Bob Thompson, our resident Make: Science Room lab geek, answered a question in the comments for the “Setting Up a Home Science Laboratory Part II – Gearing Up” topic, about buying digital scales. I thought it was worth posting here for the benefit of others. Cynthia asked: What would you recommend in the way of […]
No photos yet. That’s a homework assignment for the bubble chemists in the audience. But I couldn’t resist sharing my excitement over this paragraph from US patent 5246631 for glowing soap bubbles:
An example of practice of the present invention involves using a liquid dish such as LEMON JOY available from Procter & Gamble Company (Cincinnati, Ohio). Although the LEMON JOY may be diluted with varying amounts of water, it is preferred that the dishwashing liquid be used at full strength. Approximately 9 milliliters of CYALUME solution made in accordance with the manufacturers instructions are added to approximately 120 milliliters of the dishwashing liquid. Although this particular mixture may be used to produce adequate self-illuminated bubbles, it is preferred that 3 to 4 drops of glycerin be added to the solution as a bubble hardener. The solution is then ready for use to form self-illuminated bubbles.
I’ve never actually measured how much Cyalume (wikipedia) is in a standard glow-stick, but I’m betting you could come up with 9 mL of the stuff by cutting open two or three at most.
To “shoot,” an anvil, for the record, is to blast it several hundred feet into the air using a charge of black powder. This delightful man, Gay Wilkinson, is apparently the world’s champion anvil-shooter. The fireworks start at 1:30. [via Boing Boing]
Wondering what all that strange stuff is in your DIY chemistry lab? Well, then you should definitely watch this lab safety video by the The Sounds of Science!
More awesomeness from Terra of Halloween Forum. The UV-reactive bubble juice is from Tekno Bubbles.
Windell of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories noticed that the “Blueberry Blast” candies he picked up contained red cabbage extract, which, as every evil mad scientist knows, is a classic homebrew pH indicator. So he dunked three samples in baking soda solution, neutral water, and vinegar. Sure enough, visible color changes.
It may smell like rotten eggs, but it turns out H2S may may be able to slow down the chain of chemical degradation that causes death in cells that are deprived of oxygen. Biologist Mark Roth can supposedly take a lab rat, stop its heart with a dose of hydrogen sulfide, and bring it back to life an hour later just by turning off the gas. Quoting now from this article at CNN.com:
Scientists are starting to understand that death isn’t caused by oxygen deprivation itself, but by a chain of damaging chemical reactions that are triggered by sharply dropping oxygen levels. The thing is, those reactions require the presence of some oxygen. Hydrogen sulfide takes the place of oxygen, preventing those reactions from taking place. No chain reaction, no cell death.
Roth has won a MacArthur grant for this work, so there’s a better-than-average chance that it’s more than just hype.
