Sir……..you're on fire.

I was demonstrating the flame colour of elements today and how we can identify the elements in stars.

Using some spray bottle with methanol and metal salts, I was spraying a blue bunsen flame to give off lovely bright coloured flames.

One of the bottles wasn’t spraying very well and I decided, in my wisdom, to pour it onto my bench and light it. (Students a safe distance away of course). The flame burnt but was a bit naff, then for whatever reason possessed me, I poured a bit of the solution onto the flame.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH the vapour ignited and went all over the table and onto the floor. I did a quick check to make sure nothing untoward had happened to the students, who were all sitting staring at me, mouths open.

I blew out the table and made a comment about my actions (something about being a bit stupid) it was at this point that one of the girls said ” Sir, you’re on fire” and I looked down to see my trousers and feet were indeed alight, burning with a nice coloured flame as well.

I patted them out and prepared for the chaos from the incident unsettle the class. They were as good as gold, and got down to work with their practical using the spectroscopes…..until my boss came in.

When he entered the room, the one who had pointed out I was on fire, said “Mr Q set himself on fire” the boss looked at me, back at her and said ” He’s good at doing that. Did he tell you this wasn’t the first time?” and walked out.

I do work at a fairly interesting school student wise, and at times they are really tough, but today was one of those days that I will have fond memories of.

Nice one. Doing a similar prac a few years ago I thought I’d burnt one of the Governors’ daughters when she moved the safety screen. Not good.

Excellent 😀

Trouble is, how do you follow that? They’ll expect explosions tomorrow 🙄

I still don’t know why I thought pouring meths saturated with salt onto a flaming table would give me the desired effect. There were flames about a metre in front of me and behind me as well.

Put it down to Monday morning madness

Someone told my mrs to use petrol to light the BBQ,
She put about half a gallon on, then lit the match……..

Mr Q earlier today

I too have been fire .

It really really really hurt.

lauched a load of model aircraft fuel into a fire. The nitro fireballed immediatly and the castor oil ensured it stuck to my face / chest / hair /hands etc

NEEEEEEEE NAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH + Blue Lights

lots of concerned nurses but not alot they could do , not bad enough for grafts , so drugs and gauze dressings for a few weeks. Its why im so handsome now

Never play with fire kids

You see this identification of elements in the stars by the colour that they burn, I’m not so sure about it. See these stars are billions of light years away, we havent been there so we cant claim to know what they are made of. I think that it is extremely arrogant and naive to assume that if something burns a certain colour then it must be the same thing as what burns that colour on earth.

It’s based on the absorption or emission spectrum from them depending on what equipment you use.

I know that, but what is to say that something billions of light years away cant have the same absorption or emission characteristics but be a different material?

I know that, but what is to say that something billions of light years away cant have the same absorption or emission characteristics but be a different material?

Because that would go again everything we know up to this point in science.

Poor troll. Neds slapping babies is better.

It’s not a troll. It’s a serious question. One to which I suspect there is no answer.

Chemistry-one of the two subjects I loved. Shame our chemistry teacher never had such a good attitude to live demonstrations. He got all upset when we dropped a lump of sodium down the ceramic sink and it blew it apart and then ‘disolved’ the chemistry club after we all made some fantastic contact explosives that while the rest of the school were on their way home we went and implanted a piece in every board rubber in every classroom with some hillarious results the next day.

One to which I suspect there is no answer.

At GCSE there are many things left unanswered and many things which are taught as false truths.

Candle is placed in a bowl of water. A gas jar is placed over the top of it. The candle goes out and the water level rises.

Why?

Erm – hot air expanding and escaping from the jar?

Nah, all the oxygen is burned up. Everyone knows that.

Oh, and hot air expanding would cause the water level in the jar to drop, it can’t escape due to the water that the jar is in….

Air cools after candle goes out and becomes less dense – water equalises pressure – rises. Plus some O2 is used up, CO2 (very soluble in water) is produced. But most of the effect is the thermal one.

I cleaned sodium coated with oil with meths soaked paper towel….and then tried the same with potassium. Only once mind.
Syrup tin lid embedded in ceiling – thermal expansion of water – gas.
My crude oil fractions always shatter the glass watch glass they are burning on. Once caused an evacuation of a class room when CuO and Zn reduction got the room so fume filled.

Erm – hot air expanding and escaping from the jar?

You googled that. 8)

Pretty much. on the expanding air, but it’s a commonly used demonstration to show oxygen being used up……..no idea if that is the “right” thing to do, but it gets a point across.

Did not google that. Have a degree which contained a fair amount of chemistry.

my a-level chemistry teacher was brand-new at it

he (over-)did a thermite reaction and melted all the ceiling tiles and he was giggling like a kid – fantastic !

Did not google that.

my a-level chemistry teacher was brand-new at it

he (over-)did a thermite reaction and melted all the ceiling tiles and he was giggling like a kid – fantastic !

Not in the north east was it? I know a teacher that did that as well.

I have seen the Thermite reaction for real on the railway. It is all prepackaged moulds and mixture and a use once set. It really is quite dramatic as the liquid iron drops out and fills the line join. 1600′ is quite hot.

I have seen the Thermite reaction for real on the railway. It is all prepackaged moulds and mixture and a use once set. It really is dramatic.

I’ve only ever seen videos of it.

What was the finished product like? Was the join smooth?

I know that, but what is to say that something billions of light years away cant have the same absorption or emission characteristics but be a different material?

you mean like Mungusonium?

1600′ is quite hot.

That is something that came up today.

Video stated that the temperature that nuclear fusion occurs in the stars is 10,000,000 degrees.

Student said something along the lines of “How hot is that then?” a bit of discussion on how hot that was and he wanted to know what the point was in stating something was that hot, when there was now way of us really putting it into perspective.

Which is a good point, how hot is it? 10 million degrees doesn’t really mean anything other than it’s really hot.

Bloody swot he is

No I mean Zuluminium or Zuluminum for our American cousins.

No I mean Zuluminium or Zuluminum for our American cousins.

Oooh can we now play a game where we all suggest some attributes and characteristics for Zuluminium??

We could play elemental top trumps.

Or we can look at this man’s hair – he is one of my favourites in science videos.

http://www.periodicvideos.com/#

zuluminium – a dull, but prevelant substance with no known use for mankind.

Student said something along the lines of “How hot is that then?”

Not quite as hot as a pasty that’s been in the microwave 3 minutes.

5 points if you get the reference. Probably 20 points if someone GCSE age gets it.

Quirrel – Member
Not in the north east was it? I know a teacher that did that as well.

Stockton – was it you Quirrel ??

Stockton – was it you Quirrel ??

No, but one of my colleagues did that. His name is the same as the rough coastal town near morpeth with a smack problem.

Blyth?

google maps ain’t showing him up – maybe this is more common than we thought ?!

Weld smooth?
My 6 year daughter and wife were getting impatient- think some angle grinding was done. At a guess the rails with be hardened pearlite structure – but weld much softer.

What about Elfinium? 😀

Lovely and beautiful and desired by everyone. More precious than diamonds.

Little bit volatile though….

I will never forget in A level Chem being allowed to do the potassium and water experiment ourselves! It resulted in accident reports and near expulsion due to our over keenness with the cutting of the piece!! 😯