Illustrated Guide To Home Chemistry Experiments 56
ptorrone writes "The sad fact is chemistry and chemistry sets have been on the decline for the last couple decades. All is not lost, however. We (MAKE magazine) have a new book called The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments. Learn how to smelt copper, purify alcohol, synthesize rayon, test for drugs and poisons, and much more. In this video, Bob the chemist shows how to get around a pesky DEA regulation so you can make your own iodine. GeekDad also reviewed the book."
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There are billions of much more highly evolved bacteria in you right now than what scientists dug up. On the other hand, my next door neighbors can't cook bacon without the whole place fil
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Because a biological disaster could start a plague or blight or damage the ecosystem, directly or indirectly killing millions; while a home chemistry experiment gone bad is unlikely to
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All I can say is: (Score:2)
Just remember to use cash. (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Just remember to use cash. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not for those of us who have very common names, of the type that are more frequently used to "assemble" an alias. My birth name is one of the most common in the US - not quite on the order of "John Smith," but pretty close - and this unfortunate bit has landed me on the TSA no-fly list for most of the last year, among other bits of fun.
Back on topic, I'm a chemist by profession, and I always find things like this cool as all hell. I remember the chemistry sets of yore, including some of the "antique" sets used by my father and a a few of his younger uncles, and the progression over the years of what can be done with what's available to the layman has become increasingly disappointing. What's the likelihood that any modern set would ever come with a distillation column?
Good tools and decent, interesting references must be available to help get people (especially kids!) excited about, interested in, and practicing hard sciences. I know I'm not saying anything new to lots of people around here, but dammit, I'm gonna say it anyway.
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Absolutely agreed, but once in a rare while that's kind of a good thing [wired.com].
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Maybe practicality will kill it, or at least make it useless.
Keep sayin' it brother!
Re:Just remember to use cash. (Score:5, Informative)
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The black market would probably still use cash or something similar to it if there was enough of it still in circulation. It would become sort of like how it is in William Gibson books where the only transactions using cash are illegal ones, and nobody respectable accepts it as currency. A separate shadow economy would develop, but an economy nonetheless.
Most illegal transactions stay in cash form anyway so as to avoid tax problems (see also: Al Capone).
Re:Just remember to use cash. (Score:4, Informative)
As do those pesky things called banks.
When dealing with LARGE transaction, no body uses cash. They have accountants and they move money to different banks around the globe. When that's problematic, they create their own banks.
Seriously, this isn't 1930 anymore.
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Just fuck it.
Excellent idea (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Excellent idea (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Excellent idea (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Excellent idea (Score:4, Informative)
Air has Oxygen, water vapor, evil CO2, methane, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen oxides, dust & smoke, and FSM knows what else in it.
I stand by my statement that sulpher is the easiest element to collect.
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air = nitrogen. At least from a physicists point of view.
To make liquid nitrogen: collect a lot of air,
compress it violently, wait for it to cool down
and release into bottle...
Re:Excellent idea (Score:5, Interesting)
Geez- talk about getting history wrong (Score:3, Informative)
I've heard a lot of people talk about how great the 1911 version of EB is- based on this article, I would not trust it for anything remotely historical that involv
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Editorial bias (Score:2)
BTW I liked the quaintness of my Ninth Edition.
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http://rapidshare.com/files/73431487/hiscox__sloane_-_fortunes_in_formulas.djvu [rapidshare.com]
Slashvertisment or honest publicity? (Score:3, Interesting)
Then again, us, non-professionally trained chemists that happen to be geeks would love to learn more about practical and interesting science, including and but not limited chemistry. This book hits right at what I'd want on my bookshelf, next to my "Good Eat's" cookbook and 60-70's era DIY books.
So what do y'all think it is? Slashvertisment or a stab at the modern sterile environment that is public school science?
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Re:Slashvertisment or honest publicity? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Practicing chemistry (Score:1)
"But-but everyone does that!"
"That's no excuse for breaking the law, sir. Now, please step outside. Don't make me use my taser."
Safety goggles! (Score:3, Informative)
Although I must say that the eye heals suprisingly well after a minor injury. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/21/2265 [nejm.org] (Hyphema is blood in the eye.)
But... (Score:1, Funny)
Busted (Score:5, Insightful)
However, I think one is far more likely local law enforcement will suspect production of methamphetamine.
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2. It's due to state laws. I don't know where you live, but here, it's not legal to sell that much pseudoephedrine at one time. Even when you buy a 10 day supply they put you on a special government list.
Re:Ephedra (Score:2)
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home chemistry (Score:1)
Bob the Chemist? (Score:1)