Science Demos...

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Jpec07

Jpec07

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Forgotten Wing
Ok, so here's the story.

In AP Chemistry class, we have taken our final and are spending the remaining few weeks of school preparing demonstrations to put on a "magic" show for the 6th graders in the elementary school. The only problem is that I haven't decided what kind of a thing I want to do. I had tried growing a crystal of super-saturated Sodium Acetate, but it was too cumbersome to prepare and make work properly. So what I need now is some suggestions for what I can do involving chemistry that will impress 6th graders (note, we already have color-changing solutions, different colored fire, exploding balloons, and spinning cans). Do any of you people have suggestions for what I can do?
 
Liquid nitrogen! The coolest stuff on earth (no pun intended). Shatter a squash ball like china. Hammer nails with a banana. The possibilities are endless.
 
I didn't tell you this...

Mix some anything iodide with ammonium anything. If you can, use iodine crystals with ammonium hydroxide.

What you get is a purple sludge called "ammonium triiodide". When ammonium triiodide is moist, it's perfectly safe. When it's dry it's "shock sensitive" - even the slightest pressure will make it explode. We're talking an insect flying by type of pressure.

You need to work with very small quantities - experiment to find out how much. Then put it on things people are likely to touch. Television "on" switches. Door latches. Well-worn paths in corridors (dab it in footsteps, so it explodes every time someone puts their foot down all the way up the corridor).

But you DIDN'T hear this from me.
 
Haha. I read the first post and thought hmmmmm............ I know what he should do.

I read the second post and said doh!!

But I would try Pottassium. Or, if possible, Radium :D
 
Famine
I didn't tell you this...

Mix some anything iodide with ammonium anything. If you can, use iodine crystals with ammonium hydroxide.

What you get is a purple sludge called "ammonium triiodide". When ammonium triiodide is moist, it's perfectly safe. When it's dry it's "shock sensitive" - even the slightest pressure will make it explode. We're talking an insect flying by type of pressure.

You need to work with very small quantities - experiment to find out how much. Then put it on things people are likely to touch. Television "on" switches. Door latches. Well-worn paths in corridors (dab it in footsteps, so it explodes every time someone puts their foot down all the way up the corridor).

But you DIDN'T hear this from me.
Click to expand...


what kind of explosion are you talking about? like a small poof of noise or something? i know nothing about nothing but this sounds like perfect gag/prank material. but i dont want anyone getting hurt as they try and flush the toilet :lol:
 
Depends on the amount. A half teaspoonful is about the same force as a roll of 50 caps.


Anyway, there's a much better one for toilets.

Pour some sodium iodide into the basin. Pour a lot of hydrogen peroxide into the cistern. Set a video camera up. Watch the next person who flushes the toilet look down in disbelief, repeatedly try to flush it some more and then run like **** as a 12 foot wall of foam comes rolling out of the cubicle.
 
Famine
I didn't tell you this...

Mix some anything iodide with ammonium anything. If you can, use iodine crystals with ammonium hydroxide.

What you get is a purple sludge called "ammonium triiodide". When ammonium triiodide is moist, it's perfectly safe. When it's dry it's "shock sensitive" - even the slightest pressure will make it explode. We're talking an insect flying by type of pressure.

You need to work with very small quantities - experiment to find out how much. Then put it on things people are likely to touch. Television "on" switches. Door latches. Well-worn paths in corridors (dab it in footsteps, so it explodes every time someone puts their foot down all the way up the corridor).

But you DIDN'T hear this from me.
Click to expand...

Sounds like Peter Logan's "Exploding Paste" on Brainiac.
 
That's because it is...

Secret ingredient my arse.



Speaking of which, Thermite reaction?

Powdered aluminium and iron (II) oxide (make sure it's totally desiccated) in roughly 1:4 ratio in a plant pot. Plug the hole in the bottom with steel wool. Stand it two foot off the ground and put a pile/bucket of sand beneath it. Put a strip of magnesium in it. Light it. RUN!

The resulting reaction gives MUCH sparks and is hot enough to melt iron (2300 celsius, as it happens). Which is exactly what happens - molten iron drips out of the bottom and is caught by the sand. You can pick it up with a magnet (if you're brave).
 
Famine
Depends on the amount. A half teaspoonful is about the same force as a roll of 50 caps.


Anyway, there's a much better one for toilets.

Pour some sodium iodide into the basin. Pour a lot of hydrogen peroxide into the cistern. Set a video camera up. Watch the next person who flushes the toilet look down in disbelief, repeatedly try to flush it some more and then run like **** as a 12 foot wall of foam comes rolling out of the cubicle.
Click to expand...


caps? like a cap gun?
 
They're very impressive pranks, Famine (some of them I might actually pull), but that's not what I'm looking for. Currently, I'm trying to find something that I can show to 6th graders repeatedly (have to do it some 4 times).
 
L. I. Q. U. I. D. N. I . T. R. O. G. E. N.

Available from a lot of sources.
 
LMAO! I can only imagine what April Fools Day is like around Famine's house.

"Dammit, I know the dog had it, but how the hell did the toilet get rabies?"

:lol:

I'm gonna have to try the ammonium/iodide mini bomb. I could have a whole lot of fun with that. Any ideas where to get it?
 
Sodium in water is LAME.

Potassium is better. If you can get hold of it, try dumping 2g of rubidium (or better yet, caesium) in a bathtub. You need special phials which will dissolve slowly, or you're screwed.
 
Famine
I didn't tell you this...

Mix some anything iodide with ammonium anything. If you can, use iodine crystals with ammonium hydroxide.

What you get is a purple sludge called "ammonium triiodide". When ammonium triiodide is moist, it's perfectly safe. When it's dry it's "shock sensitive" - even the slightest pressure will make it explode. We're talking an insect flying by type of pressure.

You need to work with very small quantities - experiment to find out how much. Then put it on things people are likely to touch. Television "on" switches. Door latches. Well-worn paths in corridors (dab it in footsteps, so it explodes every time someone puts their foot down all the way up the corridor).

But you DIDN'T hear this from me.
Click to expand...

The Manhattan Project is one of my favorite movies too.

Before starting in with ammonium triiodide, perhaps you should start with black powder. It's very easy to make. It's 75% saltpeter (buy it on eBay), 15% charcoal (make it yourself from willow branches or alder wood) and 10% sulfur (flowers of sulfur is available at garden stores). You can then make your own fireworks. Making fireworks is a lot easier than you think. Google search it; you'll be amazed at what you can make. It got me an A in 8th grade science class. 👍
 
put a large voltage (~400V) across two parallel electrodes (lput in low pressure air) and see what happens between the plates.
 
oosacker
put a large voltage (~400V) across two parallel electrodes (lput in low pressure air) and see what happens between the plates.
Click to expand...

And blow the circuit breakers in my school (the kind of ohms needed for that arc are absurd)? I don't think so...
 
Famine
Sodium in water is LAME.
Click to expand...
Not to mention incredibly dangerous... if done incorrectly (as with all those kinds of experiments anyway. Anyone saw the vid of the guy mixing alcohol with chlorine? Scary stuff...).

A couple guys at my old high school, erhm... borrowed some sodium from the chemistry lab, stuffed it into a ball made of aluminum foil (about the size of a tennis ball, from what I heard) and then proceeded to throw it down one of the toilets...

The next day, they were clearing up what was left of the toilet after that...:scared: somehow, they managed not to get expelled, they only had to pay for the costs of repairs. I've been looking around to see if I can find what amount they could've used to make that sort of damage, and I came up with this: http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Stories/011.2/ (doesn't show that kind of explotions, but it does have some interesting videos).
 
There is always that myth that if you create soundwaves that are loud enough, and at a low enough frequency, they will cause bowel relaxation to anyone listening!

Don't know if that is true though, perhaps Famine can clear it up.

There is also Mr Chumley Warner's famous experiment, entitled "How high will a monkey jump, when its testicles are wired to electrodes"!!
 
DQuaN
There is always that myth that if you create soundwaves that are loud enough, and at a low enough frequency, they will cause bowel relaxation to anyone listening!

Don't know if that is true though, perhaps Famine can clear it up.
Click to expand...

No, it's not true. We have a show here in the States called Mythbusters. They did a show on the "brown note" and it didn't work. But, certain sub bass frequencies at certain sound pressure levels did cause dizziness, nausea, increased blood pressure and heart rate as well as mental confusion.
 
Duke
Liquid nitrogen! The coolest stuff on earth (no pun intended). Shatter a squash ball like china. Hammer nails with a banana. The possibilities are endless.
Click to expand...

Hee hee... in my job I get to play with liquid Helium :scared: ... many people think that liquid helium is blue, but infact, it only looks blue because it liquifies air... it's bloody expensive to... £300 for 17 litres, that's £10.02 a pint.. blimey, that's about the same as the price of beer in central London... :ouch:
 

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