Demo Club
12/09/2010
Chemistry Club students Miles Marnell, Amber Aslam, Alyson Pletch, Kara Heard, and Suzanna Musalin show off some impressive chemical demonstrations.
FERROFLUID The spikes are a ferrofluid, a colloidal suspension of magnetic nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are magnetite, Fe3O4, formed by mixing Fe(II) and Fe(III) salts together in a basic solution. The "spikes" are formed when the ferrofluid is close to a strong magnet.
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HOT ICE This demo shows what happens when a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate comes in contact with a small crystal of sodium acetate. The sodium acetate instantly crystallizes. There is very little water in the solution and it is entirely encapsulated within the solid sodium acetate. This makes it look like the solution instantly “freezes”. The solid is warm to the touch. This effect is used to make reusable hand warmers.
GRAIN ELEVATOR FIRE This demonstrates what can be a serious problem in grain storage facilities. A finely divided substance become much more flammable than it would be ordinarily. In this case, the substance burning is ordinary flour. Don’t try this at home folks!

