10 awesome chemical reaction GIFs

[progressoid]

Nitrogen triiodide explosion

Nitrogen triiodide is what’s known as a contact explosive. It’s so sensitive that even atmospheric pressure or alpha particle radiation can cause it to detonate. It’s so hard to study that it wasn’t even characterized until 1990. It’s amazing sensitivity to contact is caused by the instability of having three giant iodine atoms clamped onto a single nitrogen.




Cobalt chloride in sodium silicate

This GIF shows the reaction of cobalt chloride (a metal salt) in a solution of water and sodium silicate. The metal salt dissolves in water, then reacts with the sodium silicate to form an insoluble cobalt silicate. That’s what all those tendrils and bubbles are. The cobalt is what gives it the bright blue color. This can be done with many metal salts and is known as the chemical garden experiment.

More: http://www.geek.com/science/10-awesome-chemical-reaction-gifs-1633105/

[Warpy]

1. I had entirely too much fun with that first one in high school

Did the others except for the aluminum and bromine. I don't remember what we did with the bromine we generated, but it wasn't nearly as much fun.

If it exploded or burned rapidly with pretty colors, I was into it.

[bobalew]

5. Yeah, Me, too!

I "Blew up the lab" in my first year of HS Chemistry with way too much of that stuff, wrongly thinking that it was much more stable while wet. It was, but not enough to keep it from blowing a Mortar in half & Embedding the pestle into the acoustic Tile ceiling. there were little pieces of the compound left all over the floor, and when you stepped on it, you got a snap, crackle, or a pop!

[burrowowl]

2. Thanks for link!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

3. Nitrogen triiodide reacts with a balloon and yields a *BAGEL*?

Wow!! Science!!!

[passiveporcupine]

4. Mercury (II) Thiocyanate was my favorite

It looked like it was making an Ent for the forest in the Lord of the Rings.

[nikto]

6. It's just like ...

[ThoughtCriminal]

7. No FOOF?

aka dioxygen difluoride or "Satan's Kimchi".

Or chlorine trifluoride, descriptions of this substance are legend.

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time

"The compound also a stronger oxidizing agent than oxygen itself, which also puts it into rare territory. That means that it can potentially go on to “burn” things that you would normally consider already burnt to hell and gone, and a practical consequence of that is that it’ll start roaring reactions with things like bricks and asbestos tile. It’s been used in the semiconductor industry to clean oxides off of surfaces, at which activity it no doubt excels."

”It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that’s the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water-with which it reacts explosively. It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals-steel, copper, aluminium, etc.-because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride which protects the bulk of the metal, just as the invisible coat of oxide on aluminium keeps it from burning up in the atmosphere. If, however, this coat is melted or scrubbed off, and has no chance to reform, the operator is confronted with the problem of coping with a metal-fluorine fire. For dealing with this situation, I have always recommended a good pair of running shoes.”