Eddie
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Budding Amateur Chemist
Hi all,
I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on becoming an amateur chemist. My biggest concern being is that I want to make sure that I take
every legal path necessary. I would not want to sound off alarms with the police because some guy is trying to purchase chemicals he is using in his
basement.
What are the laws pertaining to this hobby in the state of California? Or where can I find a listing of such laws?
Do I need to register with the state?
Does the state require that I disclose all information?
What substances am I allowed to purchase and what are considered too dangerous for retail?
I ask because there is a synthesis I would like to experiment with that involves an acetylene derivative, and I am aware acetylene is a flammable gas.
Any help on the matter would be great. Thanks.
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j_sum1
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Welcome to SM Eddie.
I cannot speak for the US which, I presume is where you reside. The legal situation does vary greatly from location to location and there is little
consistency. Generally though there are plenty of things an amateur can do and flammability is not the usual targetted issue.
My recommendation is twofold. Stick around here for a while and read. You will find like-minded people and learn a lot. Second: stick with over the
counter products at least at the start. It is cheaper, often safer, you will learn a lot and will not really be that restricted in what you can do,
and you will not raise the attention of anyone until after you have learned the lay of the land.
As an aside, this question probably belongs in the societal issues forum. I recommend reading the FAQ and posting guidelines that help to make these
the amazing boards that they are.
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Nicodem
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Thread Moved
25-4-2015 at 00:10 |
szuko03
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I agree with all of the above. Also I suggest waiting until its "age appropriate" before you start buying reactive stuff. Only because if the police
come its way easier if your an adult and can accept responsibility, just for your parents or whomever you live withs sake. Also there are tons of
reactions you can perform that are not illegal and do not use even remotely suspicious things, start there and learn the basics.
Also "keep it secrete, keep it safe"
Chemistry is a natural drive, not an interest.
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Texium
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I like the reference, but I disagree with it in this context. I don't
believe that the acceptance of home chemistry will ever improve if we're always trying to hide what we do. Tell your friends and neighbors (unless you
know them to be Stage IV* chemophobes) about what you're doing and show them that you have nothing to hide and it's nothing to be afraid of. Who
knows, you might even inspire someone else to take up the hobby. Just the other day, a friend of mine at school showed interest in possibly setting up
a lab after I talked about mine at lunch. He may end up joining here before too long. My point though, is that if you act secretive about it, before
too long, someone will notice and that's when they'll get suspicious since you hadn't told them about it before.
*I don't know what a Stage IV chemophobe is, I just think it sounds funny. Should there be defined stages of chemophobia? Possibly so.
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Amos
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I couldn't agree more; If you tend to get along with other people well enough, and don't generally act like a delinquent, I don't think people that
know you will be suspicious of you for talking about doing home chemistry. I tell everyone I know at some point, and they react to it with varying
levels of interest but never seem put off by it.
To start, here are some areas of home chemistry that are generally easy to explore at a beginner level and are also unlikely to attract suspicion:
-Producing/collecting inorganic compounds (copper has a huge variety of colorful compounds that are typically easy to produce, as well as iron and
cobalt to a lesser extent)
-Extracting dyes or essential oils from plant material
-Making simple esters by Fischer esterification
If you're using acetylene for its explosive properties or to make copper or silver acetylide, it seems you've chosen one of the more dangerous fields
to start in, legally and safety-wise. But a lot of amateur chemists seemed to begin in energetic materials(myself included), and if you use common
sense, proper caution, and stick with relatively small amounts, you should be fine.
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blogfast25
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No. Bad advice on several levels. For one, how's that secret stash going to look to a prejudiced LEO when he discovers it?
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szuko03
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What I meant was try to avoid showing large crowds of people and have open tours unless your willing to explain yourself. Obviously keep a record of
what your doing and such. I guess it depends on how much experience you have with law and how old you are. My family's had too many unneeded legal
battles due to over zealous police then most. Seriously it was all stupid crap that got dismissed due to lack of evidence but the legal fees and
everything seriously cost my parents and the back lash is the exact reason I lost funding for college.
I have a very sore spot when it comes to unneeded police encounters. Dont get me wrong I am not a criminal, my little bro was being profiled and the
ATF literally throw out the case and laughed at my towns police but not before my parents put up the house to bail my little brother out of jail for a
crime he honestly did not commit. I got kicked out of university still owe them 10,000 because sally mae pulled the loans out from under me once my
parents lost cosigner ship 
All over something he did not do, honestly they had literally no proof. I am sorry I dont mean to sound all angry but I got an eviction notice in my
dorm and no one could understand what i was going through.
[Edited on 25-4-2015 by szuko03]
Chemistry is a natural drive, not an interest.
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j_sum1
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Rough,szuko03.
But you raise a good point. Keep a lab journal. That way you have documented answers to any questions about what happens in your lab.
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Zombie
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The hell will never stop over that slip up...
You do realize you posted that to a person that posted an interest in a flammable gas on an HTTP forum.
Too late on both accounts!
They tried to have me "put to sleep" so I came back to return the favor.
Zom.
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szuko03
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Quote: Originally posted by Zombie  |
The hell will never stop over that slip up...
You do realize you posted that to a person that posted an interest in a flammable gas on an HTTP forum.
Too late on both accounts! |
Hahaha that's great
I don't see how you can do chemistry without a lab note book. Sure we all hated lab reports at least once in our lives but keeping a detailed log of
an experiment while your doing it should be standard. Then when you stumble upon some crazy shit you know how you did it and someone else can repeat
it exactly.
I've also been keeping folders for glass and chemical invoices. Proper inventory is also critical it will make you seem like you completely legit by
adding an additional level of professionalism but also it will make anyone who cares job super easy thus gaining favor with them. You want people who
care to have easy jobs police the fire chief your parents anyone who may care what you have. If you make their day easy they will favor you in a way.
[Edited on 26-4-2015 by szuko03]
Chemistry is a natural drive, not an interest.
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Eddie
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Hi all, thanks for the input. I would like to mention that it was always my intent to be open and honest about my possible work with chemicals. I have
nothing to hide because I'm not pursuing anything illegal, this is genuinely for the sake of curiosity and hobby. Thanks again.
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diddi
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I sough advice from a retired senior officer of police force in .au. my thought was to invite local police to visit, rather than have them smash in
my from door after neighbour complaint. he agreed and said it was very good idea. at least in .au
Beginning construction of periodic table display
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Brain&Force
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I live in California (San Diego) and I haven't seen too many restrictions on doing things with chemicals. I haven't been able to do too much but I
figure you'll run into environmental restrictions against dumping if you decide to scale things up massively.
If you're just doing the occasional procedure or two I see no reason to worry.
At the end of the day, simulating atoms doesn't beat working with the real things...
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