nyx - 7-10-2006 at 16:13
I raided my parents' house for chemicals in various places.
I now have on hand the following.
Roachkiller Boric Acid
Drain Cleaner Sulphuric Acid
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Drain Cleaner Sodium Hydroxide
Ferric Chloride
Stump Remover Potassium Nitrate
Root Killer Copper Sulfate
Mineral Oil (scented with hidious baby smell)
Seasalt Sodium Chloride
100lbs of Diacetyl tartaric fatty acid esters of mono and diglycerides (I love dumpster diving 
)
Denatured Alcohol
Zinc Oxide
1 oz pure silver
small sheet of copper
small sheet of brass
Everything, with the exception of the diactyl tartaric stuff and things used in cooking, I have in quantities of about 1/4-1/2 of a cup. Have more
at the parents' house, but I didn't want to have large quantities sitting around until I have a better idea what I'm doing. Also have a couple of
bottles of argon left over from playing with a plasma arc torch. Maybe useful for preventing oxidation or something if that's unwanted.
For a heat source, I have a hot air pencil used for soldering. Goes up to about 500C. Thought that might be safer than a flame. Though I also have
an oil/alcohol lamp and a butane torch on hand.
Have a few sets of safety goggles, and some two-ply latex/nitrile gloves. I'll get some heavier and longer gloves soon.
I'll start with the advice on making some simple sodium acetate and branch out from there.
But, before I begin experimenting, any advice on what NOT to do that might not occur to me? In particular I'm worried about things that could be
rather dangerous even in very small quantities. I don't plan on mixing large ammounts of things at once right now. Using test tubes before I move
up to picklejar beakers for anything I'm unsure of. Of note, ventilation is currently poor. I'm ductaping a vinyl dryer tube to the bathroom vent
fan and putting that near my work area. Not sure how well that will work, but it's probably better than nothing.
Thanks!
woelen - 8-10-2006 at 04:16
It all depends on what kind of experiments you want to do. You can choose from
1) inorganic chemistry. Easiest, can be done very well at test tube scale, chems for this are available relatively easily.
2) organic chemistry. Not as easy as inorganic chemistry. Reactions usually are slower, and there is a higher need of special solvents. Also,
experimenting at microscale is more difficult and more glassware/apparatus is needed.
3) pyrotechnics. Can be done well at home, but more risk is involved. Also, this is not allowed in all countries (such as where I live). Chems for
this are available relatively easily.
I have written a page on setting up a home lab for inorganic chemistry. It may be helpful to you:
http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/misc/homelab.html
Elawr - 8-10-2006 at 05:52
With what you have, you can do ALL KINDS of stuff. For example, many beautiful thngs are easily done with your copper. Try dissolving some CuSO4 in
H2O and note the color. Then take a portion of this solution and precipitate (change into insoluble) with some NaHCO3 (baking soda) and note the new
color. Repeat this using a solution of NaOH with some more of the clear CuSO4 solution and note the color again. Allow the precipitates to settle out
and then isolate them by pouring off the clear fluid. Add some ammonia water to the sediments and see yet another very striking color change! In this
way you get a peek at the complex (no pun intended) and wonderful secret world of copper chemistry . Hopefully, this kind of thing will whet your
appetite and make you want to go read about what you just did and learn more about it. And when you learn more, you'll think of more experiments to
try, which will make you want to learn even more.. and do more experiments...and aquire more chemicals and apparatus... and so on. Just be careful
with the NaOH and H2SO4 because they will bite you and ruin stuff, and with the flame and other heat source since they can burn (duh!). Common sense
goes very far here.
[Edited on 8-10-2006 by Elawr]
apidej - 16-10-2006 at 19:59
yeah very wel
not_important - 16-10-2006 at 21:30
You might pick up some pickling salt, or other plain NaCl. If that 'seasalt' is really the popular sea salt, it has small amounts of Ca, Mg, and SO4
in it. Ordinary table or cooking salt usually has a trace iodide and various anti-caking agents. All of those "extras" may or may not be important
when using the salt in experiments. Example - make a few ml of a saturated solution of iodised salt, and add a bit of 3% hydrogen peroxide.
guy - 16-10-2006 at 23:05
wow you have more chemicals than me and I manage.....somewhat
[Edited on 10/17/2006 by guy]