wonky experiment

[BG]

Making explosives in the Chemistry lessons is much more fun

We were making copper acetylide - bubbling acetylene gas through copper sulpate and forming a precipitate.

Is that similar to a thermal lance?

[NellyWellyWaspy]

My chemistry teacher was attempting to cut a small sliver of potassium to drop into a large glass container of water and accidentally dropped the whole thing in.

Broken glass and water all over the lab. Luckily no one was hurt.

He was the same teacher who managed to set fire to a large cylinder of hydrogen in class.

I don't think teaching was his true vocation.

Almost the same thing happened in one of my lessons, where the teacher was trying to cut a tiny piece of Sodium off and drop into a beaker of water, but a huge chuck fell off and stuck, balanced on the beaker's edge. We all legged it out of the room.

What else funny happened? Oh yes.

Why students should not tidy up after chemistry lessons. We were using charcoal to heat something. We were told to put back unused charcoal into the bag, and then into the cupboards. One of the pupils thought it would be a laugh to put his hot charcoal in the bag. About an hour later, much smoke ....

and we wonder why practical experiments are not often done in class these days?

[Heathen]

Those were the days. Off to the local hardware and garden shops. Charcoal, sulphur, potassium nitrate, Jetex fuse and metal cigar tubes. What fun we had with those.

[wycombewasp]

I will always remember an experiment back in the early 60s , making hydrogen, lots of glass tubes and beakers and the teachers words at the end, I will now prove there is hydrogen by lighting the end of this tube, he then proceeded to blow the whole lot to pieces covering the front of the class and himself with much sharp glass. Result teacher and several boys of to hospital, much blood and mayhem, those were the days. 

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Those were the days. Off to the local hardware and garden shops. Charcoal, sulphur, potassium nitrate, Jetex fuse and metal cigar tubes. What fun we had with those.

My friend and I did something similar and burned a large section of the window sill in his bedroom.

Our mothers were furious, but his dad was really pleased we'd managed to get the ratio right.

[Rifleman Harris]

My dad decided to make gunpowder in his parents' newly decorated front room.  It didn't end well with burned hair and stuff.  At least my grandparents had the chance to decorate again, and new windows!

I spend my days looking at chemical processes, trying to keep everything in the equipment and stop them blowing up.  It's a fun job except when I get to see explosions they rarely end up well.

[matelot22]

No chemistry experiments to tell of, but I have seen a frigate accidentally fire off a dummy torpedo round across the jetty, only for it to collide with and write off some poor individual's car. That was quite disastrous.......and quite a story to tell the insurance company.

[westwaleswasp]

 I have been in a lab fire with Na-K alloy plus diethyl ether, which was not fun, nor especially my fault, although I did put that one out and hit the alarm.That evacuated an entire building, putting my future wife out in the rain. We met that night where I had to explain that she got soaked because of me.

Once my students managed to evacuate a wing of a school when one ignored the instructions making copper sulphate via sulphuric and copper oxide, heating unneutralised acid to form acidic plumes. Think that was my third week in that school.

I once dunked a bit of sodium accudentally- it hit the ceiling with a huge bang, making a girl in the front scream and possibly wet herself. I have had a couple of ethanol fires, again due to potassium, evacuating the school but only as a precaution  you understand, and burned a hole through two heatproof mats into a wooden bench with charcoal blocks used in the extraction of lead from lead oxide. The mark is still there, and nowadays we use five mats.

During my A levels I got concerned sulphuric on my trousers and shirt leading to a rapid removal of clothes as it ate through them. Also threw away some phosphorous chloride down the sink which is not to be recommended.

When working for Mobil I saw a heated bitumen canister lose its lid and fly across the room into the wall, that was my bad, not putting holes in the canister first.

I have seen Lithium Aluminium Hydride go up from a washing up bowl, which really should not happen. Had a few halogens go haywire.

I won't mention chlorate bombs.....

Strangely despite all this and more I ended up being my school's health and safety officer....

 

[welsh wasp]

After reading this thread - most of which I don’t understand - I’m very glad I gave up sciences as soon as I could. I wonder if there is a correlation between irresponsible/innocent schoolboys & Wasps supporters? Probably not.

My only contribution is having a client with a big City office who allowed staff to have Amazon deliveries to the office to make sure they didn’t stay at home. One day a large delivery arrived of some chemical or other - note comment above of my ignorance - & along cane the police too to check what it was going to be used. Turned out to be an innocent need!

[westwaleswasp]

Someone must really dislike chemistry- I got smited.........

[matelot22]

Someone must really dislike chemistry- I got smited.........

Did you get notification of being smited? I only noticed a few weeks ago the applaud/smite thingymajigs, but I've no idea when they happened or for what post........

[westwaleswasp]

No, I just happened to notice as I had a screenshot of this morning on another machine and saw the difference. My chemistry anecdotes often have this effect, especially on my wife.....  :
I mean technically it could be another post, but they are mainly morning alls and other harmless offerings of late.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Somebody must have been badly traumatized by Chemistry lessons at school, but not me.

I was badly traumatized by the WHOLE school experience. I still have nightmares about school, some 50 years later.

[matelot22]

No, I just happened to notice as I had a screenshot of this morning on another machine and saw the difference. My chemistry anecdotes often have this effect, especially on my wife.....  :
I mean technically it could be another post, but they are mainly morning alls and other harmless offerings of late.

Hahaha, and right on cue, I've received my first smiting!! I feel I have some street cred now.......

[Neils]

You don't see these on a phone.