Hi all

here in Germany, we've got problems with our chemestry lessons. Several schools do have to close their chemestry rooms because of Picric acid. We were sent home today, as the decision was made our bottle of picric acid has to be blasted. Picric acid, also known as 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), counts to the same family as TNT. It is 10% stronger then TNT. When the TNP dries up, it forms highly explosive crystals. 200g are equivalent to 4 rods of dynamite (said my teacher, who ignored all advises of the safety experts).


a structure picture of the school's nightmare

The problem was that our TNP was in a nontransparent bottle, so it was not possible to control the water in the bottle. Additionally, the last time it was used at our school was in 2000.

I don't know how it is in other contries. Do you have such things in your science courses? Or do you have the similar problems at your schools?

yours
Falke

I *think* part of my A-Level organic chemistry was to make some of that stuff.

Mix gubbins in ice bath, yellow precipitate forms...erm...decant...do something else.

We were given a photocopied page of a textbook with the instructions, and it had the method for making TNT on the same page, but crossed out.

At my elementary school at chemistry classes, teachers used to show the students an experiment with burning hydrogen. But they banned it after a teacher blew out some of the window glasses with that "experiment".

My science teachers spent a week doing an unofficial 'illegal week' when I was doing A-Levles, during which they just demonstrated experiments that have officially been banned. As the class were there entirely voluntarily there were no complaints, so they easily got away with it.

Oh those chemistry lessons. I remember winning a lot in poker

Falke, that is very true. I'm a chemist and if you see any crystals around the neck of the bottle, do not touch it... it will explode if you try and open it


What happens is that the oxidation frees up the nitrogen compound along with hydrogen and could go BOOOOOM

I know but you shoud tell that my chemestry teacher The first thing he had done, was moving the bottle. And as he described it, he shook it... well as he is still alive, I think there was enough water in it. Now our school garden has a nice, and tiny hole of the controlled explosion, by the bomb squad.

Only Today 30 schools and 30 pharmarcys (I hope the amount of places is correct) were evacuated.

All of the sudden now the experts are warning of Potassium ( K ) and Magnesium ( Mg ) that they can explode as well. Hmm... at least this time, I know, they are safe

Quote from breadfan :

At my elementary school at chemistry classes, teachers used to show the students an experiment with burning hydrogen. But they banned it after a teacher blew out some of the window glasses with that "experiment".

It is usual at my school. I mean the burning hydrogen experiment... here, they take a ballon, fill it with H2. When the ballon is at the top of the room, they take a burning candle... I think you can immagine, what they do... It's done in year 7 here...

We got to make fireworks last year. Well, kind of. We got to burn the stuff that's in fireworks Lots and lots of coloured smoke, and several loud sharp bangs. Epic win

I'd have nicked the bottle, thrown it out the window and hope it explodes.

Quote from Luke.S :

I'd have nicked the bottle, thrown it out the window and hope it explodes.

... that was the original plan of my teacher, who hoped to hit some of the pupils of the school next door (Quote: It wouldn't make the world an emptier place if one or two of them die due to that explosion ) He is quiet brutal, and discribes how easy it is to kill someone... hopefully it is only his language, and not his mind

It is called OH NO for a reason, you know!

Quote from LFSn00b :

We did a rocket on chemistry class when i was on 7th grade. It was a plastic 2 litre coke bottle put upside down on a stick and filled with hydrogenium. Our teacher placed a match under it and the bottle went really far

once in my A-level chem class teach filled a plastic milk bottle with methane and lit a splint underneath it - massive boom and the people down the other end of the school were wondering what happened

I suppose most people who've done A-level chemistry here have done the 'screaming jelly baby' experiment where you get a test tube full of the stuff used to fuel V2 rockets in WW2 and place a jelly baby in it

I had many good times in my AS chemistry class, lots of laughs were had especially when one of the more retarded kids in my class tried to titrate an acid with an acid

Quote from LFSn00b :

We did a rocket on chemistry class when i was on 7th grade. It was a plastic 2 litre coke bottle put upside down on a stick and filled with hydrogenium. Our teacher placed a match under it and the bottle went really far

Yerr my teacher did the same in 7th grade... Except she did it inside... A lamp in the ceiling broke.

Quote from BlakjeKaas :

It is called OH NO for a reason, you know!

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My teacher never blew things up as well as in the stories here