Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Little things that surprised you in chemistry

Little things that surprised you in chemistry

Brain&Force - 12-1-2014 at 17:52

Share some of the simple yet unusual results and observations you've made in the lab. A couple of mine:

The weakness of nickel's magnetism. When I read that nickel is ferromagnetic, I thought it was a whole lot stronger (comparable with Fe and Co). Terbium is only paramagnetic at room temperature yet it is more strongly attracted than nickel.

The difficulty of dissolving copper sulfate in water. That takes forever!

How truly dark a solution of permanganate is. I tried the chemical chameleon demo but ruined it with too much permanganate. Similarly, the darkness of iodine vapor also surprised me.

I once turned on a magnetic stirrer with a neodymium magnet in the vicinity and the magnet did the shimmy n' shake, which conveniently entertained a group of chem students.

blargish - 12-1-2014 at 20:43

I'm not too much of a pyrotechnics guy, but I remember the first time I made TATP (only a few grams or so). I underestimated how loud the detonation would be, and when I hit just under a gram with a hammer, my eardrums blew out. My head was ringing for the rest of the day. Oops

The darkness of permanganate solution was surprising to me too, as well as the deep blue color of the tetrammine copper (II) ion in solution.

The color of chlorine gas is another thing that surprised me, as its more vivid in real life than what you see in pictures and videos

[Edited on 13-1-2014 by blargish]

UnintentionalChaos - 12-1-2014 at 21:03

How bloody dense mercury is...and bromine for that matter.

Also I recently made a tiny bit of dinitrophenols. I think the solution of the sodium salt is the most intensely yellow thing I have ever seen. A bit was spilled and half a roll of yellow paper towels later, my benchtop is still stained. It's now in a dessicator over KOH and because it's slightly volatile the KOH is becoming increasingly yellow over time.

[Edited on 1-13-14 by UnintentionalChaos]

woelen - 13-1-2014 at 04:33

A few things which really surprised me were

- Darkness of a solution of KMnO4. I even did experiments with that and showed it to other people. Most striking is adding a single crystal of less than 1 mm diameter to a full PET bottle of water and dissolving this.

- The appearance of colored gases fascinated me at once, the first time I saw them (e.g. Cl2, Br2-vapor, NO2, ONCl). They are so different from smoke of similar colors or even transparent liquids of similar colors. As if there is nothing and yet you see the colors and transparency.

- All the different colors of the Cr(3+) ion, such as deep purple, grey, green and even blue, when it is made by reducing dichromate in acidic solution. Now I know about its coordination chemistry, but when I discovered this as a schoolboy by experimenting in my parent's house garage, I was really stunned by this phenomenon.

More recently I am susprised how even with very common and very well-known reagents there still are quite a few reactions which are never mentioned in text-books and of which very few people know. To name a few:
- dissolve some sulfite or bisulfite in dilute acid and add a pinch of iodide (not iodine, but iodide, e.g. the potassium salt): a bright yellow compound is formed
- Dissolve some copper in a solution of copper(II) sulfate or copper(II) chloride in conc. HCl. You get a dark brown, nearly black complex, which must be some mixed copper(I)/copper(II) chloro complex. If excess copper is used and air is excluded, then you finally get a (nearly) colorless solution.
- Add a solution of sodium nitrite to an acidified solution of a thiocyanate salt: You get an intense dark red/brown solution, which slowly fades.
- Add some peroxodisulfate (common PCB etchant) to a solution of silver nitrate in moderately concentrated HNO3: You get an intense dark brown solution, some silver-complex is formed with silver in oxidation state larger than +1.

[Edited on 13-1-14 by woelen]

plante1999 - 13-1-2014 at 05:02

Few of mine:

- The density of bromine and mercury.

- The corrosion done by HCl on anything metallic (had to put the bottle outside to be sure).

- The staining capability of nitro phenols.

- The efficiency of ppm of chloropicirin as an (unintentional) weapon towards people that do not work contently with chemicals.

- That people where able to understand me on this forum 3 years ago. Yesterday I stumbled upon one of my old post, and it was, well, far from optimal.

Vargouille - 13-1-2014 at 06:01

The lacrimatory strength of iodoacetone. For future reference, acetone is a poor substitute for malonic acid in a Briggs-Rauscher reaction.

One time I tried to make copper acetylsalicylate, but apparently my aspirin had gone bad, so I ended up only getting the salicylate.

The time I made a diamminecopper(II) dihydrogen cyanurate salt. It's a quite gentle purple color.

SM2 - 13-1-2014 at 06:44

(off topic) plante, your English suits me quite well

I'd just add, I'm amazed by the complexity and richness of organics obtainable only with
my propane tank, various props, and crude environmental controls.

Separation analysis is another story. Gross separation yet another.

TheChemiKid - 13-1-2014 at 12:58

Once held a little iridium at a demonstration, it was WAY heavier than I expected.

DraconicAcid - 13-1-2014 at 13:06

One thing that surprised me was exactly how vigorously dimanganese heptoxide will react with dichloromethane. I had read that this oxide could be extracted into "carbon tetrachloride or freons"; misremembered it as "carbon tetrachloride or chloroform" and reasoned that dichloromethane should also work. I was also surprised by how difficult the mess was to clean up.

I tried doing it again under more controlled conditions as a demo, and was surprised by the fact that it actually caught fire. I had always considered dichloromethane to be completely nonflammable.

MrHomeScientist - 13-1-2014 at 13:29

Quote: Originally posted by TheChemiKid

Once held a little iridium at a demonstration, it was WAY heavier than I expected.

Try osmium, it's imperceptibly heavier!

I have a small pellet of it, and I agree it's crazy how dense it is. I measured out an equal weight of lead and melted this into a pellet, and it's twice the size! Crazy when lead seems like a light metal in comparison.

Pyro - 13-1-2014 at 14:03

how heavy Hg, Br2 and lead salt solutions are.

how strongly nitrobenzene smells of almonds, I didn't have any spills during the synthesis, but my lab still smelt almondy after a few weeks, and the flammables cabinet I keep in it smells strongly of almonds (it is kept in a tightly closed Schott bottle)

beauty

quantumchromodynamics - 13-1-2014 at 14:25

For me, reactions have unique personality, when I really watch, i.e. watching a small bead of mercury wiggling into smaller and smaller beads, each bead wiggling spiral trails of bubbles; while nitrating mercury. Changing densities, changing states, changing temperatures, changing molecules, absolutely fascinating...

Surprising nostril melting stenches...

Crystal formation, and how mathematical they are. It is like Plato was correct, in that pure abstraction and symmetry exist outside our minds.

Mailinmypocket - 13-1-2014 at 14:27

The sound of detonating a speck of silver acetylide is wonderful and scared the hell out of me the first time I did it. Rhodamine B and it's ability to stain, fluoresce and reveal small specks of itself when counters are wiped down also was impressive.

Zyklon-A - 13-1-2014 at 19:15

The smell of chlorine, need I say more..... well I will anyway, the first time I smelled chlorine, it was from electrolysis of NaCl solution ( higher voltage tends to make more Cl than low), it smelled bad but not that bad, because it was low ppm, I thought I had really smelled Cl, than when I actually made some (CaOCl +HCl) I was coughing for like 20 minutes.
Also how bright Mg ribbon burns, I had seen it a few times on the internet, but it is so much brighter in real life. Same with Al/Mg flash powders.

[Edited on 14-1-2014 by Zyklonb]

Bot0nist - 13-1-2014 at 19:27

The first time I made copper sulfate from peroxide and sulfuric acid. The beautiful crystals that grew on the peice of pipe overnight. Then when I added some Al foil and a pinch of NaCl to a solution of it... Wow. The precipitated copper was awsome. I then mixed the ultra fine copper with some homemade potassium chlorate(from bleach and KCl) and the resulting flash powder made a beautiful flame. I was hooked imeadiatly.

I once made a few ml of MEKP, and absorbed it into a wooden match stick. The bang that it made when ignited was very suprising indeed (self confined in the wood i guess). I never thought such a small amount of a compound could make my ears ring for so long.... Ahh, the good ol' days.

Zyklon-A - 13-1-2014 at 19:34

Wow! I didn't know that you could make flash powder with Cu.
Ps. Your location is super creepy, lol.

Bot0nist - 13-1-2014 at 19:45

It was slow compared to pyro Al flash, but still fast enough for a whoomp sound. The key is to use the copper before it oxidizes to much. My location... you can take it as " I have you back" if you'd like.

Yours is rather creepy too...

[Edited on 14-1-2014 by Bot0nist]

Zyklon-A - 13-1-2014 at 19:51

Fair enough.

For sure going to make copper flash powder, sounds fun.

Bot0nist - 13-1-2014 at 19:59

Try it out. The best way to get the superfine particals of Cu is from the copper sulfate, Al precipitation. Just add a pinch of salt to the copper sulfate solution, then a piece of foil, and wash the copper In warm water, then a bit of acetone to remove the chlorides and help it dry fast. Use a balanced amount of fine, dry chlorate. Please use immediatly and in very small quantities. Chlorate mixes are not know for their stability or safety.

Have fun and be safe.

Zyklon-A - 13-1-2014 at 20:08

Cool, I only have a 1 molar solution of CuSO4, would that work?
Instead of acetone could I use isopropanol alcohol?

Bot0nist - 13-1-2014 at 20:25

I suppose. You could also easily concentrate the copper sulfate solution to make the reaction more rapid and complete. I used an excess of copper sulfate in order for the Al to completely dissolve.

Random - 17-1-2014 at 18:27

Quote: Originally posted by Zyklonb

Also how bright Mg ribbon burns, I had seen it a few times on the internet, but it is so much brighter in real life. Same with Al/Mg flash powders.

[Edited on 14-1-2014 by Zyklonb]

Don't watch this without eye protection though if you value your eyes.

Zyklon-A - 17-1-2014 at 18:40

The first time it surprised me, that time I didn't have eye protection, now I at least wear 'sunglasses', and a lot of the time I look away, a little.

[Edited on 18-1-2014 by Zyklonb]

cyanureeves - 17-1-2014 at 19:02

the heat sulfuric acid drain cleaner and water generated in a bottle i was holding and how it was dissolving metal before my eyes stopped me in my tracks.why?why?why?even after using drain cleaners for years i never gave that reaction a second thought until mine eyes were opened like Balaam and the donkey.

[Edited on 1-18-2014 by cyanureeves]

Brain&Force - 17-1-2014 at 19:17

The colors of complexed transition metal salts. I like the colors of copper(II) and cobalt(II) in HCl a lot.
Smoke of ammonium chloride from HCl and ammonia. This is really cool.
How different silicon is from the metals. It would be nice for jewelry because of its luster. Yet it feels so light and fragile.
The brittleness of manganese. It breaks so easily, which is useful if you need high surface area for a reaction.
The tendency for transition metals to give similar bluish-green flames in flame tests, not the diverse colors of the alkali metals.

I'd like to get some neodymium or holmium for the absorption bands demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEK90hf49Jk

repo1030 - 26-1-2014 at 22:01

The first time I dealt with concentrated sulfuric acid. I know it sounds like a given but it is amazing (and a little scary) just how nasty this stuff is. I bought some battery acid from AutoZone which was something like 34% according to the MSDS.

I poured this on some sugar and, of course, nothing happened. I then concentrated it by boiling it for over 4 hours (outside; it was cool out so it took longer than I thought). I was amazed by the little black spot it left on my workbench when a drop fell from my funnel after transferring it to storage bottles. I ended up with about 94% concentration at that point.

Another thing that surprised me was; when I was in 8th grade chem class, we put zinc in a test tube, poured HCl in it, and then held a lit match in the opening. The ignition of the hydrogen was surprising and it's what really hooked me.

Simple things, yet very fascinating.

Brain&Force - 27-1-2014 at 15:51

I spilled some 6 M HCl on my hand, quickly rinsed it off, and suffered no ill effects. I expected stinging and peeling skin. No wonder why they use it in schools.

The truly gray flame created by methyl nitrite. It's almost creepy.

How shiny iodine is for a nonmetal. And silicon too (even though it's a metalloid).

Zyklon-A - 27-1-2014 at 17:27

I once spilled 10 Molar HCl on my skin, within an arms reach away, I had a NaHCO₃ solution, so I put my hand in there for a few seconds and my skin looked and felt fine. Con sulfuric acid is another story though...

plante1999 - 27-1-2014 at 19:06

The skin of hands and arms is quite though, I already spilled conc. sulphuric, hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric, various organic acid, and many other corossive liquid and solutions, but on the hands or arms it does not do much, really, else then for the nitric acid, if action is taken in the 5 next minutes I can't see any change really on my skin. But when I got some acid on my face, well I was amazed by how easy it is to burn the face using acid, probably even 20% HCl could work.

cyanureeves - 27-1-2014 at 19:21

the bang just a puny amount of silver acetylide can deliver is something to be respected and certainly surprising.i always thought things that went bang, had to be wrapped tightly in paper like firecrackers.even my neighbors dogs were like WTF?? it aint no where near 4th of july!!honestly i was a bit embarrassed to find myself curious enough to make silver acetylide.

Zyklon-A - 27-1-2014 at 19:48

I still don't know how silver acetylide can make such a big bang, when no gasses are evolved. It just makes silver and carbon.

Eddygp - 28-1-2014 at 14:45

How ammonia gas reacted so rapidly with a CuO coating on a Cu wire to reduce it (during heating). Rather unexpected, I was thinking "why the hell does heating this burnt wire turn it brilliantly shiny?". Then, the awesome NH₃ odour hit my nostrils and I realised. NaOH+NH₄H₂PO₄ is quite vigorous, even more so than I had expected.

Brain&Force - 30-1-2014 at 19:59

Ferric nitrate is so weird. It starts off as purple crystals, but dissolves to give a yellowish-brown solution. I know that iron(III) salts tend to hydrolyze easily, but that kind of color change isn't hydrolysis (at least, not to my knowledge).

[Edited on 31-1-2014 by Brain&Force]

neptunium - 30-1-2014 at 20:41

the corrosive power of fluorine gas is beyond anything i`ve ever seen,
the density of bromine
the aboundance of chemical availlable in nature
the light outup of white phosphorus
the oxidation ability of KMnO4
the power of freezing water

[Edited on 31-1-2014 by neptunium]

DraconicAcid - 30-1-2014 at 20:44

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

Ferric nitrate is so weird. It starts off as purple crystals, but dissolves to give a yellowish-brown solution. I know that iron(III) salts tend to hydrolyze easily, but that kind of color change isn't hydrolysis (at least, not to my knowledge).

[Edited on 31-1-2014 by Brain&Force]

It is, actually. It starts off as [Fe(H₂O)₆]³⁺, which is purple, and then deprotonates to give [Fe(OH)(H₂O)₅]²⁺, which isn't.

Brain&Force - 30-1-2014 at 21:59

Quote: Originally posted by DraconicAcid

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

It is, actually. It starts off as [Fe(H₂O)₆]³⁺, which is purple, and then deprotonates to give [Fe(OH)(H₂O)₅]²⁺, which isn't.

That's right I completely forgot about the deprotonation (I thought they were two seperate phenomena). I'll try adding some nitric acid to my solution to revert it to purple.

I just never knew the deprotonation happens so fast. When I was preparing ferric nitrate I thought it was reacting with some contaminant.

Brain&Force - 4-2-2014 at 21:27

I acidified the ferric nitrate and what do I get? A clear, colorless solution. I guess a d⁵ high spin complex forms.
Nickel and cobalt coordination chemistry are also pretty interesting. Especially the deep blue of cobalt hydroxide.
For the first time I witnessed the raw power of 6M nitric acid. I dissolved a ~10g Nd magnet and it was completely destroyed in a sudden, massive puff of blood-red NO₂. I was shocked at the speed at which it disappeared - and glad I did this in a fume hood.

Glass

GoldGuy - 4-2-2014 at 22:05

1. Glass is:

a. transparent b. inert c. cheap d. easy to make into any shape

Such a perfect material

2. I hated cold weather until I started doing certain procedures which work much better in the cold or need cooling in order to separate. Still hate cold weather but I now see a very good purpose for it.

3. Im also surprised at how much chemicaphobia there is out there. Most people truly are dumb

Fenir - 5-2-2014 at 20:35

I was amazed when, upon heating, crystals of sodium thiosulphate dissolved into their own water of crystallization, and then became a solid again.

Zyklon-A - 6-2-2014 at 12:52

Quote: Originally posted by neptunium

the corrosive power of fluorine gas is beyond anything i`ve ever seen.

You have handled fluorine??

[Edited on 6-2-2014 by Zyklonb]

Ascaridole - 6-2-2014 at 13:11

I'll never forget the first time I walked into a synthetic chemists lab. That beautiful smell of chemistry at work… It just put a big smile on my face.

Praxichys - 7-2-2014 at 12:52

I am always amazed by the density of solid lead nitrate.

Precipitating a solid from two clear and colorless solutions, no matter how unsurprising, still puts a grin on my face.

The violence and rapidity with which chemical explosives release energy, and the heats of formation stacked through various precursors to bind said energy into the compound. Fascinating.

That peculiar way physics and chemistry meet, generating all manner of unexpected and often beautiful sights during a reaction like "Perfect" foam with completely uniform bubble size, rainbow colored thin-film interferance of oily layers on aqueous ones, the striking shimmer and mezmerizing structure of freshly dried crystals, little hydrophobic beads of liquid skittering across the surface tension of others...

I love chemistry!

Brain&Force - 11-2-2014 at 18:50

How fast CuCl₂ coordinates to ammonia and chloride, even when solid. The gamut of color changes is quite attractive.

The needle-like crystals of CuCl₂ and KMnO₄ differ immensely from the stocky ones produced by NiSO₄ and octahedral alum and make for interesting variation for those who collect crystals.

[Edited on 12-2-2014 by Brain&Force]

Morgan - 12-2-2014 at 09:46

How I saw a film in my eighth grade science class entitled Thixotropy whereupon a solid thixotropic black solid rod tapped on the counter to show it's solid and then stood on end and hit with a hammer, undergoes a change of state into a black syrupy liquid and nobody here has heard of it or knows how to make it.

[Edited on 12-2-2014 by Morgan]

Zyklon-A - 12-2-2014 at 12:19

My old physical science book talks about that, it says, "In the earth, there is a small portion of the mantle called the asthenosphere. At the pressure and temperature found in the asthenosphere, rock is not completely solid. It behaves more like a very thick syrup, flowing around the mantle. When subjected to abrupt force, however, the "syrup" hardens into a firm solid. Scientists call this Plastic Rock."
I found a link that shows how to make a similar substance from cornstarch and water. http://appliejuice.wordpress.com/2007/10/29/physical-science...
The link is kind of stupid and messy, but it does describe it a little. I just retyped what my 9th grade science book said, I don't really think that scientists call the stuff "Plastic Rock".

[Edited on 12-2-2014 by Zyklonb]

Mailinmypocket - 12-2-2014 at 12:24

I find it annoying how diethyl ether seems eager to sneak out of its bottle. Teflon tape, aluminum foil under the cap and more Teflon tape and it still comes through creating the Exxon Valdiz odor in storage. This is from a manufacturers bottle by the way, you think they would know better. Crazy stuff.

mr.crow - 12-2-2014 at 18:21

Quote: Originally posted by Mailinmypocket

I find it annoying how diethyl ether seems eager to sneak out of its bottle. Teflon tape, aluminum foil under the cap and more Teflon tape and it still comes through creating the Exxon Valdiz odor in storage. This is from a manufacturers bottle by the way, you think they would know better. Crazy stuff.

Try wrapping the cap with metal tape (the kind for ducts) then another to seal the cap to the bottle. Maybe the ether will dissolve the glue!

Mailinmypocket - 13-2-2014 at 06:25

I ended up discovering that one of my Qorpak jars has a teflon lined cap that fits the bottle exactly. Its a pity I had to waste a cap on a bottle that should have a good one to begin with but oh well... at least that horrible odor is gone

UnintentionalChaos - 14-2-2014 at 21:20

Has anyone else found benzene and halobenzenes to be oddly "foamy" before? Most of the other organic solvents seem to have far too low surface tension to support bubbles, but benzene manages just fine if you shake its container.

[Edited on 2-15-14 by UnintentionalChaos]

elementcollector1 - 16-2-2014 at 18:03

Gonna agree on the density of mercury - just ampouled some, and a drop hitting the side feels less like a drop and more like a very small hammer.

mr.crow - 17-2-2014 at 09:34

Quote: Originally posted by elementcollector1

Gonna agree on the density of mercury - just ampouled some, and a drop hitting the side feels less like a drop and more like a very small hammer.

Agreed. I have a Pyrex media bottle with 120g of Hg and its only ~10mL. So fun to slosh around.

Zyklon-A - 27-2-2014 at 08:16

The fact that stainless steel can withstand nitric-sulfuric acid mixed, almost nothing can survive such a corrosive mixture.
Also, I'm amazed at reactions where two (or more) gasses react on contact, to produce a solid. Eg: 2 NH₃(g) + 4 O₃(g) → NH₄NO₃(s) + 4 O₂(g) + H₂O(l). Also: NH₃(g) + HCl(g) → NH₄Cl.(s)

[Edited on 27-2-2014 by Zyklonb]

Töilet Plünger - 27-2-2014 at 16:58

It's too easy to make batteries at home. I made a 5V stack from pennies, nickels, and acetic acid-soaked paper. I think it would be quite interesting to make one with aluminum replacing pennies and permanganate replacing the acetic acid.

Brain&Force - 12-6-2014 at 20:38

The incredible decongestant ability of ammonia for people like me with allergic rhinitis. Believe me, it works - 15% is sufficient.

alexleyenda - 13-6-2014 at 12:59

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

The incredible decongestant ability of ammonia for people like me with allergic rhinitis. Believe me, it works - 15% is sufficient.

HAHA this one is a good one. However I wanna puke every time I smell ammonia... This smell...

NexusDNA - 13-6-2014 at 13:04

Brain&Force, hahaha, I have exactly the opposite experience!

After making hexamine from formaldehyde and ammonia, I spent almost 2 weeks with a runny nose.

[Edited on 13-6-2014 by NexusDNA]

Brain&Force - 13-6-2014 at 13:28

Am I seriously the only person who LOVES the smell of ammonia? Everyone else gives me weird looks - even the chemistry teachers and professors!

alexleyenda - 13-6-2014 at 14:31

Yep, that smell is terrible. It feels like i'm dead and rotting from the inside every time I smell it. Honestly there is very few smells I like. I even hate isoamyl acetate and methyl salicylate.

On the subject, the density of bismuth metal is quite surprising, and how volatile acetone is too.

Zyklon-A - 13-6-2014 at 14:37

I like the smell of ammonia in rather low concentration.
The volatility of nitrogen tetroxide is really surprising, boils at about RT, but the liquid is fun to work with.

[Edited on 13-6-2014 by Zyklonb]

The Volatile Chemist - 13-6-2014 at 19:33

To me, ammonia smells like death incarnate.
That's one thing that really surprised me. I didn't know ammonia HAD a smell, till I made it a few weeks ago.

bismuthate - 14-6-2014 at 02:54

Ammonia can be good or bad depending on the circumstances, but I really love the smell of NO2.

The Volatile Chemist - 14-6-2014 at 05:29

Funny, I've never smelled NO2, but I've never made nitric acid, let alone owned sulfuric acid to make it.

Zyklon-A - 14-6-2014 at 05:56

Quote: Originally posted by bismuthate

I really love the smell of NO2.

Umm, really? I hate that smell.
In low concentrations I'm guessing. Still, it's such a bad smell.

Mailinmypocket - 14-6-2014 at 06:07

NO₂ is disgusting. At least bromine and chlorine, HCl etc have a pungent smell, but NO₂ has a heavy almost rich, creamy aspect that I find is offensive. Yuck!

Another surprising thing is how the odor of TCCA manages to escape almost any container and the same goes for diethyl ether. It's almost as bad as bromine(which is great stored in the freezer by the way).

alexleyenda - 18-6-2014 at 08:33

The volume of sulfuric acid increases so much with heat. From 20°C to 300°C, it can go up by around 20% from what I've seen.

Praxichys - 18-6-2014 at 09:28

@alexleyenda ...and that does not help things when one is trying to push the capacity of glassware for HNO₃ distillations, as my younger self would learn.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/cubical-expansion-coeffici...

15.4% from 20°C to 300°C, in fact.

alexleyenda - 18-6-2014 at 14:15

Yeah I was telling it by eyes, I didn't look for the exact value :p

Brain&Force - 20-7-2014 at 12:47

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

I once turned on a magnetic stirrer with a neodymium magnet in the vicinity and the magnet did the shimmy n' shake, which conveniently entertained a group of chem students.

I uploaded that footage to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khbYIBTQaz4

<iframe sandbox width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/khbYIBTQaz4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Volatile Chemist - 23-7-2014 at 06:02

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force

I once turned on a magnetic stirrer with a neodymium magnet in the vicinity and the magnet did the shimmy n' shake, which conveniently entertained a group of chem students.

I uploaded that footage to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khbYIBTQaz4

LOL that's hilarious! What's your channel?

I just got some sulfuric acid (FINALLY!) and I'm shocked at it's strength (even at ~8 mol/L). But then again, the only other acid I've worked with is vinegar.....

sasan - 23-7-2014 at 07:26

This little thing surprised me!!
The smallest beaker you've ever seen.1 mL

Brain&Force - 11-8-2014 at 09:43

Forgot about this thread: my channel is in my signature for anyone who's curious.

A weird thing I've seen is the ability of citric acid to bleach concrete in solid form and, when dilute, get infested with bacteria.

What exactly is the volume of that beaker?

careysub - 11-8-2014 at 11:15

Quote: Originally posted by Zyklon-A

I still don't know how silver acetylide can make such a big bang, when no gasses are evolved. It just makes silver and carbon.

I believe it is really the double salt:
Ag2C2.AgNO3

When it explodes the nitrogen and oxygen form some sort of gaseous product, maybe the oxygen oxidizes some/all of the carbon as well?

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/1963/tf10.1039...

AJKOER - 15-8-2014 at 06:17

What surprised me recently was when I placed an old nail in salt sea and 3% H2O2. No reaction, zip. Then, in a microwave for 30 seconds, and wow! Bubbles up like super strong acid from sea salt and dilute H2O2? Actually, constructed an Iron-Oxygen galvanic cell with an NaCl electrolyte.

Cool way to Fe2O3.xH2O (see pictures at http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=153&am... ).

[Edited on 15-8-2014 by AJKOER]

aga - 15-8-2014 at 14:48

Quote: Originally posted by The Volatile Chemist

I just got some sulfuric acid (FINALLY!) and I'm shocked at it's strength (even at ~8 mol/L). But then again, the only other acid I've worked with is vinegar.....

Boil it until it fumes. Outside ! (or fume hood)
You will know when it's Fumes and not just steam.
[~18] M results.
Dilute, or not, to suit requirement.
Add some 3% H2O2 then boil if it's Brown.
Pihranas Remove the brown fast.

If you get 18[M] H2SO4 and have any pure nitrate salt, distill HNO3, again Outside.
Ice chill condenser and receiver.

Awesome distillation. Orange gas !

I know you're not stupid, and would use appropriate protective gear/procedures when dealing with hot concentrated sulphuric acid, almost pure nitric acid and toxic NOx vapours.

The Volatile Chemist - 18-8-2014 at 09:26

And yet... My only dist. rig isn't ground glass, it's of the older style. I wouldn't want uncondensed fumes coming out the end of the condenser. I'll wait till I have a better (Or at least more sealed) setup.

Texium - 10-9-2014 at 14:38

One thing that I've found fascinating is how suspended particles can change the color of solutions in unexpected ways. Recently I've observed how an insoluble white impurity in some copper(II) acetate solution made the solution look much more blue- more like copper sulfate color rather than the teal that the acetate is. Also, suspended manganese dioxide in potassium permanganate can make the solution appear blood red (which was actually what the mystery I brought up in another thread was)

The Volatile Chemist - 11-9-2014 at 14:44

That's crazy! Especially suspended metal 'micro-particles'. Can totally give you a wrong idea about coloration.