This is really unbelievable. When I am not playing, reading, or writing about video games, I spend 70 hours a week as a Biochemist for a well known Pharmaceutical company. After 8 years of higher education, I feel like I have a strong grip on the dos and don’ts of chemical reactions. This dipshit obviously did not pay attention. How he is a Doctoral Professor and has all his fingers and eyebrows is beyond me. If that face shield was not down, he likely would have blinded anyone sitting in the first 3 rows.
Chemistry Professor Blows Up Classroom – Watch more Funny Videos
Any idea what that was? Hydrogen? Magnesium? Potassium?
I can’t tell what he added or did to the system…
The video descriptions says it is Acetylene. That could be incorrect. Magnesium would only flash if heated, but there would not be that loud bang. Since the reaction was exothermic with a relatively low Ea (activation energy) due to the rapid release of energy, the boom, I think he may have dropped pure Sodium crystal into Deionized water.
Pure sodium crystal must be stored in a stable organic solvent such as kerosene. The non-polarity and reactive nature of water molecules would instaneously react with Sodium(+2). The rapid jumping of electrons across energy levels would make that explosion happen.
The Sodium rxn can be done, but using a very small piece of Sodium. A middle school teacher several years ago dropped a softball sized sodium crystal into a 55 gallon garbage can of tap water. The explosion blinded 12 kids and caused permanent hearing damage in almost everyone.
I see. I was thinking maybe it was a potassium reaction but thinking about it, I don’t think potassium would react that quickly and probably no “BOOM”, right? Not like that, anyway…
potassium ion is reactive, but not THAT reactive. Who knows what this guy was doing. Chances are he had some residual Inorganic salts on there, halogens mixing with non-halogens, cats and dogs getting along, basically all of the worst stuff in the Bible.
I have something to add here.
You are both massive nerds.
@ Sully:
Our massive nerd minds keep those airplanes you fly in the air. If it was up to most people, you would still be duct taping cardboard wings to your arms and flapping off of a cliff.
“The geeks shall inherit the earth”
If memory serves me correctly, sustained flight was first achieved by Bicycle makers, not scientists or math nerds.
FACE.
PWNED.
Scientists made the Atomic Bomb.
Scientists designed the Enola Gay.
Scientists brought the pain.
And I will bring the pain to you next.
Tonight. New COD maps. 9:00pm.
Be there, or be elliptical.
wow, i guess you learn something new everyday
It looks like there might be a magnesium wick in their. Perhaps a magnesium-aluminum-ferric oxide explosion or something?
It’s very scary to see all the idiots around us that hold our fates in their hands.