Chemical garden
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A chemical garden (or crystal garden) is a simple experiment in chemistry, usually performed by adding one or more metal salts, such as copper(II) sulfate, iron(II) chloride, cobalt(II) chloride, nickel(II) sulfate to an aqueous solution of sodium silicate or potassium silicate. This results in growth of "plant" like forms in minutes to hours.
Contents
Preparation
First, prepare a solution of sodium silicate in a large flask, best with a perfectly flat bottom. Large crystals of a transition metal salt is added in the sodium silicate solution, resulting in the formation of a transition metal silicate, which grows upwards if the density of the fluid inside the resulting semi-permeable membrane is low, and downwards if the density is high. You can reuse the sodium silicate solution, but as it becomes more diluted, the resulting garden will be less impressive.[1]
The resulting garden should not be shaken, since the "plants" are very delicate and will break. The life of garden can be extended by slowly adding water at a very slow rate, after the growth has ceased.
Salts used
| Salt | Color |
|---|---|
| Aluminium potassium sulfate | White |
| Calcium chloride | White |
| Cobalt(II) chloride | Purple |
| Chromium(III) chloride | Green |
| Copper(II) sulfate | Blue |
| Iron(II) sulfate | Green |
| Iron(III) chloride | Orange |
| Manganese(II) chloride | Pink |
| Nickel(II) sulfate | Green |
| Zinc chloride | White |
Other types of chemical gardens
Charcoal crystal garden
This chemical garden does not require sodium silicate. Instead, salt crystals are grown on charcoal substrates. Other porous materials can also be used, such as brick, cork, sponge, porous rock, pumice. For this experiment you will need charcoal briquettes, ammonia, distilled water, uniodized salt, bluing, and food coloring.[2]
Handling
Safety
While sodium silicate is not very toxic, and only somewhat irritating, some salts used, like cobalt salts are harmful and proper protection should be worn when working.
Storage and disposal
Chemical gardens do not store well over time.
Generally, chemical gardens don't require special disposal and can be simply dumped in trash. If toxic metal compounds have been used, special disposal may be required.
References
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1ZWJCuJAYA
- ↑ http://chemistry.about.com/cs/growingcrystals/ht/charcoalgarden.htm
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