Reply -jeffB: White Phosphorus, CS2 and Mineral Oil

Quote:

Originally posted by -jeffB Very nice! Since you clearly have access to both P and CS2 (lucky bum), would you be interested in trying another experiment I vaguely remember from one of the "Chemical Magic" books of my youth? It involved dissolving P in CS2, and adding a bit of mineral or vegetable oil (I forget which) to the mix. You'd then paint with it on paper. The CS2 evaporated quickly, but the oil protected the P, so instead of deflagration, you'd get a persistent glow, waxing brighter if you blew on the paper. It always sounded like a really cool demo, but I missed my chance to order the necessary reagents. .

I'll just let the video speak for itself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ghnZxgJqP4

[Edited on 10-3-2008 by ScienceGeek]

Very nicely done! Thank you! (Of course, now I'm just that much crankier about being deprived access to phosphorus. )

It looks like there's a fairly strong blue component there, although of course there's never any telling what the white balance on a camera will do. (It's good that you have one with the "Night Vision" integrating mode -- is it a Sony?) I wonder how much other stuff you could load into the mix? I wonder if there are any lipophilic fluorescent components that could be used to modulate the color?

Near the end, there were a couple of cycles where the entire blob "lit up". Were you blowing air across it at those points?

A versatile non- metal when it comes to great demonstrations!

The color of the chemiluminescence was captured pretty accurately, actually, regarding I used a standard, hand- held Panasonic DV camera. I'm not too familiar with lipohilic fluorescent compounds, so you would need to consult someone else about that. Sounds interestingly possible, though.

In the end you can see the "blob" lighting up in cycles, yes, and I was blowing air across it at that point.

Nice to hear you liked the video!

As with all exciting hobbies, they tend to suck the money right out of your pocket. I have spent a lot of money on chemicals from "big supply houses", and the reason for this is quite simply because that the big supply houses have sub- divisions located in Norway, whilst the "small" supply houses do not.

BUT, many of the chemicals in my possession have been donated or "borrowed" to me by my science teacher. I've been very lucky that way!

Appreciate the positive feedback on my videos, and yes...I'll keep it up