(Part 2) Top products from r/chemicalreactiongifs

Explosive Elephant Toothpaste!! edited to correct ingredient - and update notes

My goal was big, shooting foam steams! I tried other methods and recipes - but this worked best!

What is happening in elephant toothpaste: hydrogen peroxide is made up of two hydrogen and two oxygen molecules. This is one extra oxygen molecule than water. Hydrogen peroxide is very unstable; it keeps wanting to lose that extra oxygen molecule. In this experiment, we use potassium iodide as a catalyst to knock off that extra oxygen molecule very quickly, and soap to capture those molecules of oxygen in foam.

I tried this with two different flask types: 2L Erlenmeyer flask and 2L graduated cylinder.

For each flask I needed the following:

• 250ml 35% H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide)
  
• 50ml 4 molar KI (dry, granular potassium iodide)
  
• a bit of dish soap
  
  To get (my best approximation of) 4 molar KI, I put 35 mg of nearly-pure granular KI in a small glass measuring beaker, and filled it to 50 ml with cool tap water.
  
  If you use smaller flasks, you will need to cut the ingredients by about 1/2.
  
  I was able to buy the chemicals and all the flasks online. Please be careful with the hydrogen peroxide – it will burn your skin at this concentration.
  
  The result is soapy water - but there may be some residual hydrogen peroxide. Simply rinsing the area well should be sufficient.
  
  Steps:
  
  Pre-make the KI solution, and measure out all other chemicals.
  
  USING GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION
  
  -- Put 250ml H2O2 in each flask
  -- Put ~25-30 ml of dish soap in each flask
  -- Add a few drops food coloring of color desired (complicates clean-up - be warned!)
  -- QUICKLY add 50 ml KI solution to each flask and jump back!
  
  Notes:
  
  The graduated cylinder produces a thick pillar of foam, the Erlenmeyer flask produces more of a jet.
  
  The chemicals should be added by an adult.
  
  If you film this, be sure to have the person filming stand back, and be prepared to capture an 8 to 10 foot jet coming out of the flask.
  
  Shopping list (what I used):
  
  This puts out a thick column of foam:
  213I16 Karter Scientific 2000ml Glass Graduated Cylinder, Single Metric Scale ‪https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UKIBKU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_8OuWxbG8YRB8N‬
  
  This puts out a narrow/taller jet of foam - I now have three:
  2000ml / 2L Narrow Mouth Erlenmeyer Flask with Heavy Duty Rim ‪https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q34D0HC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rQuWxb4708ZVJ‬
  
  Pure Health Discounts Certified 35% Hydrogen Peroxide with 1 oz Bottle Dropper - 32 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AKIGJW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YD4pzbZTGXC86
  
  Potassium Iodide, High Purity Crystals, 99.8 % min., 100 grams ‪https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008D8161I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_PTuWxb0N94SZQ‬
  
  Atlas Glove 620 Atlas Vinylove 12" Double Dipped Gloves - Small (they come in different sizes) ‪https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002PJ0WRK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nUuWxbSQCV77N‬
  
  Learning Resources Primary Science Safety Glasses (good size for kids) ‪https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ZLSWFI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SVuWxbBKKKD9R‬
  
  Heathrow Scientific HD15909 Spatula with Flat End and Spoon End, 9" Overall Length (optional - but good for mixing the potassium iodide) ‪https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0061OT1A4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qSuWxbA6R27C3‬
  

I used to create something like this as a kid using zap glue and spraying way too much zip kicker on it. It comes out pure white like styrofoam. Be careful because it is exothermic. Gave myself quite a burn once doing it. Not a scientist and not sure exactly how safe it is. The volume will also be way less than a can of Great Stuff, but maybe an idea?

I don't believe he's made a book of his 'Things I won't work with,' which is a real shame, but he did put together a more serious Chemistry book aimed at teaching the history of the field to non chemists. I bought it after reading his blog posts, and I thought it was well worth a read. Not as focused on humor, but the same good writing.

We made some of it in the lab a long time ago. People really love playing with it. Though be careful, the stuff is usually very unsafe so keep it sealed. For anyone looking for some:

Link

I have been meaning to buy this for my personal use, I do not know if it is as good as others, but there is the link anyway.

It isn't exactly only because of the buttons, for sure. But this is a really interesting read if you're into history and science.

http://www.amazon.com/Napoleons-Buttons-Molecules-Changed-History/dp/1585423319

This is Bill Hammock's channel but it's missing a lot of videos. He had a bunch when he worked in some kind of office.

Someone else uploaded a mirror of it. He has some humor in the older ones.

I've looked for the book he references as well--The Measure of Man: Human Factors in Design by Henry Dreyfuss--it's expensive. There is a revised edition if you're actually curious about the measurements.

The appearance of car windows through polarised sunglasses is due to the toughening process during manufacture, in which the hot glass is cooled by jets of air. This causes the outside surface to be in a state of compression and the inner surface to be in tension.

Strains in glass can be seen with polarised light, and using polarised sunglasses shows up the pattern of air jets used in the toughening process.

Source: The New Science of Strong Materials JE Gordon, 1968 (Footnote in Chapter 5.)

more like 150$

for anyone interested in chaos, Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos by Steven Strogatz is a great introduction and among many others topics addresses chaos in chemical reactions.

Reminds me of the book The Alchemist. Highly recommend

Edit: formatting smh

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Dog-Leventhal-Elements-Puzzle/dp/1579128882 think this is it

Then do.

Through the magic of the internet of course!

Total flashback to A Gnome from Nome.

Edit: The Gnome from Nome.

https://www.amazon.com/Allergy-Advanced-Nasal-Filter-Count/dp/B003JBX158 when outside for long periods + using a neti pot before sleep are life savers.

They already do:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085S1VCK/ref=asc_df_B0085S1VCK5128928/

Biggest issue is long term stability, and the fact that you can't really stack them (since they don't really have any structure until they get wet).

Naw, this is stuff that used to be used in cute handwarmers. You don't see that type so much anymore though.

And yeah, Sodium Polyacrylate is a very absorbant polymer that's used in fake snow demos and stuff.

from reading a book about the SL-1 incident, the writer alludes to the fact that it was a poor design. the control rods cadmium coating was flaking off making the reactor easier to go critical.
here is the book I'm referring too:
http://www.amazon.com/Idaho-Falls-Americas-Nuclear-Accident/dp/1550225626

It is not for the faint of heart. Astral hippie music be damned, that's a particle accelerator in there.

More information than you can possibly use can be found here.

Amusingly enough, the man it's named for, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, was not only a mathematician and philosopher, he was also a 17th century Jack Handy. His collection The Waste Books are fucking awesome. Look inside. One minute he's all "Everything in a man must move toward one end" and the next he's all "Anton is such an ass. He owes me eighty florins."