Sunday, January 24, 2010

Science experiment gone wrong


Faill... Science experiment gone wrong

Very very nice optical illusions!


Very very nice optical illusions!

pharaoh's snake


That is very very dangerous.... be sure of what are you doing ....
"This is a piece of mercury thiocyanide. When decomposing, it makes large volume of ash, much larger than the piece of mercury thiocyanide itself.
By popular demand, here is a recipe to prepare mercury thiocyanide:


You need:
1. concentrated nitric acid (HNO3)
2. mercury (Hg) - from chemist or from thermometers
(alternative - buy mercury nitrate)
3. sodium or potassium thiocyanide (NaSCN or KSCN)


First, dissolve mercury in nitric acid to get mercury nitrate solution.


With concentrated nitric acid your mercury nitrate will probably crystallize - add
sufficient clean water to dissolve the crystals (say, 10 times the volume of nitric acid used).
(Alternatively: dissolve crystals of mercury nitrate in water)
In separate container, dissolve some sodium/potassium thiocyanide in water.
Add thiocyanide solution to mercury nitrate solution and mix it well.
Greyish suspension of insoluble mercury thiocyanide will form - wash with water a couple
of times (add water, mix, wait for mercury thiocyanide to separate at the bottom, decand/remove clear water, repeat.
Put paper coffee filter into funnel and filter out the mercury thiocyanide, dry iy - must be bone dry to use it.


Safety:
Nitric acid is dangerous, handle with safety glasses, wash your hands immediately if spilled.
Vapours of mercury are dangerous - best gandle on open air.
Sodium or potassium thiocyanide is not that dangerous but don't leave solution for anyone to drink!
When dissolving the mercury in nitric acid, vapours of nitrogen oxides will form - these are poisonous if inhaled.
While decomposing, mercury thiocyanide forms fumes - don't know what they contain but make sure you burn it in open air (and NOT in your bedroom! ;-) and stand against the wind to prevent the fumes from inhaling." From: youtube description video.

Methane soap bubbles tower


Mythbusters built a Burnable tower using methane, soap and water!
Friday, January 22, 2010

Eggshel and vinegar - reaction to make a rubber egg


The eggshell has calcium carbonate in its composition. Acids as vinegar (acetic acid) reacts with calcium carbonate generating calcium acetate and carbon dioxide. After all calcium carbonate be consumed will remain just the proteins of the eggshell making a elastic shell.
Thursday, January 21, 2010

Naica mine Chihuahua, Mexico


"Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of the Crystals) is a cave connected to the Naica Mine 300 metres (980 ft) deep in Chihuahua, Mexico. The main chamber contains giant selenite crystals, some of the largest natural crystals ever found.[1] The cave's largest crystal found to date is 11 m (36 ft) in length, 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 55 tons in weight. The cave is about 27 m (89 ft) in length and 9 m (30 ft) in width. The cave is extremely hot with air temperatures reaching up to 44 °C (111 °F) with 90 to 100 percent humidity. The cave is relatively unexplored due to the extreme temperatures and high humidity.[2] Without proper protection people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time.[3]" From wikipédia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Crystals

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