budullewraagh

not the draino i used......i dont remember reading anything about NH3. ingredients: NaClO3, NaOH, Na4O4Si, misc stuff that isn't NH3. and no, i definately didn't make NH4NO3. sheesh. also, where'd the whole battery acid thing come from?

where's the N source?

Today I tried the following experiment: 20% HCl+NaOH+NaClO3(the latter 2 were in a solution of draino) I distinctly remember it turning white and fizzing as the HCl was added. I also remember faintly smelling (i ran the other way after adding the HCl) a strange odor. Then I coughed a few times (nothing bad). Was the gas produced Cl2? Could somebody write out the reaction? Personally, I think it's HCl+NaOH->NaCl+H2O Of course, I say this assuming the NaClO3 doesn't react.

when it forms bonds, it is essentially gaining or losing electrons. when it bonds with metals, it "gains" e- (ex. Na3N). when it bonds with most nonmetals, it loses e- (ex. NO2).

you mentioned "nitrite" (NO2-) but actually said nitrate (NO3-). in the nitrite ion, N takes a +3 charge, while each O takes a -2 charge. since there are 2 O trying to make 2 bonds each (in order to take the -2 charge), the N cannot give up enough e-. as a result, the one of the O atoms forms a coordinate covalent bond with the N and takes a negative charge. the same thing works with the nitrate ion, except the N takes a +5 charge and collectively, the O wants to take a total of -6 worth of charges and can't. so, once again, one of the O takes a -1 charge and forms a coordinate covalent bond.

curses, the NO3- ion IS more electropositive than the Cl- ion. good call, yt

NaCl, H2O and KNO3 could work i suppose. I say KNO3 only because I'm not too sure of other commercial sources of K

woah, that's crazy. as a joke earlier this year, my chem teacher showed us how radioactive she was using a geiger counter. of course it's only because she had swallowed some Co 60 for a thyroid test, but still, it was quite amusing. the only radioactive materials we have in school emit alpha and beta particles, but hey, i feel a bit more safe:\

the decomposition reaction actually isnt terribly dangerous; see the following link, which is a .asx video of the (NH4)2Cr2O7 decompositon reaction: http://boyles.sdsmt.edu/dichrom/AmmoniumDichromate.asx a quote from a random website: "given acid, chrome plating, and a source of ammonia" apparently those types of matter will help you synthesize (NH4)2Cr2O7 check this out for some info: http://www.colutron.com/products/chargeprep.html more info, but this is more on the topic: B02 Ammonium Dichromate Volcano Description Ammonium dichromate is set off by igniting a paper towel which has been soaked in ethanol. A voluminous green chromium(III) oxide ash is thrown out of the pile of dichromate with bright sparks. This experiment is shown twice--once in the dark and once in normal light. The ash is very toxic because some carcinogenic chromium(VI) is not reduced to chromium(III) before it is expelled from the hot center of the reaction. Equation (NH4)2Cr2O7 --> N2 + 4 H2O + Cr2O3 Reference B. Z. Shakhashiri, "Chemical Demonstrations", Vol. 1, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison ,Wisconsin, (1983) p.81. as for a synthesis, it would be difficult to figure one out with household materials, considering i've never seen a source of chromium for sale. just ask your chem teacher to order some.

Generally, polyatomic ions contain polar covalent bonds. Still, the difference between polar covalent and ionic bonding is really subject to opinion. The "rule" chemists use is that if the electronegativity difference of the bonded atoms is greater than or equal to 1.7, it's an ionic bond. NH4+ is an actual compound because it forms three covalent bonds and a fourth bond called a coordinate covalent bond. This fourth bond is formed because the H provides both electrons required for the bond. Polyatomic ions don't have 0 charges because they contain ions. Ex: Sulfate (SO4) with a -2 charge. O O=S=O O The sulfur can only make 6 bonds. The O2 each want to make 4 bonds, but cant, since sulfur cannot form 8 bonds. As a result, 2 oxygen atoms make double bonds and thus are happy, so to speak, while the other 2 oxygen atoms can only make 1 bond each. They are not happy. The SO4 -2 ion is unstable, as are all polyatomic ions. This is why you will never see a polyatomic ion alone unless suspended in an aqueous solution. To estimate the charge, just figure out the amount of bonds the central atom (like N in NH4+ and S in SO4-2) can make and how many bonds the outside atoms would like to make. Then figure out the difference and there's your charge. Another example is the borate ion. Boron wants to make 3 bonds. There are 3 oxygen bonded to it, all of which want to make 2 bonds. The boron can bond with them all, but cannot form even one double bond (let alone 3) and still have all 3 oxygen atoms bonded to it. Consequentially, you end up with the following molecule: O O-B-O Each O has a -1 charge since it only has 1 bond. There are 3 oxygen atoms. Therefore, borate is a -3 charged polyatomic ion. I hope I answered all your questions well.

this is incredibly annoying. i've called all local pool stores and they only carry HCl. also, i went to home depot and they dont have KNO3 or NaNO3. instead, they have mixtures of K2O, P2O5 and urea. sheesh.

i would advise you not to attempt any nuclear chemistry.

fun stuff to do with chem? i'm a sophomore too, and i am finishing a chem class soon. i'm going to a local lab supplies store tomorrow to get beakers, flasks, test tubes etc. this summer i'll be experimenting with various reactions in solutions and ionic substances. fun stuff.

this idea is interesting, but raises the question: how would one detonate the explosive? if you use a fuse, the contents will explode and release gas in the direction of the hole created to hold the fuse. if you try to heat it in another way, the outside container most likely will be melted or will be less effective in containing the blast.

yeah, it's polar. the electronegativity of F is greater than that of Xe. it's polar.

yep, i can help. the MnO2 catalyzes the reaction you described above because the Mn is electropositive enough to draw the O away from KClO3. as a result, the molecule decomposes and yields O2+KCl. i'm quite sure that no sugar could catalyze this reaction, considering the electropositivity of carbon is very little. however, if you tell us what sugar you're speaking of, that may shed light on the topic.

thanks to all of you, i'll look around

i checked all the pool supply stores in my area and none had it. they all said they only carry muriatic acid. i know i could just look online, but is there a place i could get it aside from a chemical distrubiting company?

yeah, plus there's the fact that nitric will make just about anything explosive:\ some french woman learned that when the dress she was wearing blew up. the activation energy was from her husband who was smoking. plus, i suppose if you add soap you could make ng, which is quite disturbing. also, just a question; last year for an odyssey of the mind project i used some KNO3 and glucose to make a smoke cloud. i can't remember directly breathing in any smoke, but i can remember coughing quite a bit for 2 mins or so after it ignited... i haven't been coughing up blood or anything but what you said was bloody scary man. be honest, do you think i'll be having problems down the road?

yeah, i'd rather not spend so much money on platinum:\ sadly, i have no idea where to get chemicals. well, there's my chem teacher but the department is kinda on to me after i asked for some KNO3 for Odyssey of the Mind. i ended up mixing it with some glucose and ignited it, creating quite a sizable smoke cloud. it also boiled an aluminum can i "contained" it in (i had no intentions to actually contain it but i was curious how hot the reaction would get). oh well... also, come to think of it, can't i just get some KNO3 or NaNO3 at Home Depot or a gardening store? if so, how could one produce HNO3 using a nitrate salt and conducting an acid-base reverse reaction?

aww, i think you proved my hypothesis to be wrong. i was thinking (for the better good of science) of adding an acid to CuSO4 and creating H2SO4. It kinda makes sense to me since the activity of H2>Cu does that make sense?

hmm, what about a respiratory cycle? there's nothing like good ol' adenosine triphosphate. however, a phosphate, sulfate or even borate could work. as for reducing it...try an acid. as for transporting and using that energy.....i have no idea. godspeed.

it's possible but keep in mind that there are 35000 genes, and so it's difficult pinpointing exactly what the nitrogenous base sequences are for each and every gene in each and every way it can be expressed. i mean, who would like to even READ the letters a,c,g and t over and over again, let alone analyze them for patterns and especially let alone identifying them in a strand of dna.