Sciencemadness Discussion Board

hi there

Crimson - 30-7-2005 at 11:27

hi there!

My name is Itamar, but you can call me Pit, and I wish to practice some real chemistry, and sure glad to find out about this forum.
I had been studying some chem during highschool, and it was fun.. but experimenting sounds more attractive.
I started downloading every pdf I found in the web about chem, and was overwhelmed by the huge number..

So.. I ask you wise ones, where and how to begin?
Tell me exactly which books should I get, how to build home lab, find the proper materials and start experimenting.

sincerely yours,
Pit

neutrino - 30-7-2005 at 11:48

Just start reading around the forum and you'll get a sense of these things.

latentheat - 30-7-2005 at 17:25

Hi!

High school chem class is what got me interested in chemistry too, although I had always been interested in science. I went beyond what I learned in class by reading a ton on the internet.

Look through this board and other science boards and you will learn a lot. If you ever want information about a specific topic Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/) is a goldmine of information.

For materials - glassware can be ordered online, as can a lot of chemicals. Common oxidizers and metals can be found on pyrotechnics sites, and pottery and photography stores are goldmines for chemicals.

Some chemicals can be found right at the hardware store like hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, lots of solvents, potassium nitrate... you may even find copper sulfate and potassium permanganate. Read the labels of a lot of stuff, you never know what you'll find. Drug stores are another place to snoop for chems.

If you see an experiment or project that intersts you try it out. Eventually you'll get to the point where new things just come to you.

Oh yeah, this is my first post here. I've been lurking for awhile :P