Tender feelings for science can be experienced not only by those who love to study, but also by connoisseurs of beauty and wonder. Chemistry is the exact science through which a person cognizes the world. It is multifaceted and quite interesting, especially if you omit the long research and immediately see the result.
The article briefly describes the most incredible chemical reactions and provides information about them.
First reaction: sodium and H2O, chlorine gas
The instruction is simple: you need to add one drop of water to sodium and gas, and the performance begins. What should a person producing a reaction see, what to feel? With this, everything is quite simple: firstly, a lot of heat will be released, which means that the temperature will rise in the flask. Secondly, the solution will emit a steady yellow light. This experiment is one of the most unusual chemical reactions.
Why it happens? The main element of the reaction is sodium. Due to its natural combustibility, it is often used in street lighting. The reaction itself is harmless because the combination of chlorine and sodium produces chloride, better known to ordinary people as simple table salt, which can be found in any kitchen.
The second reaction: dry ice and magnesium
What is dry ice? This is frozen carbon dioxide. It is very often used in various experiments at home, when shooting movies and music videos with stars. When it enters a warm environment or water, the substance begins to smoke and gives a peculiar fog effect, which in itself is already a beautiful chemical reaction.
The second component is magnesium, which is inherently highly combustible. Initially, after the discovery of this property, it was used as a flash for cameras, but only later it began to be used as a compound responsible for ignition.
The reaction itself proceeds as follows: magnesium is enclosed in a kind of cell made of carbon dioxide, and since it is capable of burning both in it and in nitrogen, the process begins. There are not many external special effects, but everything looks as if the ice is burning from the inside, moreover, dry ice is evaporating in the form of fog.
The third reaction: sweets and Bertholeta salt
Potassium chlorate is an element that can be found not only in salutes, but also in the field of disinfection. The substance itself is a combination of the three elements of the Mendeleev system: oxygen, potassium and chlorine. When heated to a temperature at which salt melting begins, any contact with the substance provokes an explosion, resulting in the release of gas - oxygen. This type of beautiful chemical reaction is used where access to air is completely or partially blocked, for example, in submarines or space stations.
In addition to the heat and gas generated during the reaction, you can also observe the visual effect - a column of flame. When you reproduce the experiment, for example, with a piece of sugar, you get a fairly strong flame, a small explosion, and outwardly it will all look like the sweetness itself is burning.
Reaction Four: The Meissner Effect
This experience is often carried out not only in higher education institutions, but even in secondary schools, unless, of course, equipment and supplies allow it. To conduct the experiment, you need a superconductor, a cooler and a magnet. When cooling to a temperature that will be lower than the transition temperature, the superconductor will begin to actively repel from any magnetic field. Outwardly, it will look like an object hovering over a magnet.
Such reactions are used in the transport of a new generation, completely free from friction of the wheels on the rails. This discovery marked the beginning of a new round of development of transport technologies.
The fourth reaction: superabsorbent polymers
Despite the fact that this particular thing is now known to everyone, it is still worth paying a little attention to it. Superabsorbent polymers (popularly simply hydrogel) are capable of absorbing just a gigantic amount of water compared to their own mass.
Today, this beautiful chemical reaction can be carried out at home, as hydrogel granules are sold at almost every step. Many adults and children are very interested in observing how granules grow in size.
In production, such a substance is used in the manufacture of diapers for children or in those areas where high-quality protection against water is required associated with its absorption.
Reaction number five: sulfur hexafluoride
At its core, this substance is a gas that is much heavier than air. It can be poured into a container and sent any light object in swimming. It is worth noting that the gas is non-toxic, does not burn and has absolutely no color or smell, which creates the illusion that objects are floating in the air.
In addition to all other properties, this gas has one feature: when it is inhaled, the timbre of a person’s voice becomes lower, which is the exact opposite of helium.
Reaction Six: Cooling Helium
The property of helium to change a person’s voice, increasing his timbre, has already been mentioned, but there is another, more interesting one. When helium is cooled to a temperature of -271 on the Celsius scale, gas is condensed to a liquid state. But this is not the most interesting. It is in this state that the gas begins to perform the wonders of science, the most beautiful chemical reactions are largely inferior to this phenomenon. But the essence is that the liquid formed by helium behaves absolutely unusual: it can move upward, despite the gravitational pull. Another interesting property of helium in this state is superfluidity, that is, it can pass through the smallest tubes and holes.
Reaction Seven: Briggs-Rauscher
Whatever you say, it is she who holds the leading position in the nomination "The Most Beautiful Chemical Reaction". All her beauty lies in visual color effects. Upon completion of the preparation of the solution, which is initially colorless, phenomenal color changes begin to occur. First, the liquid acquires a beautiful amber hue, then at an accelerated pace it turns dark blue, after which it returns to its original state, then repeats all the changes in a circle several times until the reaction is completely extinguished. The reason for the circular color change is that during the initial reaction, substances are released that provoke the next, and so on in a circle.
Of course, these are not all the most beautiful chemical reactions in the world. There is still a huge number of interesting and unusual processes that can surprise even the most inveterate skeptic. Some of them can be carried out right at home, some - only in laboratory conditions. But no one will argue that chemistry is an interesting science.