Fun science experiments, but these are not safe for kids. And come to think of it, probably not safe for me either haha :)

I’ve been watching quite a few YT vids recently, just to fill in time when I don’t want to sleep (like now) even though I should be sleeping or doing more important things. Now that I think of it, I’m noticing a lot of these videos are chemistry-based, with something exploding when coming in contact with something else.

For example: Hot Paraffin Wax vs Cold Water

There was a bit of noise in the video, and coupled with his accent, I couldn’t entirely understand what he was saying. So I’m still wondering, what is it that causes the flame here?

Here’s a fun experiment – not safe for kids (or anyone else, for that matter): mix some pure iodine flakes with powdered aluminium (Al filings will do). Add a drop of water. It’s probably best if you do this one outside. The purple smoke is pure iodine vapour.

That would be interesting to try too :) And again, no I’m not going to be trying any of these, so don’t stress :)

In this video here – Pouring molten salt into water – molten salt into water creates a pretty big explosion. But pouring molten sodium chloride into the water seems to have a Leidenfrost (sp?) effect, and therefore creates no explosion because the molten sodium chloride doesn’t touch the water, even though it’s flowing through it.

He’s asking (and now I’m asking too) why does the molten salt react with the water, but the molten sodium chloride doesn’t?

JTQ said:

That would be interesting to try too :) And again, no I’m not going to be trying any of these, so don’t stress :)

In this video here – Pouring molten salt into water – molten salt into water creates a pretty big explosion. But pouring molten sodium chloride into the water seems to have a Leidenfrost (sp?) effect, and therefore creates no explosion because the molten sodium chloride doesn’t touch the water, even though it’s flowing through it.

He’s asking (and now I’m asking too) why does the molten salt react with the water, but the molten sodium chloride doesn’t?

I don’t understand the question

Sodium chloride is salt, so the question makes no sense. Looking at the video, when he pours molten NaCl into the water, he gets an explosion, but it’s not chemical (he demonstrated that with the pH test.) The test with molten sodium was a chemical reaction (as indicated by the flames produced when he did it.) The non-explosive tests with other salts were interesting, and they were the ones I’m not sure about.

JTQ said:

Fun science experiments, but these are not safe for kids. And come to think of it, probably not safe for me either haha :)

An excellent book on fun science experiments that are not safe is “Mad Science” by Theo Gray. The most memorable experiment in the book, and probably the safest, is making ice cubes that sink, out of heavy water.
http://graysci.com

Every experiment in Mad Science is accompanied by stunning full-color photographs that provide a front-row seat to split-second chemical reactions and glorious subatomic activity. To further enhance the hands-on experience of scientific exploration, Gray includes step-by-step instructions for nearly every experiment. Following all of the safety guidelines, readers can safely recreate some of the fifty-five experiments in the book including making sinking ice cubes, building sodium acetate sculptures, and burning steel. Other experiments include igniting liquid oxygen drops and turning beach sand to steel.

btm said:

Here’s a fun experiment – not safe for kids (or anyone else, for that matter): mix some pure iodine flakes with powdered aluminium (Al filings will do). Add a drop of water. It’s probably best if you do this one outside. The purple smoke is pure iodine vapour.

I don’t have iodine flakes handy. Could I do it with evaporated Betadine?

JTQ said:

For example: Hot Paraffin Wax vs Cold Water

There was a bit of noise in the video, and coupled with his accent, I couldn’t entirely understand what he was saying. So I’m still wondering, what is it that causes the flame here?

The ignition source is the Bunsen burner sitting next to the beaker.
The flame is very similar to that from pouring a beaker of cold water into hot oil.
I have to admit that I don’t fully understand what is happening in either case, the two possibilities that immediately come to mind are that:
1. The water vapour spreads the flammable gas over a much larger volume resulting in a much larger flame.
2. The turbulence created by the flash boiling of water entrains air in the rising plume which pre-mixes the flammable gas with oxygen from the air.