Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Test tube + balloon condenser

Yttrium2 - 2-1-2020 at 15:33

Can anyone comment on the idea of using a test tube + balloon condenser?

Does it need be a punch balloon?


Comments, advice

Please.

Yttrium2 - 2-1-2020 at 15:35

In addition, what are some at home experiments I could do in a test tube that would be suited for children?
Or just in general, what are some test tube experiments


Something says the sky is the limit.

I just bought a rack and several test tubes (6) Along with a powder scoop, a test tube clamp (holder thingy), stoppers and a test tube brush.

I say it's an excellent little lab and I will probably see more chemistry with it then I have with all other glassware purchases (labs) combined.


Im excited it only cost me $20 plus $11 shipping. USD


Thanks.

[Edited on 1/2/2020 by Yttrium2]

[Edited on 1/2/2020 by Yttrium2]

[Edited on 1/2/2020 by Yttrium2]

Yttrium2 - 2-1-2020 at 15:38

If one were to design a test to see how much peroxide and hcl is needed to make acetone peroxide, with the 6 tubes, how would they do it?




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[Edited on 1/2/2020 by Yttrium2]

Abromination - 2-1-2020 at 23:37

Quote: Originally posted by Yttrium2  
If one were to design a test to see how much peroxide and hcl is needed to make acetone peroxide, with the 6 tubes, how would they do it?




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[Edited on 1/2/2020 by Yttrium2]

Do you not know stoichiometry?

Yttrium2 - 3-1-2020 at 00:23

A little, but im unsure of the reaction equation

Abromination - 3-1-2020 at 01:07

Quote: Originally posted by Yttrium2  
A little, but im unsure of the reaction equation

Then you shouldnt be making acetone peroxide

Herr Haber - 3-1-2020 at 04:35

My first experiment *ever* was wood pyrolisis in a test tube.

Take your test tube
Put some wood shavings / splinters in the tube. No need for a lot. Less than a third should be allright.
Place a rubber bung with a hole on your tube. Through the rubber bung put a glass tube with a narrow end (such as a pipette or eye dropper)

Heat the test tube until fumes appear.
Light the fumes / smoke

Simple experiment but with a lot of things to learn.
The cleaning isnt for children though. At that point you have totally ruined an innocent test tube :)
The tar doesnt come off easily. Dont waste acetone or solvents. Your best bet is piraña solution.

Yttrium2 - 3-1-2020 at 07:15

I wasn't going to, just wondered how.

Texium - 3-1-2020 at 09:11

@Yttrium2: Your questions are often so difficult to answer because they usually read as if you’re someone who got in a car in Texas and asked “How do I get to Alaska from here?”, without knowing how to drive or read a map.

In other words, you need to read more, and ask simpler questions. I don’t know where this “balloon condenser” idea even came from, but I don’t see how a balloon would even work as a condenser. Get Robert Bruce Thompson’s Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments. It’s a bunch of good, safe experiments that can be performed using test tubes and other simple glassware, and it is very detailed.

Yttrium2 - 5-1-2020 at 20:10

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber  
My first experiment *ever* was wood pyrolisis in a test tube.

Take your test tube
Put some wood shavings / splinters in the tube. No need for a lot. Less than a third should be allright.
Place a rubber bung with a hole on your tube. Through the rubber bung put a glass tube with a narrow end (such as a pipette or eye dropper)

Heat the test tube until fumes appear.
Light the fumes / smoke

Simple experiment but with a lot of things to learn.
The cleaning isnt for children though. At that point you have totally ruined an innocent test tube :)
The tar doesnt come off easily. Dont waste acetone or solvents. Your best bet is piraña solution.



Interesting, is this similar to what you are getting at

https://youtu.be/lvUCYtQNDX0


How's this work?

[Edited on 1/6/2020 by Yttrium2]

Assured Fish - 5-1-2020 at 23:56

Im not dissagreeing that this is a stupid question however.....
In theory a ballon could be used as a condenser if you had a test tube generating a gas with a boiling point just bellow room temperature and your product isnt going to react with the initial reagents.
The resulting formation of the gas would increase the preasure and so decrease the volatility of the product enough to condense most of it.
This might work with maybe a small few compounds like acetaldehyde, just as long as the reaction isnt too exothermic.
There are undoubtedly better ways to control such a reaction and a ballon is almost excluively used to capture and contain gases.

You could generate some hydrogen i suppose or maybe oxygen as well but you may want a larger vessel to contain the reaction like an erlenmyre flask contected to a gas outlet adapter.

Dont make acetone peroxide thats a stupid thing to do.

Yttrium2 - 6-1-2020 at 16:46

Can anyone explain how the fire appeared in the 2nd test tube in the video I posted above?

Yttrium2 - 8-1-2020 at 08:08

Bump

B(a)P - 8-1-2020 at 10:29

Look closely at the footage. There is a cut before the flame becomes visible. Presumably it is lit while the camera is off or the ignition is edited out.

karlos³ - 8-1-2020 at 15:42

Funny, when I started with hobby chemistry I used exactly that setup to produce minimal amounts of a restricted substance, test tube plus a balloon and an exothermic reaction of red phosphorous, iodine, and an amino alcohol added after said reaction.
Then running it 48h in a boiling water bath, etc...
Bees know what I mean.

Doc B - 11-1-2020 at 02:34

Quote: Originally posted by Yttrium2  
If one were to design a test to see how much peroxide and hcl is needed to make acetone peroxide, with the 6 tubes, how would they do it?




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[Edited on 1/2/2020 by Yttrium2]


WTF dude!?

Armus_ - 15-1-2020 at 09:56

alright, so there are a problem we can see here. see you first need to learn stoich before you teach someone chemistry when it involves knowing how much you need and to show the kids that too. but also if i think about it using a balloon as a re-flux device is quite cool and i would've never thought of that. there are a few things you need to consider.

can whatever your re-fluxing dissolve the balloon and is the boiling point of what your re-fluxing higher than the melting point of the balloon. if both the answers are no then go for it if it is for demonstration