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careysub
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Chem Demo: Powders Becoming Liquids
Years ago I read in an old chemistry manual (early 20th century) about a chemical demonstration that pointed out while mixing liquids and getting
solids is commonplace the reverse is not, and had a demo in which two finely powdered substances were vigorously shaken together in a test tube, which
became a liquid.
Can anyone propose what this might have been, or a similar demonstration reaction?
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aga
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Zinc Chloride and Choline Chloride - maybe.
I know next to nothing at all, so don't quote me.
Edit :
That makes a deep eutectic, yet it can hardly be called a liquid at RT.
Using my advanced google SuperPowers i typed in 'Chemistry demonstration two solids make liquid' then i pressed Enter and found this :-
http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-chemistry/endoth...
"Solid hydrated barium hydroxide is mixed with solid ammonium chloride ... produce a liquid" for the hard of Clicking.
[Edited on 5-9-2015 by aga]
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careysub
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Your Google-fu is powerful!
I tried a number of search combinations and waded through scores of potential results without finding that.
There must be others though - I am pretty sure copious ammonia and sub-zero temperatures were not featured in the ancient chem text of yore.
[Edited on 5-9-2015 by careysub]
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Texium
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Choline chloride or choline bitartrate (easier to find OTC) and urea will make a deep eutectic solvent that is a bit viscous but still definitely
liquid at room temperature. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen instantaneously. For me it took an hour or so for the mixture to become a thick, syrupy
consistency after a good amount of mixing and shaking, and a few more for it to completely liquefy. I used the bitartrate though. The chloride
probably works better, and it's easily made from the bitartrate by reaction with potassium chloride, as potassium bitartrate has very low solubility.
(and then if you have some antimony trioxide handy, you can try this procedure in which two insoluble compounds will react under reflux to form a soluble double salt with a neat crystal structure).
[Edited on 9-5-2015 by zts16]
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aga
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Unfortunately i tried too hard to find more "two solid chem makes liquid" references, which exhausted my Google-Chi.
Found far too many references to "Hot Chick" which i must now read repeatedly.
No Alien Lizard can forego a bag full of Hot Chicks when hungry.
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aga
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Do people generally have antimony trioxide handy ?
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Texium
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Probably not, but it's fairly inexpensive from the
pottery store, and there's not a ton of stuff you can do with it, so if you do happen to have some laying around, it's quite likely that you'd be
happy to find something interesting to do with it. 
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careysub
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Does the antimony trioxide have to do with the "becoming liquids" bit, or the "hot chicks"?
Either way perhaps I should get some? :-)
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violet sin
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Just found this.. first try
http://www.answers.com/Q/Can_two_solids_combine_to_make_a_li...
Menthol and camphor.
Apparently this is a common search. Typed in "two solids" and Google suggested the rest for me. The answer was second down.
Also sodium + potassium 
[Edited on 6-9-2015 by violet sin]
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careysub
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You have exposed Aga and me as the Google charlatans that we are, to have failed in this task!
And I think this is very likely the demo from the olde book. It sounds right.
I will have to try this.
Here is a discussion of this experiment:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/crystal/Grade%209/Cluster%2...
It has this explanation:
"For camphor, however, its natural tendency is to sublimate, or go directly from a solid to a gas at room temperature, albeit rather slowly. When it
is mixed with menthol, the new substance adulterates the camphor and the mixture forces it to go through the liquid state. In other words, adding a
foreign substance will cause the substance to become impure and change its physical properties, or changes that do not change the composition of the
substance."
And as a bonus for completing this experiment you have made your own supply of VapoRub concentrate! It would need diluting with an ointment basis
(like petroleum jelly) about 20-fold, Vicks VapoRub contains 4.8% camphor and 2.6% menthol.
Aga's earlier example is kind of cooler (:-)) for a demo since it is a genuine chemical transformation. Even though the two accompanying phenomena of
noxious gas evolution, and getting really, really cold kind of steal some of the 'melting' effect's thunder - and thus make it a less "pure" showcase
of the phenomenon - you are getting three effects for the price of one.
[Edited on 6-9-2015 by careysub]
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chornedsnorkack
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Between eutectics of low-melting solids, which are liable to give rapid and nice reaction?
Na and K?
Lactic acid and lactic acid (both chiral forms melt at +53, racemate at +17)?
Others?
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deltaH
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ICE + NaOH 
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Morgan
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Perhaps this isn't the best example of solids turning to liquid, but it's not bad. I've seen a more profound effect where the material is seemingly
quite solid but turns to syrup upon being struck with a hammer. In the example I saw a solid rod of thixotropic material was tapped on the counter to
illustrate how stiff it was before the transition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgDQsYAcS3o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJsoCWqCsJ8#t=2m30s
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aga
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Erm, Ice powder ?
Is it anhydrous ?
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j_sum1
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aga. I take it you don't get snow where you live.
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aga
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Snow got banned here when they discovered that Winter was caused by people storing snow on their rooves (presumably so they didn't have to go up into
the mountains to get it).
I'd encourage everyone to stop storing snow on your roof and enjoy warmer weather all year round.
Here's the proof :-
First photo is of some Alaska people greedily shovelling snow onto their roof from a vast stockpile they already accumulated, which results in grey
skies and crappy cold weather.
When people stop doing that, and leave the snow where it should be, it looks like this :-
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Argentum
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Ba(OH ) 2 + NH4Cl
Also a good demonstration of an endothermic reaction.
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j_sum1
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Yeah. For maximum effect, stir with a thermocouple. If you do it at a reasonable quantity on a block of wood with a little puddle of water tou can
get the water to freeze and stick to the bottom of your beaker.
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aga
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You may find that was in the first reply to the OP.
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ave369
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Quote: Originally posted by aga  | Snow got banned here when they discovered that Winter was caused by people storing snow on their rooves (presumably so they didn't have to go up into
the mountains to get it).
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What a load of bull. Everyone knows that winter is caused by the White Walkers.
Smells like ammonia....
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deltaH
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This is a lot like googling... the result you want is usually one of the first, the rest is all blah blah snow and salts... oh and someone's bound to
be a nazi/hitler etc.
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bismuthate
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A solid acid + solid base (not to stong or it could be dangerous) might work like Mg(OH)2+2NaHSO4=Na2SO4+MgSO4+2H2O. Although I doubt it would work as
well in theory.
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MrHomeScientist
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That quick clay demo is very cool, I'd never heard of that before. That would make a great hands-on demonstration for my outreach program. Anyone know
if that stuff is for sale someplace? Geologist supply store? Anyone live in Norway that could dig some up?
The menthol and camphor demo is very cool too. I'd like to try that if I ever get menthol.
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careysub
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There is even a kit on eBay: "Ammonium Thiocyanate and Barium Hydroxide, 100g, Fast Freeze Reaction Experiment containing 100 g each of ammonium
thiocyanate and barium hydroxide.
Any ammonium salt will do however. Ammonium chloride is cheap, Shakhashiri in his chem demo vol. 1 also uses ammonium nitrate.
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unionised
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Nobody mentioned indium and gallium?
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