NurdRage - 2018-09-30
In this video we explore the science behind the well-known reaction of brake fluid and pool chlorine. Donate to NurdRage! Through Patreon (preferred): https://www.patreon.com/NurdRage Through Bitcoin: 1NurdRAge7PNR4ULrbrpcYvc9RC4LDp9pS Glassware generously provided by http://www.alchemylabsupply.com/ Use the discount code "nurdrage" for a 5% discount. Twitter: https://twitter.com/NurdRage Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/NurdRage/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NurdRageYoutube/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nurdrageyoutube/
I did that reaction in a Gatorade bottle once, it burned in such a way the the bottom of the bottle got a hole burned in it and the whole thing took off like a rocket, probably went about 50 feet into the air. This was back in the 90's when pool shock had a higher concentration of calcium hypochlorite. I think it was around 70% back then. Seem every year it gets weaker and weaker. I noticed this when I got my first pool, every year I noticed the % of Calcium Hypochlorite would go down a half % or more in the same brand every year. Another cool reaction is pool shock, sugar and water in a soda bottle. It produces CO2 and will cause the bottle to explode. I told my friends about this in HS, one of them tried it, but he didn't realize how long the reaction takes. He was shaking the bottle for like a minute wondering why nothing waas happening, then suddenly he felt the bottle get warm and threw it, it basically blew up about a foot away from him, fortunately he wasn't hurt. Similar thing happened to me, but with Al foil and HCl in a bottle. I mixed it up and nothing was happening, so i put the bottle down, turned my back to it to relieve myself and it blew up behind me getting acid all over my back. Ran into my buddy's house and had him dousing me in baking soda. Good time being 15yo lol!
Sounds like my teenage years.
Although I had a bit of an advantage over other teens. My stepdad loaded his own ammunition.
So there was plenty of smokeless powder around the house for me to play around with. X-)
Gary Carone Good thing you had to take a leak! It could have been in your eyes and face.
Me and a friend of mine got a hold of some dry ice and some nearly pure isopropyl alcohol and we decided it would be a great idea to try and freeze the alcohol and light it on fire. We put it in and it turned it into a nearly frozen alcohol slush and I knocked it over all over his socks and shoes.
I dare you to lick the pavement in front of NurdRage's house.
It goes without saying but don't try this one at home kids, it's bad manners to expose your neighbors to clouds of boiling ethylene glycol vapours and hot organic chlorides.
That unedited video's sounds were incredible. Terrible, but incredible! Like Satan's septic tank backflow.
Why was the liquid on the ground... Well, "Heaving"? Or shimmering?
Looks like it was windy.
Reflections of the trees blowing in the wind.
It'd be interesting to see a 50/50 mix of brake fluid and antifreeze. Maybe you could get the faster ramp up with the flames as well.
I was also thinking the same thing
My thought too -- speed the reaction and fire!
brake
No break brake fluid :)
Still waiting for chemicals so doing a few other things until then. Giveaway winners will be announced in next video.
So now I know that every day I drink a glass of brake fluid and a pill with rat poison in it.
Whats the byproducts ?
Upload more videos:D
If the 5-0 is interested in it....then where is the amine group coming from.
I really enjoy your channel! Thanks!
"Don't drink brake fluid." CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
I wish you had gone into more detail on the reaction mechanisms. since you didnt mention chlorinated products im guessing CaCl2 is the final product for the chlorine and either the chlorine is not acting as an oxidizer or its only an intermediate?
Also off topic but have you looked at eucalyptol / eucalyptus oil as a otc catalyst for sodium production? Its a cyclic ether but hydrolysis should yield a tert-diol. it also forms an adduct for easy purification.
I was looking at various essential oils compositions after the recent sodium videos, and 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol) attracted my attention. Especially since I have a big bottle of it here. But looking online and through my chemistry books, I haven't found any procedures for for hydrolyzing its internal ether bond. I have found in several places statements about its very stable nature, meaning that hydrolysis will probably not occur easily.
I guess I just assumed that it should be easy to hydrolyze like simple ethers, I though maybe the bond angle strain would actually make it easier to hydrolyze, but I don't have much evidence to back that up.
https://www.masterorganicchemistry.com/2014/11/19/ether-cleavage/ shows an SN1 method of hydrolysis for tertiary ethers maybe this would work?
I plan to try it myself if you/nurdrage or someone else doesnt beat me to it. maybe doomed to fail but its worth a shot.
Do you think by switching ethylene glycol to propylene glycol will have a higher chance of ignition since The BP of which is higher?
I was wondering the same as well, if the slight differences in the chemical composition don't somehow interfere with the process.
In theory could this reaction be cooled to prevent it from igniting? Could you allow the PEG to fully decompose and then extract the decomposition products for use in other reactions?
yes but it would take a lot of time.
Explosions and fire...this reminds me of why I chose to study chemistry. This kind of stuff gets forgotten when all chemistry classes teach you is a bunch of boring calculations
Should've gone with being a pyrotechnician instead.
Usually licensed pyrotechnicians have permission to purchase the more interesting chemicals.
It used to be different in the not-so-distant days before overly draconian health and safety, fear of litigation and chemophobia- school kids once upon a time were actively encouraged to participate in experiments involving the handling of more reactive chemicals. For example, concentrated acids or alkali metals. Allowing school pupils to handle these more reactive (and admittedly more interesting!) chemicals (under supervision and with safety protocols in place, of course) not only fosters an interest in chemistry which they might take up as a career, but it also develops at an early age the competent and safe handling commanded by chemicals other than relatively nonhazardous dilute acetic acid and bicarbonate of soda. During my undergraduate chemistry lab classes at uni (just a few years ago) I witnessed a girl being reduced to tears because she was expected to handle concentrated hydrochloric acid (probably for the first time in her life). I take it that she was used to the chemistry teacher doing demos with the more reactive/hazardous chemicals; I do wonder if she ever got the opportunity to conduct experiments with anything more reactive than sodium bicarbonate and dilute acetic acid. This is what chemophobia, overly draconian health and safety, and the watering-down of chemistry school curriculum does- it results in a reduced interest in chemistry as a university subject and career choice, and it also encourages incompetence when it comes to the handling of chemicals and laboratory techniques.
@Gary Card: Can't say that I had very interesting chemistry classes myself. But through my own boyhood experiments with explosives, I did learn to take precautions. Like reading up on whichever compound I was playing with, the risks involved, doing things like lugging a heavy fire extinguisher to whichever remote place I was going to set off a charge. I also Macguyvered my own electric detonators, fashioned from a moped battery, copper wire and small springs (I noticed that when you applied a strong enough current to small springs, they would heat up until they glowed white hot, so sticking them in charges of smokeless powder could be used to set off some more stable explosive compounds)
I wanted an electric detonator because I though scavenged firework fuses to be unreliable.
I like the calculations :(
First day of chemistry class in high school my teacher used propane bubbles to set my arms on fire.
I've always wondered what the actual reaction was doing. Thanks for explaining.
Yess Nurd! L I G H T T H O S E F I R E S
Wow, you made a royal mess of brakefluid, antifreeze and chlorine in your backyard^^
This is why you should have separate waste containers for aldehydes and ketones, and chlorinated compounds. A similar explosive reaction has occurred in plastic extrusion machines when they have not been adequately flushed through between delrin/POM and PVC.
BEWARE: This reaction can happen extremely quickly (I think it's related to the temperature of the ingredients).
Is this related to the outcome of the reaction of Glycerine and KMnO4?
I'd imagine it is a similar principle: the involvement of free radicals, breakdown of the glycerine into simpler and more reactive organic molecule fragments in intermediate steps.
I don’t think so. In this reaction it seems that the chlorine is causing the breakdown into smaller products, but atmospheric oxygen is doing the oxidizing. In the KMnO4 and glycerin reaction I think KMnO4 does the oxidizing
I’m still curious about the explosive reaction myth busters refused to air on tv I wish someone could find out and make a video on it.
For the same effect I like potassium permanganate + glycerol. That usually works faster too.
Love how those end cards cover the reaction
Interesting man. Love to learn the science behind this stuff.
I used to watch these videos as a teen growing up I'm about to be 20 years old so happy to see a video in 2019 thanks for all the cool chemistry videos nurdrage!
Way back in the late 80's and early 90's when I was in the Boy Scouts I remember they used to do something similar for outdoor ceremonies at night. There were 4 chemicals in a coffee can, each chemical layer separated by a layer of paraffin. The cans were placed in the center of a massive bonfire setup and if it was timed correctly, the fire would self-light at just the right time. I used to remember which chemicals were used, but I suppose at this point it wouldn't be too hard to figure it out. Anyway, seeing giant bonfires spontaneously self-light just before a ceremony was to begin is pretty cool when you're young and don't yet know how it works.
Yes! In the 80's at one ceremony my dad brought a laser from NASA (this was before your could buy laser pointers everywhere) and moved it around to get everyone's attention then pointed it at the unlit fire. The brake fluid/chlorine then did its job and everyone thought the laser lit the fire.
So could this reaction be controlled to isolate the Ethylene, Formaldehyde and Methanol?
I expected to see reaction derivations :(
Did this when I was 11 back in the 70s! Memories....
Would a small amount of anti freeze in the brake fluid speed up the reaction without boiling over?
Fire science, my favorite kind of science!
Hmm, very interesting. I wonder if it would work as rocket fuel.
If you diluted the reaction could you prevent runaway reaction so that the ethylene, formaldehyde and and acetaldehyde could be obtained without risk of fire?
Thank you! I always wondered why this works, but too trivial to google, or my day too full of data flying in to remember.. anyways, ankther thumbs up, bc i love what you are doing. You emphasize the science, and thats a beautiful thing to behold.
incendiary grenades 101: Now easier than ever!
jk, its really dangerous when confined in a container, don't do that
Would aluminum foil effect this reaction
Man that makes a really disgusting sound... Cool video though! Thank you for explaining just what the heck is going on.
If you are using the pure (laxative) powdered form of PeG, will the reaction happen more quickly?
Huh it's the week of the flaming chemistry videos. NR doing pool chlorine/PEG and Nile Red doing hypergolic rocket fuel mixtures. My inner pyro is a bit satisfied. :)
Would a similar reaction happen with a very concentrated bleach solution?
Super glue in place of brake fluid also works....I was told :-)
Would this produce enough heat to start a thermite reaction?
I was wondering the exact same thing! 🙂
I'm guessing "no" because normally you need something like magnesium strips. In most cases even a blowtorch isn't enough
Soo...
Is this enough heat to ignite magnesium strips, that could then ignite thermite?
@Belias Phyre see that I dunno. Usually when you ignite them you're using concentrated heat, not open such as this. It might be hot enough, if anyone knows that'd be great
Belias Phyre I remember my chemistry professor giving a demonstration of this reaction and he used glycerine and KMnO4 to start the main reaction. I’d imagine a strip of magnesium stuck in the mixture and lit could do the same thing.
This reminds me of the reaction between glycerine and potassium permanganate - just as surprising when it goes, too
In the late 80's and early 90's we used to put it in a sealed glass bottle and run. It would make a decent bang and send flame and broken glass everywhere.
I appreciate the explanation more than seeing things go boom. I have a love for chemistry. I couldn’t afford to go to college to learn more. As such, I’m playing catch up and reading what I can and watching chemists, like you (among others).
Does the reaction occur with an aqueous solution of Ca(ClO)2? Does the concentration control the rate? Long time ago I read that the time delay changes based on concentration. Thank you.
Always appreciate your little experiments great learning base for anyone who enjoys science,,,, cheers
ooooooooooooo and I have some "waste" UHMW PEO I could try this with...
Great! But why is calcium hypochlorite specifically needed?
Only hypochlorite works because the other pool chlorinators like trichloroisocyanuric acid don't spontaneously form radicals like the hypochlorite ion. This radical formation is the reason bleach degrades as it sits as it forms oxygen and chlorate
Photon Latios
Would sodium hypochlorite work?
Thanks! I should have thought about that.
@David Lowe
Considering that it is in solution the reaction would probably work, but I'm not sure about the fire. Sure the presence of water would really slow down the ignition.
Ah but man, you missed a great opportunity to mix all 3
Makes me think of Rhett and Link doing a video on ways to start a fire and they tried this not having any idea what would happen.
Kameron Irvin - 2018-09-30
Nurdrage: "Don't drink brake fluid..."
Me: puts down cup
HD rider - 2018-10-01
😂😂😂