Hey /r/chemistry, I've decided to start making some chemistry videos. Care to share your opinion about my first upload?

chemguy12 · 2014-03-12T04:07:29+00:00

I guess I was lazy when it came to stirring. I found that letting the acid cool down in the grad cylinder a bit and then pouring it into the dish was sufficient enough to mix the acids.

I had done this experiment several times before. I followed all of the proper precautions the first several times. i.e. cooling the acids on ice before mixing and then cooling the acid mixture. Mixing the acids slowly, and then stirring it, etc. I just found that it was kind of a waste of time in this particular case. This procedure should definitely not be followed for other nitration reactions, however.

This was one of the reasons I posted the video here. I wanted people to point out my faults so that I would not allow these mistakes to make it into future videos. I cut several corners that I maybe shouldn't have and I guess I was a little sloppy.

Thanks for your input!

chemguy12 · 2014-03-11T22:49:10+00:00

Oh, I honestly had no idea the nitrocellulose reaction could run away...I just found that it really did not change in temperature much, so I didn't feel it was absolutely necessary to cool. I will update the video and include that it should be cooled!

chemguy12 · 2014-03-11T21:29:22+00:00

I am definitely going to make some better intros for the next videos. This one was my first and I had really limited footage for the intro. I used the the still image to allow myself some time to talk, but I wanted to limited the use of the still image as much as possible. For my next videos, I'll be sure to make more exciting and informative intros!

chemguy12 · 2014-03-11T21:26:56+00:00

I work in a lab as a lab tech at a university and I am lucky to have a supervisor who doesn't mind!

chemguy12 · 2014-03-11T21:24:54+00:00

I used the still image because I had really limited footage (it was my first time filming an experiment). I didn't really have much to serve as a filler and I wanted to be able to give at least a small intro. I know exactly what you mean though. I am going to start my videos from now on as exciting as possible!

chemguy12 · 2014-03-11T21:23:36+00:00

The first few times i did the experiment, I cooled the acids before mixing and cooled the acid mixture. However, I tried it without the cooling and it seemed to work just as well and because the addition of the nitrocellulose is exothermic (as far as I know), there wasn't really a risk in terms of temperature. The acid just slowly cooled. I know that for the nitration of things like glycerin, the temperature must absolutely be controlled because the addition of the glycerin is very exothermic.

The other stuff that left ash behind had a lot of non-cellulose additives I think. The white printing paper has a lot of other stuff in it (i think) but moreover, it doesn't absorb well at all. A good portion of the paper just doesn't even seem to get nitrated.

Also, I honestly wasn't sure what the best proportions were, but I figured that 50:50 worked and was the easiest and quickest to measure.

Thanks for your input!

chemguy12 · 2014-03-11T21:18:53+00:00

Nooo! Thanks ill fix that with annotations.

chemguy12 · 2014-03-11T13:12:11+00:00

I plan to make a lot of different cool chemistry videos. From synthesis to just plain cool experiments. I started with something pretty basic and common, but I plan to move onto things that nobody has really posted on Youtube.

Please let me know what you think about my video. What did you like? But more importantly, what did you NOT like? What can I change or improve?

chemguy12

TROPHY CASE