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A requiem for amateur chemistry

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Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#41

Post by JKCalhoun »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #12

> It is equally difficult to source ideas for the curriculum. Many classic amateur chemistry books are out of print, and there is little incentive to publish more. So then! My place of work, the Science History Institute, has a number of old amateur chemistry experiment books digitized online and freely accessible. My job includes developing and managing the web site/app we use to manage our digitized content and pre…

Thank you, hoarding now.

Also always loved this one from UNESCO (not what I usually associate UNESCO with): https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385052757

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#42

Post by JKCalhoun »

melony wrote: post #2

Not a fair take. If you have the pre-requisite knowledge, it is easier than ever. Just order the ingredients online (even the semi-regulated ones can be easily obtained from overseas) at prices that are impossibly low compared to the RadioShack days where everything is overpriced with value being mostly captured by thermofisher middlemen and retailers. I think the lack of science kits is because CS, iPads and coding…

Agree. Chemicals at the local hobby shop (not Radio Shack, ha ha) were outrageously priced - for like a few grams of the chemical. With online sites (even Amazon) we do indeed live in interesting times.

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#43

Post by Mathnerd314 »

Amateur chemistry may be dead but you can still experience it vicariously on YouTube. For example Explosions&Fire has documented playing around with many chemicals. There are probably a lot more channels but I haven't delved too deeply into this area.

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#44

Post by mey »

Mathnerd314 wrote: post #43

Amateur chemistry may be dead but you can still experience it vicariously on YouTube. For example Explosions&Fire has documented playing around with many chemicals. There are probably a lot more channels but I haven't delved too deeply into this area.

NileRed/NileBlue is another example.

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#45

Post by an_aparallel »

dylan604 wrote: post #18
comicjk wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A simulator like this would require a lot of simplifications: a table of template chemical reactions and thermochemical mixing rules which are bound to be wrong in edge cases. It doesn't take many reagents before you hit a combinatorial wall where the combination has never been tried in practice, and while it could be estimated with quantum mechanics in theory, that gets expensive.

This is what popped into my head as well. In situations where you have multiple phases so that Phase A is required to reach a certain temp before adding Phase B, but Phase A must reach a specific temp then cool back down within a range before adding Phase B. Once Phase A and Phase B are combined, do you stir, blend, whisk, whip, etc? What happens when you need to use 0.14 grams, but add 0.15 grams? Each little varian…

sorry i'm not sure whos comment to reply under - so i'll just stick it here - thanks for the explanations :) I am ignorant of maths, chem, comp science...so my question was posed purely for my own knowledge.

What i described could be likened to raytracing for light...but for chemicals...

If something like this is possible, would there be no use or other limitations to making a "descriptive" simulation. ie. libraries of animated reactions? Or is this what comicjk is refering to?

assuming the kinds of experiments listed in this article will turn out similar results if performed with similar materials?

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#46

Post by jbellis »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #38
mncharity wrote: post #16

I wonder if some other country might be different? Brasil? IIRC, countries with major resource extraction industries, internationally outsourced for lack of domestic expertise, with associated lost value capture, are more highly incentivized to increase STEM graduates. Unlike the US, where the research I recall, said there's no shortage outside of programming (and PhD flexibility). And indeed without programming, the…

I believe you can do okay just looking for chemicals via Amazon. You have to source them individually, of course. Chemistry sets for kids are, as the author states, pretty much junk. Someone a decade or so ago had a web site that would sell you a decent chemistry set. I have forgotten the link. I believe it was sort of targeting home-schoolers.

Probably this: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1742632993/heirloom-che...

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#47

Post by MikePlacid »

musictubes wrote: post #13

The author mentions cyanotypes and salt printing. Photography is what got me interested in chemistry as a kid. Understanding how film, paper, light, and chemicals all interacted was a lot of fun. Even figuring out how to make your prints last (proper clearing, toning, and washing etc.) involved understanding chemistry at a basic level. Most of the at home chemistry experiments they list are one and done. I’d be surpr…

Used photo-chemicals! They can help you turn “brass” coins into “silver” coins. Thus, 3 copecks (a glass of fruit soda) can be turned into 20 copecks look-alike (an ice-cream and a fruit soda!). Practical alchemy.

Not sure if we dared to do the actual trick. Probably we did. At least we got some similarly processed coins back from an ice-cream sellers. That was so unfair!

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#49

Post by pomian »

In case anyone is looking for a great chemistry tutorial series, there is a fellow in YouTube, he also has Apple and Google apps, called Chemguy. I saw a few kids using it for high school help, and even though I studied and worked as a chemical engineer, I found it a lot of fun to watch. (And learn)

Re: A requiem for amateur chemistry

#50

Post by a9h74j »

twawaaay wrote: post #14

When I was in my early teens I had a short period (after reading "The Mysterious Island") when I got really interested in chemistry. This kinda ended quickly and abruptly after I synthesised some nitroglycerin and actually after I tested it around our house. Fun times. Some stuff probably still orbiting Earth and I had to lie a lot to explain all the shattered glass. My parents never figured out what I did but that w…

Monitoring your kid's purchases?

Homeland Security: Just another free service we offer

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