> phymol-chem > nchem-2161-suppl > white-hot-metal-vs-water-thunderf00t

WHITE HOT METAL vs Water!

Thunderf00t - 2014-05-13

Yeah, we are writing a paper on it, which is the prime reason why no one will let me put any of the really good video in here.  Scientists can be funny like that.... I personally didnt care that much. We've basically got the best footage of this stuff in the world, and plenty of it.

What started with some shitty high speed cameras on the cistern of my toilet a several years ago has escalated into an international and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The sad irony is I actually told periodictablevideos pretty much exactly why they were wrong, and what they should look for over a year ago, and they basically told me to get lost.

Admittedly at the time I didn't tell them that I'm pretty much an expert on the aqueous properties of alkali metals, having published papers on all but rubidium.  
But thats the thing with science.  Good ideas stand on their merits, not on who's proposing them.

firesteel1 - 2014-05-13

'that's a story for another day'

Thunderf00t you're such a tease!

Christophalon - 2014-05-13

Thunder, I work in the same building as the professor (Nottingham uni chemistry). Would you like me to put a question to him face to face?

Mick G - 2014-05-14

Why do Mad Scientist always look like Mad Scientist? (No Malice Here) 

NaN - 2014-05-14

Because they are mad.

Paul Kerrigan - 2014-05-14

They all use the same barber.

Rauland - 2014-05-15

@Paul Kerrigan The barber is giving the scientists their ideas.

TVdinnermasterchef - 2014-05-18

@Rauland Jerliu
How else would he get tenure?

Piesho Nais - 2014-06-09

Because they don't wanna look like sane scientists? I don't know.

gskibum - 2014-05-15

That dude's hair gave me PTSD.

White Blogger Black Specs - 2016-12-16

What impressed me more was Thunderf00t using both pronunciations of aluminum

Oldenvye6432 - 2014-05-14

Sounds like you're onto something Thunderf00t.

MilitantAntiTheist - 2014-05-13

So what Thunderf00t is saying is that PeriodicVideos is in the same league as NephilimFree?

Auirtozz - 2014-05-15

There not supposed to confuse things and I'm happy thunderf00t has pointed out there mistake. Its for there own good, and I'm sure they are happy to be corrected.

Richard Zsigmondy - 2014-05-15

@Auirtozz
Again, please post a link to the part of the PV where they actually make this claim of a thermal explosion. I watched their videos and cannot find it. Nor does Thunderf00t show the footage in his video. He simply claims that they made the claim.

The paper which is mentioned doesn't play any role in their explanation. In fact they do not give any explanation at all in the video:
Caesium in Water (slow motion) - Periodic Table of Videos

As I have shown you before, their explanation in the other videos is based on the evolution of hydrogen gas, something missing in thunderf00t's experiment.

Chris Rabins - 2014-08-11

@Richard Zsigmondy Yes I just went back and rewatched each of their alkaline+water videos, and they never even imply that the reaction is dependent on temperature in any way. They do mention the melting point of the metals a few times, but more to explain the way cesium falls into the water than anything else.
There was never a point where they referenced a flash boiling of water being present, let alone relevant. Not sure what Thunderfoot was getting at tbh.

Benjamin Mourad - 2014-08-23

@Crystal Todd read the description he cant put the details in this video

Ave Satanas - 2014-10-06

and Veritasium, if you've seen Thunderf00t's video titled "Three Fun Facts"

George Cataloni - 2014-05-13

Oh snap! Thunderfoot's figured it out! Now God's gonna have to make a physical law for scientists to find to cover up God's attempt to kill them.

Brandon Schleifer - 2014-05-13

I look forward to seeing the results of your scientific inquiry into alkali metal / water reactions.

QuantumOverlord - 2014-05-13

The wierd stuff happening at 1:21 is the leidenfrost effect, I'm pretty sure anyway. The water is boiling so quickly there is no thermal contact between it and the water, then when the temperature differential becomes too small it collapses, and you get the metal suddenly 'solidifying' as the heat is very quickly conducted through the water. 

Kibernautas - 2014-06-10

@zolikoff
Your mistake is not to take amount of oxygen in aluminium oxide. Most common aluminum oxide is aluminium(III) oxide (Al2O3), aluminium have relative atomic mass of aprox. 27, oxygen - 16. If you have two Al atoms (27 x 2 = 54) and three O atoms (16 x 3 = 48), then aluminium(III) oxide is about 47% oxygen by mass and 53% aluminium.
Aluminium(III) oxide density is 3.95–4.1 g/cm3, let say 4 g/cm3. How much aluminium is in 1 cm3 of aluminium(III) oxide? Easy to calculate 4g x 53% =
2.12 g.
Aluminium metal have density of about 2.7 g/cm3, so each cm3 of aluminium, reacting with oxygen from water, creates 2.7/2.12~1.274 cm3 of aluminium(III) oxide.

Kibernautas - 2014-06-10

@monkeydude952
Water is not the only material, that expands when solidifying, but aluminium is not the one of them. Molten aluminium density is 2.375 g/cm3, solid aluminium density is 2.7 g/cm3.

Peter Carlson - 2014-09-25

@Onkledonk one of the oddball properties of water is that it expands when it freezes. Not so with aluminum and many other metals

Onkledonk - 2014-09-25

@Peter Carlson I'm pretty sure someone else already said that at some point, but thanks for the contribution regardless.

CarolinaPhoenix - 2016-05-26

Prince Rupert's Drop

Rato Caverna - 2016-04-17

I can see the aluminum expanding very drastically when it cools down, why?!
It should for sure contract.

C0nc0rdance - 2014-05-15

Really looking forward to the resolution on this one, TF!

Teddy Rubskin - 2014-05-14

Pretty awesome ThunderF00t.... can't wait to see the results!!

kiggityk - 2014-05-13

Just love to try and antagonize don't ya... I love the science your applying here. But not sure your antagonistic approach towards the professor is the best method to go about proving your hypothesis correct. When in the end you are probably right... You're gaining a negative reputation as an antagonist.
 This is fine when your dealing with creationists as they are flat out liars. But when dealing within the accredited scientific community, a little respect is due. One great thing about the scientific community is they can take criticism. But no one likes be antagonized.

kiwin111 - 2014-10-19

I agree. He is always antagonizing people. Wether they are scientists or layman, they MUST be imbeciles because they don't think the way he does or know what he does. That is aspergers if I have ever heard of it. 

un13 - 2014-10-19

@kiwin111 Er, this is just science. Scientists have peers that brutally scrutinize their work. I'm sure he'd have been nicer about it if these guys didn't tell him to bugger off.

kiwin111 - 2014-10-19

@unnamednewbie13 >these guys didn't tell him to bugger off.

Missed that part. Never mind.

un13 - 2014-10-19

@kiwin111 Are you saying they did or didn't? Judging by the description, they did in so many words.

kiwin111 - 2014-10-19

@unnamednewbie13 I'm saying I didn't watch the full video or read the description, so I literally missed that part.

Razzfazz87 - 2014-05-13

10 years ago I had this topic in chemestry and i believe the explanation was that alkaline metals react with water so that hydrogen comes out. This is an exotermic process and the energy released can ignite the hydrogen. Same effect when lithium batteries burn/explode, as lithium is an alkaline metal.
If I remember correctly the teacher explained that alkaline metals have one electron on the outer most shell (s2 was it?) and are very reactive because of this. On the other extreme we have noble gases that aren't reactive at all because they have full electron shells.
This part of alkaline metal reactions is pretty well known. Not to me though, I went off studying engineering rather than chemistry.
Thunderf00t, you do sound a bit full of yourself and at least to me it doesn't come across as an attempt to be humourous. You can be a chemist without being an expert on alkaline chemistry just like you can be a physisist without being an expert on string theory or be an engineer without being an expert on jet proplusion. It doesn't seem qualified of you to point out that there is a paradox present when you misunderstood the level of expertise the professor was talking about.

Forgive my english. its nearly 1AM and I haven't got english spellcheck installed and can't think of all the english words right now.

Greycoat's Teapot - 2014-05-14

Teach the controversy. 😃

Guilherme Eduardo Carvalho - 2014-05-14

"and they basically told me to get lost."

Really? Was it that bad?

Donnie - 2014-05-14

My wife said:
"What about the hydrogen"?

temujin9000 - 2014-05-15

"ve must conduct zee experimentations, yes" (reminds me of dr kripplesack from conker)

TheAmmoniacal - 2014-05-14

Try performing the reaction while viewing it through a thermal camera! (With with a good range)

cellogirl11RW - 2018-05-15

My understanding is that it's the hydrogen gas released in the reaction between the water and alkali metals plus the heat of the reaction that causes the explosion.

Myth Buster - 2019-06-11

1:07
Mah Balls in water!!

whybag - 2014-05-13

The foundry explosions you showed are caused by hot metal boiling the water in an enclosed space, so the gas expands and has to find a way to relieve pressure right? Just like gunpowder in the open burns, in a case it bangs.

Sevenfm - 2014-05-13

Yup. The metal sits on top of steam generated by the metal's heat and water and then the steam flings the metal with it as it gets released. Pretty much the same as boiling water.

kurtilein3 - 2014-05-13

also, its an awful lot of metal and a tiny little amount of water that is almost perfectly confined.

DaJan1509 - 2014-05-14

oh you old Dramaqueen :)

Great vid, keep em coming!

Jesus Christ - 2014-05-14

Man, I liked that channel... Thanks for wrecking 1 small part of me life

Rian Goossens - 2014-05-13

This is so exciting! Can't wait to see more. I really thought there was going to be some massive explosion. It looks a bit like popcorn, really interested to know why. And good luck with your paper!

Cerugona - 2016-05-27

The beauty of the Leidenfrost.

Callan Nichols - 2014-05-13

Quite early I see hmm

LohnS - 2014-05-14

oh man this is so much epic-science :D thanks for sharing as much as you could, totally understand you (and colabs) want to save the awesome vids for another time and bigger stage. Following this journey of a new scientific discovery is amazing. Good luck with it all!! -Lee

spirit469 - 2014-05-14

I remember trying to melt aluminum in my backyard and it exploded when it made contact with snow. Scared the living shit out of me, especially because before then I had always considered Aluminum to be a relatively "safe" metal to work with. Have you tried replicating the "exploding ingot" phenomena by pouring it into a mold that is slightly damp?

Graham Frame - 2014-05-14

omg... IT'S THE DOC, THE DOC'S ALIVE!!!

AlGhoul - 2014-05-14

Well, to be fair, the video that was shown said the reactions were "well studied", not "well understood."

Jason Spivey - 2014-05-13

Great video. I love to see stuff blow up!

compwiz00 - 2014-06-01

I was told that the metals reacted with water to release hydrogen, and that's what was exploding.

jiberish001 - 2014-05-13

ARG!!
You damn science tease! >:)

Zack Mills - 2014-05-15

This is a great video. Thanks for sharing Thunderf00t.

Jaret Jose Ulanday - 2014-05-19

This video sounds strange for me. It is my first time to watch

nitrodavid - 2014-05-14

i feel like a goose, i always thought it was the Hydrogen gas that exploded as it was left over from the reaction. since i haven't done any chemistry since 2nd year uni i am most likely wrong.

Robert Szasz - 2015-02-17

The aluminium in water experiment would be interesting with a levitating induction heater and an inert atmosphere. Perhaps with some way to remove the oxide.

markman090 - 2014-05-13

Song at the end: Riding: Silent Partner.

- 2014-05-14

1:45 Dr. Who after retirement.

cosmosgato - 2014-05-14

Thunderf00t would make a lab instructor.
I remember mine.
"Forget all that classroom junk. If the experiment shows water boils at 90 degrees, then that's what it is not a 100 but 90!"

Ozzie Game Guys - 2014-05-13

Wow, that's not at all how i expected the reaction to work. Very interesting indeed.

BiodegradeableMan - 2014-05-16

Reminds me of the stuff I did when I was 12 or 13.

Jonathan Schattke - 2014-05-13

I would suspect the oxidation reaction is fast enough to prevent heat transfer.

Tr1ple - 2014-05-14

My guess is that while the metal is reacting it forms bubbles which fill with hydrogen which cause the explosion. Does the explosion occur with different temps of the water?

xenoview13 - 2014-05-14

Thanks @Thunderf00t! More fun science stuff!

Catalina Gearbox - 2014-05-14

I imagine your one of the leading scientists in this field TF, so if this is a new mechanism, it would change the world

AnAccount - 2014-05-14

That song you have at the end of this video, I must acquire it! You have had it on a number of your videos and I now strongly associate it with progress, science and knowledge. I would love to have it in my "studying" playlist for uni.
 
Does anyone know what it is called?

AnAccount - 2014-05-14

Don't worry, found it "YouTube Audio Library Volume 1 - Riding"

markman090 - 2014-05-18

Riding - Silent Partner

Max Liddle - 2014-05-15

I can't wait until the paper is released. I'm sure it will be an exciting read. Keep up the good work!