woelen

Look at the color of the flames of burning methylborate ester. Even a trace of this ester in a flame, which is otherwise pale blue or colorless gives rise to beautiful green flames. I did the experiment and put it on my website. http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/exps/borate_ester/index.html The green flame really is cool. It looks great, especially in a dimly lit room.

If you had performed a small search on this forum, then you would have found the answer. This topic very recently was covered in the Helium thread of the main chemistry forum. UTFSE

It is clear to me now what you did. I'll repeat the process. I have very pure Cu(NO3)2.3H2O and CuSO4.5H2O and I'll use that for the experiment. For the nail I'll use an ordinary iron and shiny nail. I also have CuCl2.2H2O and for each of the three copper salts I intend to do the experiment. The results will be posted here as soon as I have results.

You may use my FTP server for uploading it. I have a document server with tons of books on it, uploaded by different members of different boards (not yet from SFN). If you are willing to put it on the server, then others can download the book. Of course, look at copyright issues before doing so. It may bring you in trouble if the book is copyrighted. Before I make a document visible on my FTP server, I look at the contents. Crappy and k3wly info is not accepted. I, however, cannot check the copyright issues. That is the responsibility of the person who uploads. Every document on my server obtains an ownership tag, so it is not anonymous, I can see who uploaded a document. If you are willing to do so, contact me through PM for an account for uploading. If you upload something and you notify me, then usually it will be visible a few hours later to the whole internet community.

Well, that is your opinion. Of course it is not bleeding edge technology or state of the art research we are taling about, but still, I hate the culture of sueing people for everything. That culture destroys societies in the long run if it is extended for long enough time. For the same reason companies hardly want to sell chems to the general public anymore, because if some fool does foolish things with them, the company gets sued and is out of business. If we continue with this, then after 20 years no one dares to write a web site or dares to publish a book, because of possible errors. No, kindly tell them about their mistakes and only if no action is taken AFTER telling them about their mistakes, consider sueing them. Sometimes I'm glad that I do not live in the USA, over here fortunately we do not (yet) have such a sueing and claiming culture . For the same reason we must be so careful with a site like this. There could be told much more and there is a lot of fun, but I simply do not post all of that over here, because it may bring SFN in trouble. The same is true for posting sources of chemicals over here. Again, if some fool uses that info in a wrong way, SFN may get in trouble. Is that what you want?

Yes, but the reaction is not clean. You will have many side products among them N2 and NH2NH2. You can also make NH2Cl by mixing bleach with ammonia. Again, you'll have many side reactions, hydrazine and nitrogen again being the strongest side products. At certain conditions, more NH2Cl is formed, at other conditions more NH2NH2 is formed.

For AC electronics, designing circuits is easily done, using complex numbers. Imagine a voltage source with a angular frequency ω and amplitude A, so as function of time you have V(t) = A*cos(ωt). Now, replace this with a voltage X(t) = A*exp(ωt). Now, the real voltage can be written as the real part of X(t), being Re(X(t)) = A*cos(ωt). Using this formalism, you can treat every passive linear component as a complex resistor Z. For lumped devices there are basically three types: Capacitor with capacity C: Z = 1/jωC Resistor with resistance R: Z = R Inductor with inductance L: Z = jωL Here the number j has the property j² = -1. Now I'll give an example with three nodes, GND, VIN, VOUT. Between GND and VIN there is a voltage source X(t). Between VIN and VOUT there is a resistor R. Between VOUT and GND is a capacitor C. What is the output voltage as function of input voltage? This now can be easily solved. We introduce a complex voltage XOUT and XIN. We have a series connection of two resistors. Using basic circuitry for resistors you find XOUT = XIN * (ZC / (ZC + ZR)), where ZC is the capacitor's complex resistance and ZR is the resistor's complex resistance. Now XOUT = XIN *(1/jωC) / (R + (1/jωC)) = XIN / (1 + jωRC) So, you have XOUT as function of XIN and the angular frequency ω. The amplification as function of frequency ω can be written as 1/sqrt(1+ω²R²C²). There also is a phase shift, between input and output. That is -arg(1 + jωRC). For small ω (close to DC), the phase shift is close to 0, for high ω, the phase shift is almost 90 degrees. If you understand complex numbers, then this should be easy to grasp, otherwise it indeed will be very difficult for you to determine transfer functions of capactive and inductive circuits. The key to understanding these things is "transfer function" "complex arithmetic" "bode plot" "poles and zeros" "laplace transform" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_function

Methylborate may help you. Dissolve some boric acid in methanol and pass your gas over this solution, before it is led to the outlet, where it is ignited. This gives you a green flame, which looks really cool. Please, when you ask a question next time, use a more informative title for the topic. A scream "I need help" with an exclamation mark sign even causes people to stay away from the topic sometimes.

Why sue them? It is better to kindly notify them about the wrong information, that is a little less agressive. If you have a mail address or postal address you could drop a mail message and tell them about the errors. You see, people make errors and as long as people are willing to learn there should not be too much of a problem .

This sounds interesting. If I understand well from your post, you did the same experiment twice under the same conditions, once with copper nitrate and once with copper sulfate? I have both copper nitrate and copper sulfate and I'll see if I can repeat the experiment. Could you provide me with precise information about what you did?

Making HNO3 does not require vacuum distilling. Distilling at atmospheric pressure is better. With conc. H2SO4 and KNO3 or NaNO3 you can get 90% HNO3 without too much problem. I would not risk the destruction of a vacuum pump with the distillation of HNO3. It is very corrosive. A word of warning though! Distilling HNO3 is not something for the inexperienced home chemist, who does some fun experiments occasionally. This requires ALL glass apparatus, any rubber connections and stoppers will be eaten away in seconds by hot 90% HNO3 and the fumes, produced when something cracks are intensely poisonous and corrosive.

Oh yes, it is important to have these other wires connected, especially the green, orange and brown wire. I personally experienced that if these wires are not connected properly, then the PSU works very unreliably and then it seems to have a will of its own, which is not good at all for a PSU . I did not cut away the wires, before I was absolutely sure that the thing powers up in a stable way. That is why I set up the page on my site. I did the trial and error already, so you do not need to go through all that again. The PSU contains a circuit with some feedback electronics and it determines from the signals it senses, whether the raw power supply has come up properly. Only if this is the case, it releases the power for the CPU and other hardware on the mainboard. This is absolutely necessary for PC's, because otherwise the CPU, memory and so on may be initialized improperly or even be permanently damaged. These devices do not tolerate a large deviation from their rated voltage and especially immediately after switch-on, voltages may vary wildly. The PSU simply isolates al these "wild" voltages from its output wires and only when the sense signal becomes stable it releases the outputs for the CPU, mainboard and so on. The normal sequence of operation for a PSU is that it 1) senses the signals, present at the mainboard, through the sense wire(s). 2) as soon as the signals are within tolerated levels, it connects the regulated voltages (3.3V, 5V, 12V) to the output wires. 3) activates the power OK line (grey wire), which is connected to the CPU and other components on the main board and adapters. This line is not released before step (2) is taken.

Indeed, alcohol is not metabolized to CO2 and H2O. That only occurs when it is burnt. The typical smell of people, who drink too much is due to the acetaldehyde, mentioned by jdurg. When you pee in a toilet with chlorine bleach in it, you normally also will make chloramine, NH2Cl, a potent carcinogen and very irritating gas. NH2Cl is formed from hypochlorite and urea, which also is present in urine. So, jdurg has breathed a nasty mix of a little chlorine and some NH2Cl. I think that NH2Cl is even worse than chlorine, due to its long-term effects. However, jdurg does not have to worry after his one-time exposure .

That setup of yours must be quite frustrating . What resistors do you have and what model of PSU do you have, is it is very old one? As I stated, my PSU always powers up, even without load. The builtin 20 mA load of the LED and 470 Ohm resistor are sufficient. Can you determine an approximate value of the minimum current drain, needed by your PSU, before it shuts down? You can measure this by taking an ampere meter and a very concentrated NaCl solution and then slowly diluting this and looking at the measured current.

Yes, I've put a lot of effort in it, but it was worth it. Now I can do electrolysis experiments very easily and safely. Simply plugin the resistors and switch on the power supply. My next project is to make Ba(BrO3)2 electrolytically from potteries BaCO3 and NaBr. That would be a nice oxidizer. The only problem I have left now is that the size of my graphite anodes is limited. They are 8 mm diameter and can be immersed in the liquid for 5 cm. That only makes an area of approximately 13 cm². I read that graphite anodes do not allow more than 40 to 50 mA current density per cm², so in order to keep erosion low I must limit the total current to 0.5A through the cell, which is quite meagre . I can use multiple cells in parallel, but that is quite cumbersome. I'm looking for thicker/longer anodes, but they are hard to find. If I were you, I would buy two cheap ceramic 10 Ohm/10 Watt resistors and put these in series, making a 20 Ohm resistor. Use this as load. That should provide sufficient load for your PSU to keep it working always. Do you use an older PSU? For me, a load of just 20 mA is sufficient to allow the PSU to switch on.

No, atoms will not be destroyed. It is a chemical process, not a nuclear one. So, molecules will be broken down to other molecules and/or ions.

Electrolysis is nothing more than a redox reaction, with the cathode acting as a strong reductor and the anode acting as a strong oxidizer. In fact, these artificial reductors and oxidizers are incredibly powerful. If a voltage of just a few volts is applied, then the reducing power and oxidizing power exceeds the power of the strongest chemical reductors and oxidizers. Now, back to the concrete situation of NaCl, dissolved in water, with copper anode and copper cathode. Near the anode, the following things are present: H2O Na(+) ions Cl(-) ions Cu metal The anode acts as oxidizer. What happens now is that the most easily oxidized species is oxidized. In the above case, this is the copper metal. It is oxidized to Cu(+) ions, or Cu(2+) ions. If a graphite anode is used, then the available compounds for oxidation are: H2O Na(+) ions Cl(-) ions C (carbon of anode) Now, the Cl(-) ions are the easiest oxidized species, but they are close to H2O. So, what happens now is that Cl(-) is oxidized to Cl2: 2Cl(-) --> Cl2 + 2e. As a side reaction you also have oxidation of water. This is because the oxidation of water is just a little bit harder than oxidation of chloride. At the cathode a similar reasoning can be made. Over there we have H2O Na(+) ions Cl(-) ions Cu metal Now, we have to look at what is easiest reduced. In this case, that is the water. Now suppose that we add some NiCl2 to the solution of NaCl. In that case we have the following things around the cathode: H2O Na(+) ions Cl(-) ions Cu metal Ni(2+) ions Now, the easiest reduced species is not water, but nickel ion. The nickel ions are reduced to metallic nickel. When the applied voltage is sufficiently high, then still the reduction of water also occurs as a side reaction. So, you see, electrolysis is a redox-reaction, with different reactions competing at the electrodes. Which species is actually oxidized/reduced depends mainly on the ease of oxidation/reduction, but also at the applied voltage and the concentration of the reactants.

If you have a mole of helium ions around, then they will react with everything around them, violently and destructively, themselves being converted to helium and the other compound(s) destroyed. He(+) ions would be an insanely strong oxidizer, oxidizing any known matter, even fluorine.

Finally I have found the time to make a good power supply for electrolysis experiments. The power supply itself can be used for very high currents (mine goes up to 15A, according to documentation, but in practice it may be a little less). I designed a set of resistors, for current control. This allows currents up to over 3A. Of course, adding more resistors in parallel allows increasing the current, but in practice one hardly needs more than 2A, because the current density should not be too high. The setup is quite versatile and it is cheap. http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/misc/psu.html The page is a recipe for how to build such a thing yourself. Emphasis is put on safety and ease of use. No working with wires, which have to be wound around each other and so on. The concept uses nice connectors and configurations can simply be changed by plugging/unplugging.

As far as I know only xenon forms compounds, stable at room temperature. The book "Chemistry of the Elements" by Earnswood and Greenshaw also mentions the existence of the compound KrF2, but this only is stable at temperatures not exceeding appr. 80 K. Of the other noble gases no confirmed chemical compounds are mentioned in that book, although it mentions the existence of clathrates. The most notable is the hydroquinone/argon clathrate. However, this is not a real chemical compound, it is a crystal lattice, with fairly large open spaces in it, which are filled by argon atoms. This compound however has a specific formula, being C6H4(OH)2.Ar.

Helium has two protons in its nucleus and two electrons in its orbitals. So, your sister and the science book are wrong. Most of the helium also has two neutrons in its nucleus, but helium also can be made with 1 neutron in its nucleus. That is the lighter isotope of helium.

Could you post a larger image of the material? I also wonder what the white stuff is at the bottom. Or is that the reflection of the white surface on which the bottle is positioned? If copper is dissolved in another metal I do not expect formation of Cu(2+) ions or Cu(+) ions. It is an alloy and the color of alloys can be everything. So, the blue color is not due to ions, but what it is also remains a question to me.

Isn't that sometimes the funny part of science ? Just investigating something out of curiousity...

Jdurg, I agree with your lengty post on more detailed knowledge than necessary, but then you should have formulated things a little bit different. Scientists need to be precise . If you say that "All other acids are basically 'weak' acids...", then you give the impression that your list is the full list and that is why I posted my message. If you had written something like "these are the most common strong acids and others are rarely encountered in practice" then I would not have jumped onto this. You give the impression that these are all of them, which is not correct.

HAlO2 indeed does exist. It is a white insoluble powder, but it can better be written as AlO(OH). Most elements for compounds with OH-groups directly attached to the element. However, the properties of these compounds strongly depend on the element. In general one can state that when going from left to right in the periodic table the properties shift from basic to alkaline and also when going from low oxidation state to high oxidation state, one goes from basic to acidic. Some examples: LiOH Be(OH)2 B(OH)3 CO(OH)2 NO2(OH) The left of the first row contains the strong base LiOH and the right contains the strong nitric acid. NaOH Mg(OH)2 Al(OH)3 SiO(OH)2 PO(OH)3 SO2(OH)2 ClO3(OH) The left of the second row contains lye as strong base and sulphuric acid and perchloric acid as strong acids. Phosphoric acid is an intermediate acid. Silicic acid is very weak. Increase of oxidation state: Cr(OH)2 basic Cr(OH)3 amphoteric (can act as base, but also as acid) CrO2(OH)2 acidic (chromic acid) So, the presence of OH-groups can lead to bases, acids and to amphoteric compounds.