Sciencemadness Discussion Board

new member introduction

caput_mortuum - 2-2-2021 at 02:15

Hi All,

Thought I should be civil and introduce myself. First off lets be clear: I am by no means a chemist - not hobby, amateur or pro. I never "got" the theoretical side of chemistry at school (not because i wasnt interested, i was very interested, but they way they taught it didnt work for me), but i loved the hands on part.

I've been collecting glassware for about 20 years, mostly sourced from op shops or second hand stores. in the late 90's - early 2000s it felt like nearly everyone I walked into had at least a beaker or Erlenmeyer flask for me :) I loved how they looked and got a modest collection that became decorations in my home.

For the last couple of years I have been steam/hydro distilling herbs as a hobby to keep myself occupied and have bought more specialised glassware like a soxhlet extractor and a clevenger to "level up".

I would love to get to the point where I am doing reactions like I have been reading on these forums (been coming here on and off for a couple of years now) but learning the theory is a bit too much for me to take on right now, my workload and stress levels are far too high to retain that kind of information! distilling seems to come naturally for me. So until life stops kicking me in the nuts i'll be distilling anything I can get my hands on

I finally registered an account because I have questions about some new glass/tools I bought that I cannot find answers to via google. I'll ask them in the appropriate forums :)

cheers from australia
- caput mortuum

Johnny Cappone - 2-2-2021 at 03:21

Welcome!

I was also a lurker for quite a while. To be honest, almost a decade. I think that all long-term viewers end up registering someday. There are really competent people here, I believe your doubts about glassware will be solved.

As for the study of theoretical chemistry, do it in your own time. Studying simple concepts and running small experiments to test them can be a good way to make progress in learning. It's easier, faster, cheaper and (I think) efficient than trying to devour the whole theory at once.

j_sum1 - 2-2-2021 at 03:24

Well, welcome. You will find a few aussies here. as well as some imports to Aus like me.

There are plenty of good introductory experiments that you can do that are not extremely demanding to perform and can be completed without having huge knowledge. If you are already doing distillations then you can probably do a nice Fischer esterification. Methyl salicylate an be remarkably satisfying. Ethyl salicyilate is much the same if you cannot get hold of methanol easily.
It sounds like you already have some adequate glass. But if you are working with glass tubes and rubber stoppers then I recommend shelling out for a basic ground glass kit. Then see where that takes you.

Welcome to teh addiction. :)

B(a)P - 2-2-2021 at 11:13

Welcome to the forum from one Australian to another!

woelen - 2-2-2021 at 11:36

Welcome to the forum! Good to see a long term lurker registering now!

If you use certain pieces of glassware for decorative purposes, then a whole new dimension may be added if you add some interesting and nice looking compounds to the decoration. E.g. if you have a nice glass bulb, imagine the bulb being filled with a colored gas. Or if you have some weird flask, imagine it being filled with nice crystals. Some decorative chemicals can be made, others you could buy. With the help of people on the forums you certainly may be able to find nice decorative compounds in a safe way.

Lion850 - 2-2-2021 at 12:17

Good to see a fellow Aussie, welcome! A few of us here in QLD around Brisbane.

caput_mortuum - 2-2-2021 at 23:17

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
Well, welcome. You will find a few aussies here. as well as some imports to Aus like me.

There are plenty of good introductory experiments that you can do that are not extremely demanding to perform and can be completed without having huge knowledge. If you are already doing distillations then you can probably do a nice Fischer esterification. Methyl salicylate an be remarkably satisfying. Ethyl salicyilate is much the same if you cannot get hold of methanol easily.
It sounds like you already have some adequate glass. But if you are working with glass tubes and rubber stoppers then I recommend shelling out for a basic ground glass kit. Then see where that takes you.

Welcome to teh addiction. :)


oh i am an import as well :) but i've been here since i was 3 or 4 so for all intents and purposes i am an aussie

thanks for the advice. I looked up Methyl salicylate and found multiple synths, it does look like a good intro and if i can read the wiki on Fischer–Speier esterification and understand what all the terms on that page mean then I'll be happy :)

caput_mortuum - 2-2-2021 at 23:21

forum software didnt let me post any more quote replies, lets see if this one gets through...

thanks for a warm welcome :)