Sciencemadness Discussion Board
Not logged in [Login ]
Go To Bottom

Printable Version  
 Pages:  1  2    4  5
Author: Subject: Competition — Lab from five OTC items
Hawkguy
Hazard to Others
***




Posts: 326
Registered: 10-10-2014
Location: British Columbia (Canada eh!)
Member Is Offline

Mood: Body is Ready

[*] posted on 13-11-2015 at 16:09


With Sulfuric Acid or Sodium bisulfate are also nice prospects.
View user's profile View All Posts By User
Etaoin Shrdlu
National Hazard
****




Posts: 724
Registered: 25-12-2013
Location: Wisconsin
Member Is Offline

Mood: Insufferable

[*] posted on 13-11-2015 at 18:12


Are brewery supply shops and/or health supplement stores fair game?
View user's profile View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 13-11-2015 at 18:33


Quote: Originally posted by Etaoin Shrdlu  
Are brewery supply shops and/or health supplement stores fair game?
oh yeah. Sodium metabisulfite, whey powder and choline chloride. There's some possibilities there.

Back soon.
View user's profile View All Posts By User
Texium
Administrator
********




Posts: 4508
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Offline

Mood: PhD candidate!

[*] posted on 13-11-2015 at 18:37


How about pottery stores, photography stores?



Come check out the Official Sciencemadness Wiki
They're not really active right now, but here's my YouTube channel and my blog.
View user's profile Visit user's homepage View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 14-11-2015 at 07:06


@aga
You know, the competition runs for a while. You might change your mind. Circumstances may change. I'd love to have you throw your hand in.

Or contribute some prize money. That's pretty cool too. The available loot here is creeping upwards. I will get back to you on that one. If we have many participants there might be reason to award second and third places.

@zts
Photographic stores I think will be ok. I mentioned them in the rules. But if your item comes from a photographic store and has no significant use in photography, then I think that steps over a line.

@MolecularWorld
I think it might be possible to be a bit pedantic on moving parts. I would not want to exclude something of the nature of a screw-top lid or a spring. One could even argue that a gas has many moving parts. I would allow an iron with a couple of switches and solenoids. Hopefully this does not open up realms of confusion. If anyone has a serious question on the matter, just ask.


As of aga's offer, the prize pool is 100USD, 50EUD and a package from woelen.
Counting U2Us and posts in this thread, there are 9-10 individuals that have indicated an interest in entering. Where they have been disclosed, the ideas have been really diverse and roughly split between organic and inorganic.

I can't wait to see them all come in.
View user's profile View All Posts By User
aga
Forum Drunkard
*****




Posts: 7030
Registered: 25-3-2014
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 14-11-2015 at 08:42


Depending on other pointless distractions (work, life etc) i may well have a bash at this.

Sounds like good fun almost anyone can have a go at.

The €50 is there either way.

(it's Euros, not Euro Dollars - Yet ! ;) )




View user's profile View All Posts By User
ave369
Eastern European Lady of Mad Science
****




Posts: 596
Registered: 8-7-2015
Location: No Location
Member Is Offline

Mood: No Mood

[*] posted on 16-11-2015 at 14:32


Here in Russia we have the KROT brand of drain openers. It is a mixture of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfate and sodium chloride. The hydroxide is in pellets, and the other two as fine powder, so you can easily separate the hydroxide with gauze cloth. I will definitely use this one, it can give me three chemicals for the price of one: sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid and sodium bisulfate.



Smells like ammonia....
View user's profile View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 16-11-2015 at 17:06


The different kinds of drain openers available in different parts of the world has been something of an unexpected revelation. I have not encountered that particular mix before. Sounds like a good choice!
View user's profile View All Posts By User
ave369
Eastern European Lady of Mad Science
****




Posts: 596
Registered: 8-7-2015
Location: No Location
Member Is Offline

Mood: No Mood

[*] posted on 17-11-2015 at 07:50


I think I already know my list of OTC items:

1. The Bat
2. Saltpeter (potassium nitrate, fertilizer)
3. KROT
4. Bleach
5. Nails. Ordinary carpenter's nails. Ferrum.

Two very interesting experiments can be done with nails. One is making ferric sulfate and its decomposition to make SO3. Another is an experimental KOH-less method of preparing potassium ferrate.




Smells like ammonia....
View user's profile View All Posts By User
woelen
Super Administrator
Thread Topped
18-11-2015 at 02:46
woelen
Super Administrator
*********




Posts: 7976
Registered: 20-8-2005
Location: Netherlands
Member Is Offline

Mood: interested

[*] posted on 18-11-2015 at 02:47


I put this thread on top, it will remain so until the end of the competition.



The art of wondering makes life worth living...
Want to wonder? Look at https://woelen.homescience.net
View user's profile Visit user's homepage View All Posts By User
Agari
Banned





Posts: 160
Registered: 8-10-2015
Location: The Amine Group
Member Is Offline

Mood: Lowest Oxidation State

[*] posted on 20-11-2015 at 15:00


This is going to sound incredibly dumb,but does tap water count as a separate item?

[Edited on 20-11-2015 by Agari]




Element Collection Status:
Elements Acquired: 21/91
Latest: Lead (Pb)
Quantity: 12g
-----------------------------------------------------
View user's profile View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 20-11-2015 at 15:13


It's in the detailed instructions.
Worth a re-read if you need clarification on a few points. :)

J.
View user's profile View All Posts By User
The Volatile Chemist
International Hazard
*****




Posts: 1981
Registered: 22-3-2014
Location: 'Stil' in the lab...
Member Is Offline

Mood: Copious

[*] posted on 21-11-2015 at 06:56


Wow, what an incredible competition! Count me in. The only other one ive been in was the Chemistry Copper Carnival Competition. I'll look at the rules when I finally get out of bed... :) What if I do some biology stuff with the reagents? It'll still be 'experiments'. But I'll be making useful stuff by them.



View user's profile Visit user's homepage View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 21-11-2015 at 10:56


A packet of yeast counts as an item. Likewise a packet of seeds. If you collect mould from bread, fruitflies from your fruit-bowl or mushrooms from your lawn, they count as an item.
If you collect a wild yeast from the air, you get that one for free. But it does make it a bit more difficult for others to replicate and so repeatability may be a issue.
View user's profile View All Posts By User
Texium
Administrator
********




Posts: 4508
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Offline

Mood: PhD candidate!

[*] posted on 21-11-2015 at 11:32


So just to clarify this completely: if you buy one item, say, a paint stripper that contains a few different solvents and then separate it into its pure compounds, that still only counts as one item?



Come check out the Official Sciencemadness Wiki
They're not really active right now, but here's my YouTube channel and my blog.
View user's profile Visit user's homepage View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 21-11-2015 at 11:46


Quote: Originally posted by zts16  
So just to clarify this completely: if you buy one item, say, a paint stripper that contains a few different solvents and then separate it into its pure compounds, that still only counts as one item?

Yep. As per my comment to MolecularWorld
View user's profile View All Posts By User
Agari
Banned





Posts: 160
Registered: 8-10-2015
Location: The Amine Group
Member Is Offline

Mood: Lowest Oxidation State

sad.gif posted on 7-12-2015 at 15:21


I'm having trouble with my Word Document. When I inserted the pictures of the first few stages of my procedure and then saved and exited,they became an unrecognizable jumble of pixels when I came back to update it a few days later with some additional notes. I tried scanning my computer with my antivirus in case an infection was causing the pictures to distort,but it detected nothing. Does anybody have any ideas on how to fix that issue?
:(

[Edited on 7-12-2015 by Agari]




Element Collection Status:
Elements Acquired: 21/91
Latest: Lead (Pb)
Quantity: 12g
-----------------------------------------------------
View user's profile View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 7-12-2015 at 21:29


What format were the pix in? is it just the pictures that are corrupted or the whole document? If the rest of the document is ok, then I would simply delete the pictures and try again -- preferably converting to another format first.



View user's profile View All Posts By User
Volanschemia
Hazard to Others
***




Posts: 340
Registered: 16-1-2015
Location: Victoria, Australia
Member Is Offline

Mood: Pretty much all of them!

[*] posted on 8-12-2015 at 02:14


Wow, I'm not even close to starting mine yet. Hoping to trial the first step Friday.



"The chemists are a strange class of mortals, impelled by an almost insane impulse to seek their pleasures amid smoke and vapor, soot and flame, poisons and poverty; yet among all these evils I seem to live so sweetly that may I die if I were to change places with the Persian king" - Johann Joachim Becher, 1635 to 1682.
View user's profile View All Posts By User
Agari
Banned





Posts: 160
Registered: 8-10-2015
Location: The Amine Group
Member Is Offline

Mood: Lowest Oxidation State

[*] posted on 9-12-2015 at 14:32


Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
What format were the pix in? is it just the pictures that are corrupted or the whole document? If the rest of the document is ok, then I would simply delete the pictures and try again -- preferably converting to another format first.

I tried doing what you said,still no luck with the pictures.




Element Collection Status:
Elements Acquired: 21/91
Latest: Lead (Pb)
Quantity: 12g
-----------------------------------------------------
View user's profile View All Posts By User
Agari
Banned





Posts: 160
Registered: 8-10-2015
Location: The Amine Group
Member Is Offline

Mood: Lowest Oxidation State

[*] posted on 14-12-2015 at 14:22


Quote: Originally posted by Agari  
Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
What format were the pix in? is it just the pictures that are corrupted or the whole document? If the rest of the document is ok, then I would simply delete the pictures and try again -- preferably converting to another format first.

I tried doing what you said,still no luck with the pictures.


Alright,I did a backup on my computer and loading in pictures should be fine now.




Element Collection Status:
Elements Acquired: 21/91
Latest: Lead (Pb)
Quantity: 12g
-----------------------------------------------------
View user's profile View All Posts By User
The Volatile Chemist
International Hazard
*****




Posts: 1981
Registered: 22-3-2014
Location: 'Stil' in the lab...
Member Is Offline

Mood: Copious

[*] posted on 14-12-2015 at 15:41


I'm a procrastinator...didn't start the last contest I entered till the day prior. That didn't work, I got last place :)
I've got plans. Who knows if they'll work. We'll see, Christmas break :) (totally not ruining any new glassware with MnO2 :D)




View user's profile Visit user's homepage View All Posts By User
Crowfjord
Hazard to Others
***




Posts: 390
Registered: 20-1-2013
Location: Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline

Mood: Ever so slowly crystallizing...

[*] posted on 14-12-2015 at 16:34


Would molecular seives qualify as a laboratory consumable?
View user's profile View All Posts By User
j_sum1
Administrator
********




Posts: 6218
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: Unmoved
Member Is Offline

Mood: Organised

[*] posted on 15-12-2015 at 01:49


Quote: Originally posted by Crowfjord  
Would molecular seives qualify as a laboratory consumable?

Yeah, why not. They won't form part of your final product. And presumably you dry and re-use them -- just like you would a beaker.

[Edited on 15-12-2015 by j_sum1]




View user's profile View All Posts By User
skip
Hazard to Self
**




Posts: 54
Registered: 16-5-2015
Member Is Offline

Mood: No Mood

[*] posted on 15-12-2015 at 18:04


I would like to enter the contest. I have couple ideas that I been toying with , all otc and harmless. Cost about 50 bucks. Just for fun of course.
View user's profile View All Posts By User
 Pages:  1  2    4  5

  Go To Top