Monday, April 21, 2008

Pictures I Forgot to Post

I can't believe I almost forgot about these pictures.

The ICP gone wrong, taken with a cellphone camera.

A reaction I've been wanting to do ever since I have heard about it. Pretty colours, loud(ish) noises, and bright lights. What more do you want?

[Edited]
Ok, ok, I'll describe what I did in the second picture. Concentrated sulfuric acid on the bottom. Methanol on top. Add a few crystals of solid potassium permanagate, and wait. Give it a swirl if impatient. The reaction is described here and here, though whether the light is due to ozone or manganese (VII) oxide I am not sure. The water bath is there in case something goes wrong.

It's fun to clean up the reaction, too: pouring out the mess causes the methanol to burn all at once, on places like my (fortunately, gloved) finger. What is this safety thing of which you speak?

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