Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Shrink dollar bills with Anhydrous Ammonia

marku - 31-5-2005 at 10:51

Not sure where to post this so here goes. Thanks for any help.......A friend wants to shrink some dollar bills for his magic act. He has read that "To shrink a dollar bill, you must dip it into anhydrous liquid ammonia (at -28 degrees Fahrenheit) and the bill will shrink. That works with the older paper bills ... not sure if it will work with the newer bills. One other source said to dip it ten times".

Anyone have any ideas on this or know someone who is set up to do this safely?

[Edited on 31-5-2005 by marku]

Blind Angel - 31-5-2005 at 13:06

The hardest part will be to get anhydrous amonia, it's very toxic, and very watched. I suggest not toying with it without proper equipement and chemistry knowledge. It's not the kind of chemical you can dip you hand in (unless you want sever burn) or that you can breath (unless you want serious respiratory problem).

neutrino - 31-5-2005 at 13:16

I agree with that assesment. Here is an article on this strange phenomenon.

Quote:
Caution: The entire demonstration must be done in a [fume] hood. Wear goggles, protective gloves, and protective clothing.

Thanks for the info.

marku - 31-5-2005 at 13:27

Thanks Blind Angel and Neutrino...I'll take your suggestions and stay far, far away. Maybe someone who routinely works with this stuff in Agriculture might be able to help? By the way, I saw one of the dollar bills that had been shrunk with this process. Looks like 70% of the original without any other differences that I could see.

neutrino - 31-5-2005 at 15:12

Just FYI, anhydrous liquid ammonia is used to make drugs. Be careful not to raise any eyebrows.

marku - 1-6-2005 at 08:05

Neutrino...thanks for the info. I did a little research on this last night and found out the same thing. I think I'll tell my friend to leave out the dollar bill routine in his act and work on a "saw the lady in half" trick instead.

Blind Angel - 1-6-2005 at 08:09

Safer :D

my nootloss - 19-6-2005 at 19:52

I wonder what the bank would do if you went to try and deposit one, ha-ha.

[Edited on 20-6-2005 by my nootloss]

12AX7 - 19-6-2005 at 21:35

Might be a good joke on the cashier, but since you're trying to use altered money as tender, it would technically be a federal offense.

Tim