Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
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Thursday, 4 July 2013
This Day in Science History - June 29 - Parkesine
June 28th marks the passing of the man who introduced us to plastic. Alexander Parkes was a British chemist and metallurgist who created the first thermoplastic which he called Parkesine. Parkesine was a nitrocellulose compound that aroused great public interest when it was introduced at the 1862 Grand International Expedition. Parkes established a business to exploit its popularity, but ultimately failed within two years for two reasons. The first, Parkes would reduce quality to make his products less expensive. The second, and probably more important, Parkesine is highly flammable. Consumers did not like cheap plastic products that burned really easily.
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Blue Color Change Demo You Can Do at Home
You don't need a chemistry lab to perform a dramatic color change chemistry demonstration. Make a pale blue solution. Add another chemical and watch the solution form a precipitate and turn milky sky blue. Continue adding the color and watch swirls of vivid blue form, until finally the entire solution turns deep translucent blue. You only need water and two household chemicals for this project: hot tap water copper sulfate household ammoniaI used Root Kill™, which states on its label it is copper sulfate. Some pool treatments and algicides consist of copper sulfate, but read the ingredient list to make certain. Ammonia is sold as a common household cleaner. If you can't find pure dilute ammonia, try a glass cleaner that contains ammonia. Dissolve a spoonful of copper sulfate in a cup of hot water. The proportions are not critical, but you want a high enough concentration of copper sulfate to get a blue color. Stir in a small amount of ammonia. See the swirls of milky pale blue? The blue solid will settle out of solution if you allow it to sit undisturbed. Adding more ammonia will start to turn the solution deep blue -- much brighter than the original copper sulfate solution. When the reaction goes to completion you'll end up with a translucent blue liquid.Ammonia and copper sulfate initially react to precipitate copper hydroxide. Additional ammonia dissolves the copper hydroxide to form a vivid blue amino-copper complex. The cuprammonium solution could be used to dissolve cellulose as part of one method of producing Rayon. Blue Bottle Color Change Demo | More Home Chem Projects
Fireworks Facts
Some firework colors are safer than others. You can get silver and gold from heating charcoal or metals, such as aluminum or titanium, where the glow comes from incandescence. Other colors are produced by burning metal salts. Colors work a lot like the flame test, where the color actually produced results from the interaction between the emission and absorption of parts of the spectrum by the various components of the mixture. In general, metal salts burn in characteristic colors, but there are relatively non-toxic metals that can be used to produce any color of the rainbow. If your fireworks come from a reputable manufacturer, losing one in your yard won't produce Teenage Mutant Ninja clover. Keep in mind, there may be less expensive alternatives in use by other manufacturers that aren't as safe. if(zs>0){if(zSbL250)gEI("spacer").style.height=Math.floor(e[0].height/12)+17.5+'em';else{var zIClns=[];function walkup(e){if(e.className!='entry'){if(e.nodeName=='A'||e.style.styleFloat=='right'||e.style.cssFloat=='right'||e.align=='right'||e.align=='left'||e.className=='alignright'||e.className=='alignleft')zIClns.push(e);walkup(e.parentNode)}}walkup(e[0]);if(zIClns.length){node=zIClns[zIClns.length-1];var clone=node.cloneNode(true);node.parentNode.removeChild(node);getElementsByClassName("entry",gEI("articlebody"))[0].insertBefore(clone,gEI("spacer"))}}}};zSB(2);zSbL=0Waterfall Firework Project
This Day in Science History - June 28 - Emil Erlenmeyer
June 28th is Emil Erlenmeyer's birthday. Erlenmeyer is best known for the easily recognizable chemistry glassware that bears his name. The erlenmeyer flask is a conical based flask with a narrow cylindrical neck. It is commonly used in the same way as a beaker. The conical base allows stirring or swirling while the tapered neck prevents the contents from spilling. Unlike the beaker, an erlenmeyer flask may be sealed with a stopper. Erlenmeyer invented the flask in 1861 while he was a Professor at the Munich Polythechnic School researching the synthesis of organic compounds. Happy birthday Erlenmeyer! Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
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How To Make an Instant Soft Drink Slushy
Bottled water isn't the only liquid you can supercool into slush on command. You can apply the same principle to make instant slush out of your cola or sports drink. Don't have a freezer? There's a way around that, too... Try itif(zs>0){if(zSbL250)gEI("spacer").style.height=Math.floor(e[0].height/12)+17.5+'em';else{var zIClns=[];function walkup(e){if(e.className!='entry'){if(e.nodeName=='A'||e.style.styleFloat=='right'||e.style.cssFloat=='right'||e.align=='right'||e.align=='left'||e.className=='alignright'||e.className=='alignleft')zIClns.push(e);walkup(e.parentNode)}}walkup(e[0]);if(zIClns.length){node=zIClns[zIClns.length-1];var clone=node.cloneNode(true);node.parentNode.removeChild(node);getElementsByClassName("entry",gEI("articlebody"))[0].insertBefore(clone,gEI("spacer"))}}}};zSB(2);zSbL=0Fireworks Facts
Some firework colors are safer than others. You can get silver and gold from heating charcoal or metals, such as aluminum or titanium, where the glow comes from incandescence. Other colors are produced by burning metal salts. Colors work a lot like the flame test, where the color actually produced results from the interaction between the emission and absorption of parts of the spectrum by the various components of the mixture. In general, metal salts burn in characteristic colors, but there are relatively non-toxic metals that can be used to produce any color of the rainbow. If your fireworks come from a reputable manufacturer, losing one in your yard won't produce Teenage Mutant Ninja clover. Keep in mind, there may be less expensive alternatives in use by other manufacturers that aren't as safe. if(zs>0){if(zSbL250)gEI("spacer").style.height=Math.floor(e[0].height/12)+17.5+'em';else{var zIClns=[];function walkup(e){if(e.className!='entry'){if(e.nodeName=='A'||e.style.styleFloat=='right'||e.style.cssFloat=='right'||e.align=='right'||e.align=='left'||e.className=='alignright'||e.className=='alignleft')zIClns.push(e);walkup(e.parentNode)}}walkup(e[0]);if(zIClns.length){node=zIClns[zIClns.length-1];var clone=node.cloneNode(true);node.parentNode.removeChild(node);getElementsByClassName("entry",gEI("articlebody"))[0].insertBefore(clone,gEI("spacer"))}}}};zSB(2);zSbL=0
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