Luminous solutions. Fun chemistry experience at home

ENTERTAINING EXPERIENCES AT HOME
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Luminous solutions. Chemical experiments

Entertaining experiments in chemistry

Entertaining experiences at home / Chemistry experiments for children

During some chemical reactions, some of the energy is released in the form of light. This process is called chemiluminescence. Sometimes chemiluminescence occurs in living organisms: the most obvious example is the well-known fireflies. A weak glow also appears during the oxidation of certain organic compounds. You can see it in the hydroquinone oxidation experiment. The final stage of this experiment must be carried out in the dark so that the glow can be better seen.

Dissolve 1 g of hydroquinone and 5 g of potassium carbonate (potash) in 40 ml of pharmacy formalin - an aqueous solution of formaldehyde. Pour the reaction mixture into a large flask or a bottle with a capacity of at least a liter.

In a small vessel, prepare 15 ml of a concentrated solution of hydrogen peroxide (peroxide). You can use hydroperite tablets - a compound of hydrogen peroxide with urea (the second component will not interfere with the experiment). Place both vessels in a dark room so that they are at hand. Once your eyes have adjusted to the darkness, add the peroxide solution to a large vessel. Immediately the mixture will begin to foam (which is why we ask you to take a larger vessel) and a distinct orange glow will appear.

The chemical energy released during the oxidation of hydroquinone with peroxide in an alkaline medium is almost completely converted into light, and not into heat, as usual. However, heat is also released in the reaction, so the formaldehyde evaporates a little. And since it smells unpleasant, then, firstly, do not lean over the vessel and, secondly, immediately after the experiment, ventilate the room.

Glow can appear not only during oxidation. Sometimes it occurs during crystallization. This phenomenon has long been known; you can watch it.

The simplest object of observation is table salt. Dissolve it in water, and take enough salt so that undissolved crystals remain at the bottom of the glass. Pour the resulting saturated solution into another glass and drop by drop, using a pipette, carefully add concentrated hydrochloric acid to this solution. The salt will begin to crystallize and at the same time a glow will appear - small sparks will jump in the solution. To notice them, the experiment also needs to be set in the dark.

Some other salts behave in a similar way during crystallization - potassium chloride, barium chlorate. In all cases, sparks appear only when hydrochloric (hydrochloric) acid is added. But perhaps the most effective experience is with a mixture of potassium and sodium sulfates. Mix 200 g of potassium and 80 g of sodium salt and add hot water to them in small portions. When all the crystals have dissolved, leave the solution to cool. The room in which you set up the experiment should be darkened. The first, very weak sparks will appear already at 60 ° C. Then they will become more and more. When a lot of crystals fall out, you will see a whole sheaf of sparks, but this has to wait a long time - sometimes for an hour. If you put your ear to the wall of the vessel, you can hear something like thunder. The glow in this case is probably caused by the formation of a double salt 2K₂SO₄*After₂SO₄* 10H₂O.

Do not pour out the solution with crystals - the experiment can be repeated even after the glow stops. Pass a glass rod over the crystals that are under the liquid, or simply shake the vessel with crystals several times - the sparks will appear again.

Here is another experiment with the glow during crystallization (this phenomenon is called crystal luminescence). For him, you will have to prepare barium bromate Ba (BrO₃)₂ from more accessible substances - potassium bromate KBrO₃ and barium chloride BaCl₂. Since the solubility of the first of them is low, dilute solutions will have to be taken, approximately 3% concentration. If the mixture of reagents is cooled, then the desired salt will precipitate: barium bromate is almost insoluble in cold water.

Filter, rinse with cold water and dry the barium bromate, then weigh out 2 g, dissolve in 50 ml of boiling water and filter the solution again. Put the glass with the solution to cool, but not at room temperature, but at a slightly higher temperature - 40-45 ° C (best in an oven). At this temperature, blue sparks will appear in the solution and pops will be heard - again a microthunderstorm in a beaker ...

Author: Olgin O.M.

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