I have some very small amounts of each, minus the borax which i just used to make putty...hehe..But anyway, are any valuable? or fun to throw in fire?
thanks for any replies. Blind Angel - 5-4-2004 at 13:48
Some of them are only usefull to ident thing or to know the pH, but you could:
a) recrystalize (always fun)
b) single replacement to ppt one of the component
c) electrolysis to get the two component
etc, etc...
Some of them can be usefull as base of acid too, depend on what you want to do
Send them to me....postage paid.
Hermes_Trismegistus - 5-4-2004 at 14:25
I'll PM you with my address.
EDIT:but seriously though, don't throw any of these into the fire, at best you'll waste them, at worst you'll poison yourself or the
surrounding area.
If you were really determined to find out what colours the metal salts burn, check out the Chem of Pow. and Exp. in the forum library.
[Edited on 5-4-2004 by Hermes_Trismegistus]chemoleo - 5-4-2004 at 14:42
Well... how about you do a thorough search in this forum?
There are a few threads dealing with the various compounds, or products thereof (I mean, not what can be done with ammonium chloride specifically, but
what you could use it for in other various experiments). Admittedly, the compounds you have as such are uninteresting, and you can't to a great
many things with it, except electrolysis and a few precipitation reactions.
It is difficult to advise you on experiments if there is a lack of fundamental chemicals such as acids, bases, oxidisers and reductants. Maybe have a
look around here in this forum and discover where you can obtain such chemicals, and you will be able to do a whole lot more things with it.
PS maybe this should go to the beginnings section ?hodges - 5-4-2004 at 14:44
If you make a solution of the cobalt chloride and soak some paper in it, when it dries you will have one of those "weather forecaster"
papers that turns blue when it's going to be fair and pink when it's going to rain.BromicAcid - 5-4-2004 at 14:52
Complete stretch but....
MgSO4 (aq) + CaCl2(aq) ----> MgCl2(aq) + CaSO4(s)
MgCl2(aq) ----( -H2O)---> MgCl2(s)
MgCl2(s) ---(deltaH & electrolysis and intert atmosphere)---> Mg(l) + Cl2(g)
Lol Bromic
You certainly do have this thing with boron compounds
I doubt performing electrolysis of molten MgCl2 to get Mg is particularly feasible in this case!
It's a stretch indeed!abnormal989 - 5-4-2004 at 16:05
how would i go about making that weater paper?
Glad you took my advise!
Quantum - 5-4-2004 at 16:10
I invited abnormal989 over here from the totse forum after he posted a thread similar to this one. Hopefully he will grow into a full fledged
chemist
Abnormal989: Its good you came over here as there are many people smarter than me here that can help you by giving you tips and ideas or by you
searching old posts.
Its sort of hard to do so much without some chemical knowlage or acids/bases ext but precipitation reactions are always fun and easy to do!
Easy chem lesson:
Basicaly ionic compounds are made of "ions" that separate in a solvent. Water of course is cheap and easy to get so it is a solvent used
much.
Precipitation reactions work because an insoluble substance "drops" out of the solution(ie the mix of the 2 starting chemicals in water or a
diffrent solvent) and "pushes" the reaction along.
The reaction works because the 2 starting chemicals switch anions(chemicals with a negitive charge) and cations(chemicals with a positive charge).
AB + CD --> AC + BD
We use the "-->" to mean "yeilds" or "reacts to form"
Now look at it a new way: AB(aq) + CD(aq) --> AC(aq) + BD(s)
The "aq" after each chemical means it is disolved in water. "s" means it is a solid. "l" is a liquid and "g"
is a gas. As you can see "BD" chemical is a solid in a liquid so it drops to the bottom and you can scoop it out and dry it and have a new
chemical in your colection!
Now just randomly throwing chemicals in water is not the best way to do this. In some reactions all the chemicals will disolve in
water and you will not see anything! You will have wasted your chems!
There are rules so you can know if your end product will disolve or not.
Compounds that are soluble contain:
Cations: Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+ and NH<sub>4</sub>+
Anions: Cl-, Br-, I-(You have some iodine comounds!) but only if these are not paired with Ag+, Hg<sub>2</sub>+ or Pb+
Nitrates(NO<sub>3</sub>-) Perchlorates(ClO<sub>4</sub>-)(Good for flash powder!) Acetates(CH<sub>3</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>-) and sulfate(SO<sub>4</sub>2-)(You have
some sulfates!)
Note that these work in a negitive way: Anything else is most likely not soluable so it will
precipitate out to the bottom.
Example:
CuSO<sub>4</sub>(aq) + Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>(mixed around in water not realy disolved but it works) -->
CuCO<sub>3</sub>(s) + Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>(aq)
So mix Copper sulfate in water in a jar and mix sodium carbonate in a diffrent jar and mix them both into a bigger jar. The copper carbonate will be a
greenish color so you will know it worked. You will have to let it settle slowly to the bottom and filter the water out to get it pure.
That is one example! Search or ask for more and you may want to buy a used HS or college textbook about chemistry. I got a great college level book
for only 4$.
You might want to read my post here
about how I made sulfuric acid with a computer power supply, a clay pot and a box of Epsom salts from the drugstore to be inspired about all this
chemistry goodness. Read blasters thread: he made something err very unstable
QuantumGeomancer - 5-4-2004 at 20:07
What are your interests? You could oxidize your iodide to iodine, always nice stuff to have some of, if just to look at. I don't know if your
nitrate will do it, though. Ask for details if you're interested. Your assortment is somewhat odd, more suited to inorganic analysis than
synthesis, methinks.Eliteforum - 6-4-2004 at 04:15
Sounds to me like someone got himself one of those science kits!t_Pyro - 6-4-2004 at 09:34
fehling's solution: Can be used to detect aldehydes. I assume you've got both the "A" and "B" solution.
universal indicator , phenolphthalein : use as (surprise, surprise!) acid-base indicators.
calcium hydroxide: Use its aqueous solution to detect SO<sub>2</sub> and CO<sub>2</sub>. You could also heat it strongly to
get CaO and then drop water on it to "slake" it again... Childish, yes, but interesting nonetheless...
copper sulfate: could be used to produce a vague green flame.
sodium carbonate: neutralize acidic solutions, or make a simple fire extinguisher along with the citric acid
Methylene blue:
used in blue smoke compositions like the following:
Antimony Sulfide-4
Gum Arabic-1
Methylene Blue-10
Potassium Perchlorate-5
ammonium chloride: could be used in white smoke compositions.
borax powder: use for the borax bead test for cations.hodges - 6-4-2004 at 14:52
Quote:
Originally posted by abnormal989
how would i go about making that weater paper?
Take a small amount of cobalt chloride and slowly add water to it until it all dissolves. Dip part of a paper towel in this solution. It will be
pink until it dries, then it will be blue if the weather is dry and pink if the weather is wet. You might also try adding a small amount of ordinary
table salt to the solution before soaking the paper towel. I believe this helps to favor the blue color when it dries. Maybe that's a myth, but
it shouldn't hurt anything. Try putting your paper in a warm, dry place such as on top of a light fixture. This will help it to dry faster and
form a darker blue color.
