I can still remember the first demonstration my chemistry teacher did for us at school. He put about 100cc of ordinary granulated sugar into a 250ml beaker, and added sulphuric acid. Within seconds, a black column started grow out of the beaker, rather like the demo in the video. It reached maybe 30 or 40 cm in height. Dead simple, very impressive to an 11 yo.
My favourite school science demo is the screaming jelly baby - add a jelly baby to a test tube of hot potassium chlorate and it screams, exorcist style, as it burns. Nice!
When I worked in a Uni chemistry department, we used to have an annual fireworks lecture. Attendance at the lecture was always at your own risk - the smoke alarms had to be switched off for the duration.
It was originally given by a lecturer whose father, an interested amateur, had taught him how to make fireworks as a boy. My favourite line from the lecture was "those of you in the front row, don't worry, it's just chlorine gas". Anyway, lots of bangs, lots of colour, huge amounts of smoke. At one point we moved outside to hear the difference in the noise produced by igniting a balloon filled with pure oxygen and one filled with oxygen and acetylene. Sadly noone warned the staff of the medical school and they thought it was a bomb. Happy days!
Now my A level chemistry is probably about 25 years past its sell-by date, but my recollection is that potassium and sodium are in the same group, and that sodium chlorate is pretty nasty stuff (with sugar or plants), so I'm guessing that KClO3 is not the sort of stuff you'd be picking up at a branch of Boots?
Apparently you can do it with sodium chlorate but it's not as dramatic. I'm not sure where civilians can get these things - I certainly miss my access to the chemistry stores!
When I was at secondary school, I used to "help" at open evenings, doing basic experiments in the labs, whilst parent of prospective pupils toured the school. Our science department was bit out of-the-way, so we would put hydrogen balloons around the school with pointers to the labs attached. At the end of the evening, we would collect these balloons, tape them to the end of a window-pole, and introduce them to Mr Bunsen's most famous invention, all with the approval of the staff. I simply cannot imagine this sort of thing happening today. Hell, we didn't even have safety glasses, much less wear them!
I can still remember the first demonstration my chemistry teacher did for us at school.
ReplyDeleteHe put about 100cc of ordinary granulated sugar into a 250ml beaker, and added sulphuric acid.
Within seconds, a black column started grow out of the beaker, rather like the demo in the video.
It reached maybe 30 or 40 cm in height.
Dead simple, very impressive to an 11 yo.
Grody.
ReplyDelete{mental note: take advanced chemistry if able}
My favourite school science demo is the screaming jelly baby - add a jelly baby to a test tube of hot potassium chlorate and it screams, exorcist style, as it burns. Nice!
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I've never heard of that before. Ta
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked in a Uni chemistry department, we used to have an annual fireworks lecture. Attendance at the lecture was always at your own risk - the smoke alarms had to be switched off for the duration.
ReplyDeleteIt was originally given by a lecturer whose father, an interested amateur, had taught him how to make fireworks as a boy. My favourite line from the lecture was "those of you in the front row, don't worry, it's just chlorine gas". Anyway, lots of bangs, lots of colour, huge amounts of smoke. At one point we moved outside to hear the difference in the noise produced by igniting a balloon filled with pure oxygen and one filled with oxygen and acetylene. Sadly noone warned the staff of the medical school and they thought it was a bomb. Happy days!
Now if that was a *real* film, all hell would break loose, and they'd all have to risk thir lives closing the portal.
ReplyDeleteNow my A level chemistry is probably about 25 years past its sell-by date, but my recollection is that potassium and sodium are in the same group, and that sodium chlorate is pretty nasty stuff (with sugar or plants), so I'm guessing that KClO3 is not the sort of stuff you'd be picking up at a branch of Boots?
ReplyDeleteApparently you can do it with sodium chlorate but it's not as dramatic. I'm not sure where civilians can get these things - I certainly miss my access to the chemistry stores!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at secondary school, I used to "help" at open evenings, doing basic experiments in the labs, whilst parent of prospective pupils toured the school.
ReplyDeleteOur science department was bit out of-the-way, so we would put hydrogen balloons around the school with pointers to the labs attached.
At the end of the evening, we would collect these balloons, tape them to the end of a window-pole, and introduce them to Mr Bunsen's most famous invention, all with the approval of the staff.
I simply cannot imagine this sort of thing happening today.
Hell, we didn't even have safety glasses, much less wear them!