the cylinder that I was very proud of. I was trying to make it dry fast by waving it in the air when it a impacted a shelf and broke... what an idiot. Second was the stirring rod. It was on my bed and I sitted on it...what an idiot 2. Two of the test tubes broke from heat. All this in first month. Now it's a year that i don't break anything... let's see how much time the survivors will survive

Other accidents:
-In my rookie days (about a year ago

) I had a splash of hot concentrated NaOH soln on my face and in my right eye while making hydrogen adding aluminium. Runway reaction, you know. Luckly for me I was close to the tap. Nothing more that pain to the eye for one day, but I have been scared a lot.
-Sulfuric and nitric acid eruption from a flask upon addition of AN to conc H2SO4 that turned out to be contamined with EtOH. The acid jet passed about 5 cm from my face (obviously without goggles, also see above) and it was strong enough to hit the ceiling. It was a mess to clean before it could damage the wooden floor of my bedroom.
-Fire from 100 ml acetone I was boiling on open fire

. Half meter fireball :cool:

-The same with ethanol :cool:

Yes, I am stupid.

Skyjumper - 25-6-2010 at 06:18

Acid in your bed room? You are an idiot.

woelen - 25-6-2010 at 06:39

Quote: Originally posted by the Z man

Glassware:
For me glassware is very hard to buy. In my first (and probably last) order I got 2 flasks, 2 beakers, a glass stirring rod, a thermometer, a graduated cylinder and 3 test tubes.The first was the cylinder that I was very proud of. I was trying to make it dry fast by waving it in the air when it a impacted a shelf and broke... what an idiot. Second was the stirring rod. It was on my bed and I sitted on it...what an idiot 2. Two of the test tubes broke from heat. All this in first month. Now it's a year that i don't break anything... let's see how much time the survivors will survive

Other accidents:
-In my rookie days (about a year ago

. Half meter fireball :cool:

-The same with ethanol :cool:

This makes a good anti-campaign for the case of the amateur scientist. Amateur scientists are idiots who blow up themselves, maim themselves and put fire to the house in which they live. It is time that you do a better job or it is time that you quit the hobby of home chemistry completely.

What most irks me in this is that you seem not to learn from previous near-disasters. A fireball from boiling acetone and then some time later the same kind of near-accident with ethanol? Not cool at all :mad:

[Edited on 25-6-10 by woelen]

The WiZard is In - 25-6-2010 at 06:53

Quote: Originally posted by the Z man

Glassware:
For me glassware is very hard to buy.

----------
Don't put a thick walled - side arm vacuum flask on the
hot plate - burner..... C-R-A-C-K!

Ether? No. Ether!

The WiZard is In - 25-6-2010 at 06:59

New York Times
THE CITY; 4 Students Hurt In Lab Explosion
March 2, 1984

Four students were injured, one of them seriously, in an explosion last night in a
chemistry laboratory at La Guardia Community College in Long Island City,
Queens, the police said.

The explosion occurred when a student carrying a beaker containing a liter of
ether accidentally dropped the flammable liquid over the open flame of a Bunsen
burner.

The student, Julio Avalos, 23 years old, of Queens, was taken to the burn unit of
New York Hospital in Manhattan, where he was listed in fair condition. Also at
New York Hospital was another of the students, Marco Celallos, 42, of Queens,
who was listed in good condition. A third student was treated and released from
City Hospital Center in Elmhurst, and the fourth injured student was treated at
the scene.

The accident occurred at 8 P.M. in the organic chemistry laboratory at 31-10
Thomson Avenue.

rrkss - 25-6-2010 at 11:20

Wow somebody carries a liter of ether in a beaker with open flames in the lab? Strange that something like this would happen in a teaching environment. Sounds more like what would occur in a meth lab.

JohnWW - 25-6-2010 at 13:56

Was Julio Avalos given a "fail" grade in Organic Chemistry 300 as the result of that ether explosion?

The WiZard is In - 25-6-2010 at 14:10

Quote: Originally posted by rrkss

Wow somebody carries a
liter of ether in a beaker with open flames in the lab? Strange that
something like this would happen in a teaching environment.
Sounds more like what would occur in a meth lab.

Well it do be Community College i.e., a 2-year college. AAS
&c.

I remember in Chem 101 or 2 while doing boiling points, you know
with the little tube rubber banded to the thermometer. Someone
rather than putting acetone in the little tube, and filling the beaker
with water .... filled the beaker w/ acetone and proceed to
boil it unit it inflamed!

Then I remember someone whose name is better not
mentioned here who added tooooo much ethanol to whatever
experiment ....so he hooked up the flask to the house vacuum —
and boiled off the access. Hope they had a good trap!

Your results (gas law experiment) are too good!

Good to a million decimal points as I just did the math and
made the results come out right, very-very right.

the Z man - 26-6-2010 at 04:24

Quote: Originally posted by woelen

Quote: Originally posted by the Z man

Other accidents:
-In my rookie days (about a year ago

. Half meter fireball :cool:

-The same with ethanol :cool:

[Edited on 25-6-10 by woelen]

Be sure I learned from my errors. My last (minor) accident was several months ago. Actually the acetone and ethanol accidents were not really dangerous, trust me. That's why I recall them with amusement. Don't take my :cool:

smile like "Yo bro It Waz so K3wl, goTTa doo dat again". More like "now it's funny to see how much stupid I could be"

. About the acid and NaOH ones I admit I was very imprudent but I was very unexperienced. Plus I bet most of you have experienced something similar

.
I'm still learning and trying to improve

The WiZard is In - 26-6-2010 at 05:48

STUDENT LOOSED HANDS IN BLAST AT RUTGERS
New York Times, May 6, 1949

NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J., May 5—An 18-year-old freshman lost
both hands and two other class-mates of the same age received
burns today in an explosion resulting from an unauthorized
chemical experiment in a University Heights laboratory at Rutgers
University.

A spokesman for the university identified the injured students as
Anthony J. Iannarone of 19 Tremont Avenue, Belleville, N. J.;
Walter Wnek Jr. of 205 La Rue Street, Philadelphia, and John H ,
Austin of 422 Morgan Avenue, Palmyra, N. J. In addition to losing
both hands the Iannarone youth received possible chest injuries.
He was removed to St. Peter's Hospital here, where his condition
was listed as fair.

The Wnek boy suffered burns on his right elbow and cuts on his
face and the Austin youth burns on his left arm. Both were treated
at the infirmary and released.

As reconstructed by college officials, the trio were members of a
freshman chemistry class of thirty students that had started soon
after 1 P. M. At 3:30 P. M., when the regular session was over,
the instructor left the room, In his absence the lannarone boy
used four chemicals left over from a previous experiment--red
phosphorus, dry shellac, magnesium and potassium
chlorate,--and combined them in a paper cup. When a second
paper cup was put over the mixture in his hand the explosion
occurred.

lannarone is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony P. T. Iannarone of
the Belleville address. His father is a postal clerk. A chemistry
major, the injured student was graduated thirty-fifth in a class of
239 from Belleville High School last year.

====
NY Times
30iv52

"Anthony Iannarone revives scholarship to NYU Law School."
Presumable not for basketball.

woelen - 26-6-2010 at 08:47

Quote: Originally posted by the Z man

smile like "Yo bro It Waz so K3wl, goTTa doo dat again". More like "now it's funny to see how much stupid I could be"

. About the acid and NaOH ones I admit I was very imprudent but I was very unexperienced. Plus I bet most of you have experienced something similar

.
I'm still learning and trying to improve

Ah, good to read this post. People being inexperienced is not a problem to me (I also once was and in some areas I still am), but the stupid K3wLs do irk me. My somewhat harsh post also was partially induced by the fact that we lost a member at this forum appr. 2 months ago who probably died after a stupidly dangerous chemical experiment (not 100% sure though). I will do everything I can to prevent another thing like that happening.

rrkss - 26-6-2010 at 11:08

Z man, I just hope you are wearing personal protective gear like safety goggles and a lab coat. I once had an incident in my stupid and naive days where I tried to free a frozen stopper by boiling the liquid in the flask (mostly concentrated H2SO4). ended up freeing the stopper but sprayed H2SO4 all over my backyard and got a little on my hand. My PPG saved my face, torso, eyes... Only had a minor second degree burn on my hand which took 3 weeks to heal with no scars. The good thing about it is I learned about safety without any real difigurement and also saw first hand why PPG is so important.

psychokinetic - 26-6-2010 at 15:04

Good to hear you learned, Z man. That could've been a lot worse than it was!

I've learned to think ahead, plan ahead, and predict what may happen (while of course being prepared to encounter the unexpected

Skyjumper - 26-6-2010 at 16:36

Quote: Originally posted by the Z man

smile like "Yo bro It Waz so K3wl, goTTa doo dat again". More like "now it's funny to see how much stupid I could be"

. About the acid and NaOH ones I admit I was very imprudent but I was very unexperienced. Plus I bet most of you have experienced something similar

.
I'm still learning and trying to improve

Well, I have read some of your other posts, and you seem to have an obsession on the explosive aspects of chemistry. I noticed you did a thermite style reaction involving lead oxide. You spoke of the lead being vaporized. That's concerning, its a bad bad carcinogen, and you breathed it in. Same with the nitric and sulfuric (IN YOUR ROOM?!) Thats just stupid. The acetone and ethanol events, you say you learned from them, but just the fact you look back with a laugh shows you have not. Just because it wasn't bad that time doesn't mean next time it wont shatter the flask and send shards of glass into your body.

Some of the stupid things you (and others, lord knows you are not the only one) do wont effect you for years. These things could also effect your family, friends and neighbors.

Purification of toluene w/ sodium explosion

The WiZard is In - 27-6-2010 at 07:07

http://tinyurl.com/2b4obck

10-drops of nitroglycerine

The WiZard is In - 28-6-2010 at 06:13

Bruce Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 1939, 9 March 1888, Page 5
http://tinyurl.com/3abdj8k

EXPLOSIVE POWER OF NITRO-GLYCERINE.

An instance of the extraordinary explosive power of a small quantity of nitro-
glycerine is recorded by Dr Gorup Besamez. The incident was the explosion of
only ten drops of the substance in his laboratory, and the astonishing effects he
records as resulting from this explosion are well calculated to give a most
respectable and respectful notion of the properties of nitro-glycerine. One of the
doctor's pupils, in the course of an investigation, placed the above-mentioned
quantity (!) of the substance in question in a small cast-iron dish heater over a
small Bunsen gas burner in common use in laboratories. While so engaged the
nitro-glycerine exploded with great violence, breaking 46 panes of glass in the
windows of the laboratory, hurled the iron dish against the brick wall, the iron
stand upon which it was supported partly split and partly twisted out of shape,
and the tube of the Bunsen burner split and flattened. Those in the laboratory
fortunately escaped without injury

RuO4

The WiZard is In - 29-6-2010 at 06:39

Journal - Chemical Society, London, Volume 29. 1876.
Chemical Society (Great Britain)

Ruthenium and its Oxygen Compounds. By H. SainteClaire Deville and H. Debray
(Compt. rend., Ixxx, 457— 461).

The authors prepared hyperruthenic acid (Ru04) by the action of chlorine on the
rutheniates of potassium, sodium, and barium, and obtained it in yellow, regular
crystals, but its instability prevented a determination of the form. On their
attempting to distil 150 grams of it in a closed glass apparatus, a rapid evolution of
gas occurred at 108°, and immediately a violent explosion shattered the vessel to
atoms, the laboratory being instantly filled with a dense black smoke, as if a large
quantity of turpentine had been burnt. A suffocating odour of ozone pervaded the
apartment; but no other inconvenience was felt, and therefore it appears that
hyperrnthenic acid is not dangerous, like osmic acid. A sensation of warmth was
experienced, similar to that observed when the hand is thrust into carbonic acid.
When ruthenium is heated in the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, the same black vapour and
smell of ozone are produced. Thus, hyperrutheuic acid, which is decomposed with
explosion at 108°, can be produced at the highest temperatures, and when so formed
decomposes at the lower temperature, with liberation of ozone. This is an instance of
decomposition by cooling, or the inverse of that -which occurs in ordinary cases of
dissociation. The authors found appreciable quantities of ruthenium in a sample of
commercial platinum.

THE CHEMICAL NEWS.
VOL. LXXVIII., NO. 2036.
RUTHENIUM TETROXIDE: AN EXPLOSION. By JAS. LEWIS HOWE.

IT may be worth while to call attention to an explosion which occurred recently in this
laboratory in connexion with work on ruthenium tetroxide. As is well known, the only
satisfactory method of obtaining pure ruthenium is that of passing a rapid current of
chlorine through a solution of the melt obtained by fusing crude ruthenium with
caustic potash and saltpetre. The distillate, which consists of Ru04, is generally
received in dilute alcoholic potash, the ruthenium being precipitated as a hydroxide,
n the case noted the distillate was collected in a small flask for the purpose of
obtaining the Ru04, the excess of chlorine and Ru04 being led into dilute alcoholic
potash, the amount of alcohol being about 10 per cent. After some 5 grms. of Ru04
bad been collected the chlorine tube became stopped up, and the alcoholic potash
solution sucked back into the flask containing the Ru04. In a moment there was a
very violent explosion, the apparatus being completely shattered. The force of the
explosion can be judged by the (aft that a splinter of the thin flask was driven
through a thick glass bottle standing near by, making a hole about 3x1 m.m., but not
breaking and hardly cracking the bottle. One is reminded of the accident in Deville's
laboratory, when nearly 100 grms. of Ru04 in process of distillation exploded with
terrific violence. Ru04 is so rapidly reduced by organic substances that, if any
considerable quantity is present, the heat of the reaction causes instantaneous
decomposition. A drop of Ru04 coming in contact with rubber, wood, or many other
organic substances, instantly explodes. On the other hand, in the distillation with
chlorine, the Ru04 can be received apparently with perfect safety in dilute alcoholic
potash.

The dense black smoke produced when Ru04 explodes is readily soluble in
hydrochloric acid, and hence probably consists of Ru203. When Ru04 in a liquid
condition is brought in contact with a lump of sulphur, the latter becomes gradually
covered with a black deposit, and in the course of a few moments an explosion takes
place. Here the sulphur seems capable of reducing Ru04, a hitherto unnoticed.

Chemical Laboratory of the Washington and Lee
University, Lexington, Virginia.

Michael Faraday

The WiZard is In - 30-6-2010 at 05:57

The annual register, Volume 112. 1871.
edited by Edmund Burke

The " Life and Letters of Faraday, by Dr. Bence Jones," is just the sort of book we like
to have for the commemoration of such a man as Faraday, one whose childlike
simplicity fitted him to be the follower of that great philosopher who, at the end of
his days, said he could only think of his career on earth as that of a man " picking up
a few pebbles on the sea-shore………….

His love for science was still further stimulated by the opportunity of reading the
article on electricity in an Encyclopaedia he was employed to bind. Shortly
afterwards, having had the chance of hearing a course of lectures by Sir Humphrey
Davy, he took the bold step of writing to the great philosopher and of enclosing to
him a short abstract of his lectures. Sir Humphrey was much struck by the talent of
the young man, and, though he dissuaded him from the pursuit of science as a means
of livelihood, not long afterwards obtained for him his appointment to the Royal
Institution, with a salary of 26s. per week, as an assistant in the laboratory, with the
use of two rooms at the top of the house. Nor was his place there either a sinecure or
free from danger; on the contrary, he was nearly blown to pieces by an explosion of
detonating powder. As he says himself, " Of these the most terrible was when I was
holding between my finger and thumb a small tube, containing about 7 1/2 grains of
it. My face was within twelve inches of the tube, but fortunately I had on a glass
mask. It exploded by the slight heat of a small piece of cement, that touched the glass
about half-an-inch from the substance, and on the outside. The explosion was so
rapid, as to blow my hand open, tear off part of the nail, and has made my fingers so
sore that I cannot yet use them easily. The pieces of tube were projected with such
force as to cut the glass face of the mask I had on." In the autumn of the same year,
he accompanied Sir Humphrey Davy on a tour of a year and a half on the Continent—
………

---
Most I suspect know that the Farad - The unit of capacitance in the
meter-kilogram-second system, was named for Michael Faraday.
Who among you knew that the deciBel (dB) was named for A. G.
Bell's daughter Deci? Or that the unit of conductance, admittance,
and susceptance the Mho (now Seimen) was named for one of the
Three Stooges?

djh
-----
Sigma field (algebra) — A collection of
subsets of a given set which contains the
empty set and is closed under countable
union and complementation of sets.

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