Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Dilute nitric acid flows out in middle of cinema...

KonkreteRocketry - 3-4-2013 at 06:13

So i was making nitric acid with a freezing H2O2 solution and buy passing NO2 into the solution.... went very well, i even tested the acidity everything was good, i guessed the concentrating to be around 2% or maybe it could be as high as 5%... then

i went to the movie with it in my bag,... sadly i didnt seal it good, all poured out omg, my bag is completely contaminated with the HNO3 solution..... the cinema was filled with NO2 around my seat, i quickly took my bag and ran out to the bath room with my bag, i went into any room and quickly poured water into it -.- and washed all the glass ware and i threw 1 of my book and some random stuff i barely need, even the bath room is filled with a strong NO2 smell, then i washed my hand, it ok i guess, then i took my contanimated bag and washed it... omg... people were staring at me due to the NO2 smell, i didnt want to explain lol.. yeah..

pretty much the worst experience ever with chemistry lol...

Lambda-Eyde - 3-4-2013 at 06:18

What the FLYING FUCK were you thinking?!! Are you completely batshit crazy, or just trolling us? Are you demented or 11 years old? Seriously, why would you bring this to a cinema?

elementcollector1 - 3-4-2013 at 06:43

Nitric acid in a bag.
Public theater.
Glassware and books in your backpack or bag or whatever it is

You could have done a lot of things to prevent this, even with the stuff you had.

hyfalcon - 3-4-2013 at 06:58

This kind of irresponsible behavior is why home chemists are looked at with a jaundiced eye. Putting yourself in danger is one thing. Then when you get your Darwin award, you don't take anyone else with you. Putting other peoples lives in danger is where you cross the line. Grow up or not but don't take anyone else down with your dumb moves.

Pyro - 3-4-2013 at 07:29

He's a terrorist! get him!
I believe he's trolling. 2-5% HNO3 is so dilute that:
1)it can't react fast enough with any commonly used metal such as Fe, SS,... to make any considerable amounts of NO2
2)even if you filled a 2l bottle with NO2 it wouldn't do much except for the faint smell of it.

If you aren't trolling, WAT THE FUCK were you carrying HNO3 with you for?
the only way I carry around chems and dirty glass is in a sealed aluminium case

Adas - 3-4-2013 at 08:02

Man, you missed the date. It is not 1st of April already!!!

KonkreteRocketry - 3-4-2013 at 10:07

Quote: Originally posted by elementcollector1  
Nitric acid in a bag.
Public theater.
Glassware and books in your backpack or bag or whatever it is

You could have done a lot of things to prevent this, even with the stuff you had.


it was only 1 glass bottle, and was around 40 ml -.-, all the nitric acid was soaked into my bag so nothing really happened to anyone. I was sitting next to another friend who detected the smell the first second when it was poured while he was getting his phone that fell on the floor so yeah i was quick, i did the experiment in his house so i need to carry it back to my house, well yeah i guess that was some... mistake.. yeah lol

Bot0nist - 3-4-2013 at 11:14

Forgive the hostility, but understand, our hobby is under enough scrutiny without people being overtly careless with reagents in public. Just imagine, if LEO would have seen the contents of your bag, you likely would have been fucked, with a capital F. At least in the US, that is.

[Edited on 3-4-2013 by Bot0nist]

Hexavalent - 3-4-2013 at 13:04



Good heavens above, I hope this is a joke. Carrying laboratory chemicals around - especially in open public places - is simply wrong, in my opinion. Sometimes in cinemas, they may choose to search your bag, perhaps to check that you are not carrying recording equipment into the theatre or whatever: if they had seen your bottle of HNO3, you could have been in some rather hot water indeed. Similarly, who knows what other people may have seen you fumbling with your glassware and bottle in the bathrooms: one word to a member of staff could result in some unpleasant consequences.

Furthermore, why were you doing your experiment in a friend's house? If you must, due to the lack of adequate facilities at your own home, then you should surely consider storing your reagents there too, as opposed to carrying them around. Finally, using phrases such as "omg" and "lol" constantly on a technical forum like this implies that you are what is known in our industry as a "k3wl" - please do use full words and we may not look down on your idiocy as frequently or as severely.

Seriously: this, people, is one of the reasons why our hobby is dwindling. My apologies for ranting, this kind of oafism aggravates me.


Random - 6-4-2013 at 17:46

why would anyone do this??


confused - 7-4-2013 at 07:09

when i transport my chemicals, i usually make just the one trip specifically for the chemicals and dont detour anywhere else...that way its less likely to create any unwanted attention/safety hazzard if any spill occurs.
never had any experience transporting liquids though.

[Edited on 7-4-2013 by confused]

Finnnicus - 7-4-2013 at 17:25

I really would like to know why. Like what were you thinking?