sulfer and salt peter

[chemfreak]

what can i do with these. I have about 8 oz of each on the way. im planning on using a little in rockets but i dont know what to do w/ the rest. or how to store them. if it helps im getting them from united nuclear.

[akcapr]

one reaction that looks really cool is you take equal amounts roughly of each, put them in a test tube, and then heat till the kno3 melts then it burns bright and looks kinda like KCLO4 + gummy bear

[woelen]

This is a very dangerous thing to do!!! Never melt a mix of KNO3 and a reductor in a test tube. The reaction may become so violent that the contents is swirled away, out of the test tube, spraying around molten chemicals!

 

You can do the experiment with KNO3 and S by mixing it carefully and lightling the mix in the open on a piece of stone or metal. But never do this in a test tube!

 

@akcapr: Next time, please be more careful with what you suggest. Nobody is waiting for accidents with burning chemicals sprayed around!

[[w00t]]

he actually had this video on his website long time ago, as i recall didnt seem dangerous

[aj47]

How about mixing them both with a little sugar, that should make a nice rocket mix.

[woelen]

'']he actually had this video on his website long time ago, as i recall didnt seem dangerous

It IS dangerous. What akcapr describes is adding both compounds to a single test tube and then melting. In this way you get a mix of chemicals and when the KNO3 starts reacting with S somewhere in the lower part of the test tube, a lot of gas is produced (mostly N2, SO2), and this gas may swirl the material above it out of the test tube. This simply is a stupid experiment.

 

If you want a (still quite dangerous) but relatively safe experiment, then put some KNO3 in a test tube and heat this, until it is molten. Then add some sulphur. The effect is the same, but MUCH more safe. Now the reaction occurs in the top of the test tube and the chance of molten chemicals being sprayed around is much smaller. Still, however, this experiment also must be performed with great care. The test tube may crack due to the heat and still some hot material may be swirled away from the test tube.

[YT2095]

why not forget the sulpher entirely, melt the KNO3 and drop a peice of wood down it, like a used Match stick? or a Chopstick that you can pull back out?

[akcapr]

This is a very dangerous thing to do!!! Never melt a mix of KNO3 and a reductor in a test tube. The reaction may become so violent that the contents is swirled away' date=' out of the test tube, spraying around molten chemicals!

 

You can do the experiment with KNO3 and S by mixing it carefully and lightling the mix in the open on a piece of stone or metal. But never do this in a test tube!

 

@akcapr: Next time, please be more careful with what you suggest. Nobody is waiting for accidents with burning chemicals sprayed around![/quote']

 

woelen you are overreacting. Things such as thermite are alot more dangerous but they can still be safely done. when i did this i dint do it in my living room or anything and i stepped away as the reaction was going on. EVERY reaction can be done safely.

[budullewraagh]

not methylphosphorofluoridic acid and isopropanol

[chemfreak]

How about mixing them both with a little sugar, that should make a nice rocket mix.

 

 

thats why i orderd them

[chemfreak]

is kno3 salt peter? if it is im scared. is the gov. gonna trace this?

[hybrid04]

I believe potassium nitrate is found in fertilizer and considering your ordered 8oz of it. No i doubt it. Make and interestig headline though "Sixth Grader Sent to Jail For Buying Chemicals"

[chemfreak]

how should I store them. Are the united nuclear containeers adiqate?

[Norman Albers]

I read a great grade B+ novel set in Toledo in the 1100's. Moslem culture had created the City of Ten Thousand Lights where women went to University. The hero was always jumping over stone walls into the garden of a lady also in some need, etc. In a climactic scene he scraped saltpeter from a horse stall, mixed it with sulphur and whatever I don't recall, and blew the lock off the prison garden gate. ALRIGHT!!! In my movie the geek gets the girl.

[jdurg]

is kno3 salt peter? if it is im scared. is the gov. gonna trace this?

Unless you're planning on doing something illegal with it, why would you be scared? I guess I've never been able to understand why people freak out about whether or not the government knows that they have certain chemicals. Unless you are doing something that is against the law and downright illegal, why should you be scared of the government?

[budullewraagh]

the same logic could be used to justify such ridiculous things as domestic spying

[chemfreak]

ive heard other people say that, so I decided to follow suit

[akcapr]

by the way bud, you can always be far enough away from a reaction to do it safely.

[wpenrose]

by the way bud, you can always be far enough away from a reaction to do it safely.

 

Even if you have 20 foot arms, you can still blow your hands off.

 

I recall a friend of a friend who mixed KNO3, sulfur, and carbon, but it wouldn't ignite. He decided the crystals of saltpeter were too large. So he put the mixture in a bowl and started grinding it. You can guess the rest. He lost three fingers and his glasses (which kept him from being blinded).

 

Chemistry is dangerous for two reasons:

 

1. You might maim or kill yourself.

2. You might get interested in it, go to school and become a professional chemist, and spend the rest of your life trying to find a job.

 

Be a politician. Then you won't have to work and you'll never be short of cash. And you can spout the looniest crap and people will memorize and quote your very words. The crazier you get, the more they will love you.

 

Dangerous Bill

Retired chemist.

[akcapr]

I dont see how u can lose 3 fingers from just BP but yes it is dangerous and that was just stupid. you may have 20 foot arms but duh u can still blow em up if you use them to mix stuff etc., but you could always make a some sort of remote control mecahnism to make the reaction procede with you safely away. An example is the atom bomb, very dangerous, but still can be tested safely.

[woelen]

woelen you are overreacting. Things such as thermite are alot more dangerous but they can still be safely done. when i did this i dint do it in my living room or anything and i stepped away as the reaction was going on. EVERY reaction can be done safely.

I do not agree. I have no objection against that particular reaction between S and KNO3. My objection is the way it is performed. I keep my opinion that it is plain stupid to mix the two, put the two in a test tube and then heat the mix. I have given a few suggestions on how it can be done more safely, so why would you want to do it in that unsafe way? The reaction looks the same (as spectacular) when sulphur is added afterwards, while the risk of chemicals being sprayed around is substantially lower.

[YT2095]

you could always split the difference and use the premixed on a ceramic plate or in a crucible outside

[woelen]

Yes, using the pre-mixed in the way as YT suggests is perfectly OK with me. I sometimes do that kind of experiments with my children. They really like it. Last time I did this, I made a mix of KBrO3 and S and I gave them a magnifying glass, mounted on a long stick and they were allowed to light the KBrO3/S mix by focussing the light of the sun on the mix. They loved it!

[RyanJ]

Chemistry is dangerous for two reasons:

 

1. You might maim or kill yourself.

 

Chemistry is only as dangerous as the person who performs the experiments, with the correct equipment and knowledge most experiments can be done safely and enjoyably. If however people rush and don't do the research or are just stupid and try something that’s not safe at all then what do we expect to happen? Yes there can be accidents with even the most well prepared and knowledgeable professionals but the risk is a lot lower if you have the correct equipment and know what your doing do I don't class it as very dangerous.

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[Norman Albers]

Grind separately.