Top 10 Mad Science-Worthy Chemistry Experiments

By Alex in Neatorama Exclusives, Science & Tech, Video Clips on Nov 4, 2009 at 12:10 am

Chemistry is a fascinating science, but it's often taught poorly in today's boring schools. Here's how chemistry should be taught: by mad scientists! Here's Neatorama's list of the Top 10 Mad Science-Worthy Chemistry Experiments:

1. Briggs-Rauscher Reaction

[YouTube Clip]

The Briggs-Rauscher reaction is a well known example of oscillating chemical reactions, also known as chemical clocks because the periodicity can be used to tell time. What's going on in the beaker is actually quite a complex set of chemical reactions. Here's how to do it: Link

2. Gummy Bear and Molten Potassium Chlorate

Who'da thunk that Gummy Bear can be so ... violent? Here's what happen if you drop a Gummy Bear (which is mostly sugar), to a tube of molten potassium chlorate:

[YouTube Clip]

3. Diet Coke and Mentos

Mentos in various carbonated liquids. From left to right: carbonated water (Perrier), Classic Coke, Sprite, and Diet Coke. By K. Shimada [Wikipedia]

You've all seen this before. The Diet Coke and Mentos experiment by Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz of EepyBird was the stuff of Internet legend back in 2007. But what exactly happens when you drop a Mentos into a solution of Diet Coke?
MythBusters explain:

According to Hyneman (he's the mustachioed MythBuster), it's a process called "nucleation," in which the particular chemistry of the Mentos candy interacts with the chemistry of the carbonated Diet Coke, causing the carbon dioxide gas, or CO2, to suddenly come out of suspension in the liquid and make a break for freedom. [...]
Hyneman says, "There's a cascade that happens with -- it's a little esoteric -- an ion exchange. Basically the Mentos start to dissolve, and it's like tripping a switch. It's not what you would call a chain reaction, because that's something else in chemistry terms, but it's a cascade whereon all of a sudden, all of the CO2 that was contained in the liquid is suddenly not as attracted to the liquid as it was before, because of this slight change in the chemistry that occurs."

Whatever you do, don't eat a mentos then chug a mouthful of diet soda, mmkay?

4. Elephant Toothpaste

[YouTube Clip]

Yes, even elephants need to maintain good dental hygiene, but what kind of toothpaste do they use? Here's a favorite chemistry demo called Elephant Toothpaste (no, elephants don't actually use this as a toothpaste, silly - it's only called that because it looks like the kind and quantity of toothpaste an elephant would use).
This one's easy to do, all you need is dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and potassium iodide: Link

5. Grape Plasma

What happens if you put a grape and nuke it in a microwave? You get something very cool ... and dangerous at the same time, because it *will* ruin your microwave, release poisonous gases, and you *can* burn down your house - so don't do it, mmkay? Watch:

[YouTube Clip]

What just happened? Here's the explanation, according to The Plasma Universe:

It is relatively easy to generate a plasmoid using a microwave and a medium that will initiate the formation of a plasmoid, this can be caused by the carbon microparticles in the smoke from a naked flame or match, which ignites and moves about as plasmoids, and some biological cells are known to produce plasma under microwave conditions, such as grapes (electrons try to move through highly resistive grape-skin, and plasmoids may form) This is due to the fact that microwaves, being high frequency electromagnetic radiation in the GHz range, are capable of exciting electrodeless gas discharges in air, similar to the process used in Sulfur lamps.

6. Burning Salts

Quick: what color is fire? Orangey red? Obviously you haven't seen alcohol, barium chloride, boron, strontium, calcium, lithium, sodium, copper, and potassium salts set aflame ...

[YouTube Clip]

7. Magnesium in Dry Ice

You've probably heard that fire needs oxygen to burn (indeed, the principle behind CO₂ fire extinguisher is to use the heavier carbon dioxide to displace the oxygen needed by the flame).
But does a fire really need oxygen? Not burning magnesium! It'll burn even when encased in dry ice (solid CO₂). Note: magnesium shavings are used - not powder, which will explode if you try to set it on fire.

[YouTube Clip]

8. Ferrofluid

Ferrofluid, a colloidal mixture of nanoscale magnetic particles in a solvent, reacts to magnetic field in an awesomely bizarre way. Sachiko Kodama uses ferrofluid to create dynamic sculptures called Morpho Towers:

[YouTube Clip]

9. Mercury Beating Heart

[YouTube Clip]

A drop of mercury in a solution of potassium chromate and sulfuric acid, set so it's almost touching an iron nail, will start to beat like a heart. Journal of Chemical Education explains why: Link

10. The World of Chemistry

[YouTube Clip]

John Farrier posted this back in May, 2009 but it's too good not to post again here. Behold, the World of Chemistry, a video from the Europe Research Commission using a dance party to explain basic chemical reactions.

Top 20 Amazing Science Facts

Facts 1 – 5

1. There are 62,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body – laid end to end they would circle the earth 2.5 times

2. At over 2000 kilometers long, The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth

3. The risk of being struck by a falling meteorite for a human is one occurrence every 9,300 years

4. A thimbleful of a neutron star would weigh over 100 million tons

5. A typical hurricane produces the energy equivalent of 8,000 one megaton bombs

Facts 6 – 10

6. Blood sucking hookworms inhabit 700 million people worldwide

7. The highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle is 166.94 mph, by Fred Rompelberg

8. We can produce laser light a million times brighter than sunshine

9. 65% of those with autism are left handed

10. The combined length of the roots of a Finnish pine tree is over 30 miles

Facts 11 – 15

11. The oceans contain enough salt to cover all the continents to a depth of nearly 500 feet

12. The interstellar gas cloud Sagittarius B contains a billion, billion, billion liters of alcohol [JFrater is planning to move there in the near future]

13. Polar Bears can run at 25 miles an hour and jump over 6 feet in the air

14. 60-65 million years ago dolphins and humans shared a common ancestor

15. Polar Bears are nearly undetectable by infrared cameras, due to their transparent fur

Facts 16 – 20

16. The average person accidentally eats 430 bugs each year of their life

17. A single rye plant can spread up to 400 miles of roots underground

18. The temperature on the surface of Mercury exceeds 430 degrees C during the day, and, at night, plummets to minus 180 degrees centigrade

19. The evaporation from a large oak or beech tree is from ten to twenty-five gallons in twenty-four hours

20. Butterflies taste with their hind feet, and their taste sensation works on touch – this allows them to determine whether a leaf is edible

Gorgeous Geometric Designs

Geometric art has been around since antiquity. From the ancient Greek to the native Americans, peoples all over the world throughout time have produced geometric works of art. Geometric designs tend to have a more rigid quality to them than organic based designs. Whether it’s minimalist and simple or very complex, many geometric designs are made up of rather simple shapes. Today we present 40 Gorgeous Geometric Designs to inspire you. Be sure to check out the artist’s other works by clicking on the images.

Andy Gilmore
This Mini Cooper looks awesome with a geometric design on it, turning an ordinary car into a work of art.

This symmetrical design is a great juxtapose between cool and warm colors as well as rigid and organic lines .

Niark1
This artist make use of simple geometric shapes to create some cool characters. While there are some organic elements, this piece is dominated by rigid shapes.

Many native American designs incorporated the zig zag lightning bolts and other geometric elements represented in this piece.

Nacho-Gil
This zebra made of triangles demonstrates how geometric designs can even convey the most organic of forms.

Another example of organic forms being created from geometric shapes is this mountain lion made of triangles. These pieces remind us that math and geometry are in everything we see.

Graphic Nothing
This geometric pattern plays tricks on your eyes. As intriguing as it is, you can’t stair at it too long before your eye start to strain.

This design uses only triangles to create an interesting pattern. The colors used here are reminiscent of old school 3D.

Chobopop
Chobopop’s geometric animal series features different animals made up of simple shapes. Mostly comprised of triangles, this image of a bear is stylistic, expressive and colorful.

Again, Chobopop make good use of the simple triangle. This time around he imagines a mounted deer head in great style.

Elijah
This piece looks like a sheet made of little glass tiles. You can almost see it move.

Phil Chang
The more you look the more you see in this space scene.  It combines geometric design elements with those of a more organic feel like the astronaut.

Charley Harper
Charley Harper is well known for his beautiful geometric designs and this one is particularly interesting with its pinstripe look and great sense of balance.

This beautifully simple design is of a turtle peeking out through his shell. This one has great complimentary colors and clean lines.

Gretchen Nash
The intricate patterns and geometric shapes that make up the owl in this piece are really superb. The use of negative space and the contrastingly simple branch make it even more delightful.

Iunewind
This 3D design is absolutely fantastic with its interesting shapes, great patterns and cheerful colors.

This awesome illustration by Iunewind resembles a cityscape. The beautiful colors, patterns and shading all make this one a real jewel.

MWM Graphics
Not only are the shoe designs really cool but the abstract backgrounds give the pieces a youthful and enthusiastic feel.

These snowboard look awesome with these geometric designs on them. The shapes and colors use in each design represent the different seasons perfectly.

Cesar Gomez
This piece by Cesar Gomez has a pleasing contrast between light and dark, cool and warm.

The eye naturally moves upward in this design as if ascending into the heavens.

Jeff Jagunich
The soft feel of the watercolor bleeding into the canvas stands in stark contrast to the geometric shapes and lines in this watercolor painting.

This watercolor creation has a feeling of expanding chaos.

Tomas Brechler
This gorgeous poster design for the Omega Code looks like some sort of nebula that creates triangles instead of stars.

6ra99a
This piece has a great sense of movement and speed.

Ciokkolata
This spiral design really draws you in. Fantastic colors and great movement make this one a stand-out.

Created with simple circles, this design really draws the eye toward its center. The color pallet is quite pleasing as well.

Elodole
Made by cutting and folding paper, this piece reminds me of an MC Escher drawing.

This creation has an architectural feel to it. Notice that both of these complex looking pieces were made with only three folds in the paper.

Dave Bollinger
This geometric design has a great sense of depth, inviting the eye to explore its depths.

Superb shading makes this design really pop. The absence of color really puts the emphasis on the 3 dimensional form.

Seize Happywallmaker
Painted using acrylics, this design is the definition of simplicity. The use of negative space as well as a great color pallet make this one quite compelling.

This design, though abstract in nature seems to be looking at you as you look at it. Great colors, simplicity and symmetry come together beautifully in this work of art.

Ghee Beom Kim
This piece from Mr. Kim is an optical illusion. Not only does it look great with its wonderful colors but it appears to be moving.

This geometric design has a yin-yang quality to it. The simple pattern has an interesting affect on the eye.

Richard Thompson III
The following faces were created by combining photographs and geometric illustrations. The outward projecting lines in this one convey a sense of enthusiasm.

The facial expression combined with the radiating pattern in this work give it a feeling of peace and happiness.

Marc Mckie
The following works of art from Marc have stunning colors and gorgeous designs. This one uses shading and highlight to give it a 3D look.

This design, with its vanishing point perspective and many layers has a sense of super fast movement towards the center.

With its wonderful colors and fun shapes this piece reminds me of a circus tent. Yet another awesome creation from Marc.