> phymol-chem > nchem-2161-suppl > cesium-exploding-in-water-thunderf00t

Cesium exploding in water (NEW HIGH SPEED FOOTAGE!)

Thunderf00t - 2015-05-19

Turns out I've got so much footage of alkali metal water explosions its just not funny!
The cesium is kinda nice though, cos its this beautiful golden metal.  Explodes almost on contact with water, but then again so does sodium and potassium under the correct circumstances!

For more details on the real reason why these metals explode in water:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmlAYnFF_s8


I wont be adding this video to the Patreon supported feed.
But for those who would like this sort of content....
https://www.patreon.com/Thunderf00t

Juodas Varnas - 2015-05-19

Stop oppressing us with these misogynistic science videos!

Vladimir Makarov - 2015-05-19

@K3wlG33k Sorry man. The OP was a troll, so I just decided to troll as well ;) Honestly, writing it was hilarious :D

Piesho Nais - 2015-05-20

@edderiofer You just ruined a joke.

K3wlG33k - 2015-05-20

@Vladimir Makarov Yeah I know. I just wanted to aid in your satire. ^_^

Vladimir Makarov - 2015-05-20

@K3wlG33k  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sebastian Ley - 2015-09-28

Top kek m8

OrangeeTang - 2015-05-19

Slow mo always hooks me, but slow mo science is awe inspiring.

Cheers for that.

OwtDaftUK - 2015-05-19

Maybe you could do a science myths series, like the myth that microwaves cause cancer and kill all the nutrients in your food.

Quantum Axe - 2015-05-20

@midlifecrisi hates Google + wrong!!! food myths are chemistry not biology and i am pretty sure thunderfoot is more than qualified to do it.

Aran Ransul - 2015-05-20

@Quantum Axe
Food myths could fall under either Chemistry or Biology, depending on whether they deal with the physical properties of the food itself (as the Microwave myth did), or the food's effect on human body systems :P

Still, you don't really need to be an expert in a field to make an informative video, provided you cite reputable sources. I think it would be interesting.

Quantum Axe - 2015-05-20

@Aran Ransul sure, if you put it that way.

midlifecrisi hates Google + - 2015-05-20

@Quantum Axe
It depends on what food myths you're looking at. And as for if he is qualified, well that depends on if he needs qualifications.

Phyankord - 2015-05-21

@Aran Ransul you must also remember that like frost bite, freezing food can destroy its structure. like how when your blood freezes and can rip up your veins, this is one of the primary reasons why cryogenic freezing isent really a thing currently.

TheAtheistPaladin - 2015-05-19

10 k FPS and it still looks almost instant. That goes to show how fast that reaction really is.

Tomasz Wota - 2015-05-19

@TheAtheistPaladin Aye, two frames worth of footage with a 10k fps camera. Damn.

Luke G - 2015-05-19

I wanna see this is 100,000FPS

dead project - 2015-05-19

Such a beautiful element. One of the best.

James Courchane - 2015-05-19

His honeymoon *

Aran Ransul - 2015-05-19

@James Courchane
You could always just order indian food :P

P Holmes - 2015-05-19

@icecreamtub123 An excellent element.

James Courchane - 2015-05-19

+Aran Randul Potassium nitrate would effect his willie. more funny than having the shits.

Aran Ransul - 2015-05-19

@James Courchane
I Seesium, very interesting!

Donnie - 2015-05-19

What would happen if a tanker carrying several tons of cesium suddenly sank in the ocean?

soylentgreenb - 2015-05-19

@Donnie This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY7mTCMvpEM

Donnie - 2015-05-19

@God The Great and powerful yea, but wouldn't that be a spectacular thing to witness? Ecological catastrophe, but looking spectacular.

Donnie - 2015-05-19

@God The Great and powerful cesium exploding in water has a shorter energy burst, I think. I mean, it releases its energy faster. A tiny fragment destroying a reasonably large glass container? That's a powerful explosion. That's why I got curious.

Ian Boylan - 2015-05-20

I remember my science teacher told me that the reactions of alkali metals in acid is ten fold more violent and at the time, I hadn't internet to look it up(as it wasn't a big thing then). I tried to find some video footage of this, to no avail! Since you're a reputable scientist, what would the reaction be like in an acid? Say cesium in hydrochloric acid?

Ian Boylan - 2015-05-21

Any answer on this?

Shkotay D - 2015-05-19

Interesting that the explosion seemed to keep going down and into the water.  i would have thought the energy would have gone up and out immediately.

Nathan Perkins - 2015-05-24

@MrSumbody69 I think the reaction happens too fast for gravity to have much effect on the direction of reaction. Maybe if the cesium was shot in at an angle, that could be settled. My guess is the reaction would still travel straight down. Or at least react at a disproportionate angle compared to angle of entry...

MrSumbody69 - 2015-05-24

@Nathan Perkins That sounds like a more technical explanation of what I was trying to explain earlier but it makes sense since there was so little time between the reaction and the spherical nature of the cesium that the reactions all happened in approximately the same directions including the fact it was dropped so the momentum carried it down further like the force had little effect on its direction.

Nathan Perkins - 2015-05-24

@MrSumbody69 Ah. I misunderstood.

MrSumbody69 - 2015-05-24

@Nathan Perkins lol not hard to do when i have no clue what the fuck im talking about

Nathan Perkins - 2015-05-24

haha

Bruce Wayne - 2015-05-19

We need to go slower.

Navnik BHSilver - 2015-05-19

F-ing beautiful! A powerful explosion that leaves a visually perfectly spherical bubble in the water.

Dwarven All Father - 2015-05-23

I assume the argon atmosphere in the tube was to ensure it did react with either the water or your cesium.

Justin Joseph - 2015-05-19

Cesium... Meh gets some francium somehow and then I will be excited

dc2008242 - 2015-05-19

this reminds me of something funny my friend told me once
"What if all the halogens were removed from earth, sounds cool right?"
then you realize that the oceans would turn into Sodium + Water....... XD

egodrive - 2015-05-19

Awesome, it would be nice though if you explained a little more about the mechanics behind the explosion, if at all possible.

Bob Lake - 2015-05-19

@egodrive
Look in the video notes. There is a link to a full explanation. Our friend Thunderfoot and his colleagues actually found something new.

Aderla22 - 2015-05-19

@egodrive Link in his video description? ;) hf

egodrive - 2015-05-19

@Bob Lake
Ow thanks!

Kian How Tan - 2015-05-19

Crazy Intro!!

GuitarInferno - 2015-07-07

1:48 Look very closely. Poseidon emerges in the splash!

BumbleButt - 2015-05-22

oh GOSH I remember that artifact of a film. I remember my chemistry class collectively gasping like "holy shit that water just detonated metal."

sweet footage Thunderf00t

Roxor128 - 2015-05-20

Finally! Back to something interesting.

LIBERTY PRIME - 2015-05-19

It would be an interesting experiment to see what happens when a few grams of francium and ingested. Maybe you could try it out on camera? For science of course.

William Thompson - 2015-05-21

Imagine this being applied in naval warfare! Of course youd have to keep the cesium safe and airtight if youre going to carry it in board a vessel

Prudent Paratrooper - 2015-05-19

Instant exothermic reactions make me hot!!!

KarbineKyle - 2015-05-20

Awesome! I know you've done other alkali metals, but have you tried reactions with other liquids? I'm sure you probably have. I'm just curious. Thank you Thunderf00t! Science FTW always!

Tupplecruft - 2015-07-13

Haha I remember seeing that first video clip in my science class like 10 years ago:')

Paul Fritz - 2015-05-19

Now I'm interested in where and how Cesium was discovered a long time ago.

1stNinjaM - 2015-05-19

That is freaking awesome! I love science, or should I say nature? XD

KittJT2 - 2015-05-20

Did he ever follow up on why we had transparent metals from these reactions?

Blackplant - 2015-05-19

And now with fluorine. I'd love to see that reaction.

soylentgreenb - 2015-05-19

@IchHassePasswoerter .Blackplant It will just burn, unless it's liquid fluorine.

400 Pounds of Swedish Fish - 2015-05-19

The patriarchy made it explode

Nemesis Valentine - 2015-05-21

The music did everything for this video!

Shmannel - 2015-05-19

so it explodes in reaction with being submerged and exposed to particular elements in the water, so if humans and all life is made mostly of water......hmmmmmmm

HitchensImmortal - 2015-05-19

Can you do one of these with Illudium Q-36?

Floccinaucinihilipilificator - 2015-05-19

Amazing footage, standing up to your usual high caliber of videos.

Gigglefluff - 2015-05-19

Now francium :D

J. Cross - 2015-05-20

Pretty sweet! 👍

Tony Wang - 2015-07-20

stuff like this makes me want to change my major from mechanical engineering to chemical.

Immortal ZoDD - 2015-05-19

Have you tried a smaller droplet? maybe we could get something more out of it, if it were smaller

Immortal ZoDD - 2015-05-19

@Frankotronify ty :D

Mgaga97 - 2015-05-19

@Imortal ZoD Hey dude, I don't remember when but in the other video he said that the reaction has a critical mass - when you are below it it will fizz and not detonate, if you are above it - it will... I think he uses the least possible for the reaction to go on :)

Immortal ZoDD - 2015-05-19

@Mgaga97 the explosion was kind of violent so I thought we could see more/better with a smaller dose... do you think it won't pop if we do that?

Tom Coady - 2015-05-20

@Mgaga97 in that video he was using sodium and potassium, i think the cesium is much less picky about exploding :P

Mgaga97 - 2015-05-20

@MildlyFanatical Hopefully we will get a comment from him :D

Martin Krischik - 2015-05-19

Cool!

Thuggee - 2015-05-20

got to love a violent reaction very dramatic

Antmango - 2015-05-19

Imagine pouring this on or in someone

KarbineKyle - 2015-06-12

Beautiful! I love your experiments! And Cesium is a very interesting element! Looks like liquid 14K gold, and it's also similar to gallium. Too bad Francium (Fr) is too unstable to produce. 223Fr is the most stable, with a half-life of ~22 minutes. I don't know how anyone could pull that off! Thanks, Thunderf00t!

HoganFan69 - 2015-05-19

Incredibly interesting!

Sameow Al Jaxon - 2015-05-20

TRY IT AGAIN WITH FRANCIUM :D

TherealTenman - 2015-05-20

I love watching water based explosions. From AK weapon testing in pools to nuke tests in the ocean, anything that compresses water so hard it turns into air gets me rock hard.

LokyNoKey - 2015-05-19

Epic music, that's all that was missing. Let's build a cesium bomb for naval warfare.

Nicklas Källman - 2015-06-15

When will you get the nobelprice? :3

This Dude - 2015-05-20

Science!

Radle - 2015-05-19

Looks like Neo and Agent Smith front colliding!

roepi - 2015-05-21

Makes me wonder what happens when Cesium meets Fluor.

Dapp - 2015-05-19

Hey Thunderf00t, you should call up 'the slo mo guys' to see about recording some explosions in higher quality and even slower!

brickley2000 - 2015-05-19

Well that certainly saved me a lot of bother.
I had some dirty Cesium at home, and was gong to throw it in the washer tonight.
....I guess not, now.