My thoughts on starting chemistry as a hobby
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- In this video, I answer a question that I've been getting for a long time. I also give some of my thoughts about the dangers of doing chemistry as a hobby.
One thing I forgot to mention though, was waste. Waste management is a huge part of chemistry and it can't be overlooked. If you aren't interested in handling and disposing of waste properly and safely, then chemisty isn't for you.
There are lots of legal restrictions too (depending on country you live in). Some chemicals are regulated and it may not be legal to make them either. Making pharmaceuticals can be illegal too. I mean rather innocent ones like aspirine or ibuprofene, not drugs like meth. For example EU regulates items like nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide (precursors for explosives) and both EU and US regulate many chemicals considered a precursor for drugs or a chemical needed for some drug related synthesis steps (like some allotropes of phosphorus).
When I studied chemistry it was mostly a combination of theory (reading lots of books and listening lectures about why some stuff happens) and then trying those up in the lab. In the lab you need good habits for safety that can be difficult to figure out yourself. It is also very easy to slip into bad habbits when there is nobody else correcting you constantly like in a shared lab.
Everyone working in a lap needs a habit of reading msds sheets for all chemicals you use and preferably everything you make too. That gives you quickly some sense like assuming most bromides are bad for you and most oxidesers come with fire and/or explosion hazard. Of cause the general rules are not enough but they are good to learn as well.
I think hobby chemistry can be very limited in some countries (like no nitrations to get amines due to lack of nitric acid or at least a lot of paperwork to get some). You may need to be very careful if for example manufacturing any pharmaceutical agent is illegal. In a professional lab it was much easier with no such constraints.
Very good points.
Yeah I live in the UK and there are loads of things that NileRed makes and uses that are flat out illegal in the UK.
@@Lee117five0 I think the common ones (like nitric acid) is easy to remember but when you get into the list of every prescription drug there is, the list gets very very long. In my country that list also includes some items that doctors are not allowed to prescribe because the drug is not considered safe (that list may be common to all EU). Making any of those on the list is considered half as bad as making meth at home.
It is much simpler with inorganic chemistry though. EU list has mostly oxidesers, like nitrates and chlorates. No making black powder here!
You can get nitric acid. But only 3% and it isn’t legal to distill it.
It is definitely easy to slip into bad habits when there is nobody in the lab to correct you, even when you are experienced.
The safety aspect is no joke. I was young and dumb when I got started and almost killed myself trying to distill nitric acid in my room with no ventilation.
Chemistry is no joke
Yep, I remember doing my first experiment with eggshells and concentrated acetic acid in a closed garage and heating the acid on a hot plate... I’m still convinced my sense of smell would be stronger if I’d just been a little smarter and asked my chemistry teacher to OK my setup first.
I almost lost an eye as a teenager trying to purify nitric acid using DCM and conc sulphuric acid, the lens dropped out of my safety goggles into my reaction mix and splashed it onto my face. Certainly taught me a valuable lesson about using proper (and not broken) safety equipment.
@@zeo_crash7984 One time i got Sulphuric splattering everywhere due to a old repeater pipette, so we all have had Sulphuric incidences at one point or another. But I'm glad to hear nothing terrible happened to you
Good times eh. Almost lost my life about 3 times last year for dumb mistakes. Learned a lot tho.
NileBlue "In this short chemistry video we'll go through the process of extracting thoughts from my brain."
This video has me convinced that NileRed is Lawful Good while Cody’s Lab is Chaotic Good.
Facts
ehhh.. Cody Might even be Chaotic Neutral... Nurdrage is more the Chaotic Good.
Haha very good, although credit to Cody, he did get a fume hood not too long ago! 🤣
I agree!
lol
Maybe you should also talk about your college times and your degree in biochem
yes please
@@edsradio5817 hey bot STFU
@@Yourenotmyuser i know i'm a bit late but this is what the channel's description says: "In terms of education, I have a BSc in Biochemistry, with a minor in pharmacology. However, I've always been a lot more drawn to applied chemistry. So after finishing my degree, I worked as a lab tech in an organic lab, and then as a chemistry grad student. However, I ended up leaving my graduate studies early to focus on this channel."
didn't you read the title? hobby?
up next: "Pouring Different Acids on my hand"
This isnt Cody'slab
@@marklipowskyjr.5481 Nile actually did this. ua-cam.com/video/XeVZQoJ5FdE/v-deo.html
Or... "watch me gargle mercury".
I think that video shows safety more than all the other videos. Simply because it shows that you should think before acting ones something "bad" happens. In this video its on purpose but it shows that there is time to make a rational decision if you get acid on your hands.
@@photonicpizza1466 yo the vid isnt available or? hoping someone might rep even tho im a year late 😅
A good message that not enough chemists and such on youtube seem to ever bring up. Thanks for being frank about it :)
I would love to start... but It's very difficult to start something simple as guys like NileRed, NurdRage, Champlayer, Codys lab covered very wide range of subjects in chemistry. Make something new, interesting and... "safe enough" is really hard. Maybe I'm wrong and somebody can tell me :)
@@DragonisRed1 I think it's important to just find something you enjoy and dive in. Research your topic, experience your topic, perform your topic - if it's something that grabs onto you the same way you hold onto it, then pop out a camera and everyone will feel your passion :)
@@StormBurnX I feel it in same way that eventually there would be smbd to watch my videos. Also one thing that was already mentioned here I live in EU and it's really super difficult to get some things to my hands... I can't just buy liters of methanol on gas station (for e.g.). And in my country by law I need a degree in chemistry which I have but another 3 years of full time lab experience (which I wasn't able to get while studying obviously) to be able tu purchase chemicals and on some I even need to have certification. So I'm pretty limited to available stuff and some "shady" offers from poeple who got chemicals (i don't want to know how). I have an idea what's missing in this specific field so maybe I'll come up with smth eventually.
@@DragonisRed1 sounds like you've got a good idea of what obstacles are in your way and how to overcome them :)
@@StormBurnX Oh sure... it is not just blaming boo hoo I want but I can't and do smth. But my point was: why it's so rare to have people doing chemistry on YT. Also Chemplayer isn't here anymore because he struggled with strikes... from what I know.. so I would be very glad (NR)^2 and Cody are still here
"how do you pick up chemistry experiments as a hobby" "you learn the chemistry behind it first"
Nile Blue: I'd not recommend destilation...
Me: proceeds to finish my ethanol destilation
lol
The good thing about ethanol distillation though is that it’s a VERY well understood and documented process. There are plenty of resources from enthusiast brewers to high school chem students that can provide really solid information. It’s pretty difficult to stuff up.
In comparison, I had to distil some cinamaldehyde in the lab once and the whole thing kept crystallising in my glassware. I ended up having to run HOT water through my condenser to get things to flow and ultimately ended up in a really uncomfortable situation where everything was too hot to touch and I had almost no control of the situation. Definitely not something I’d want to do without a lab technician to brainstorm ideas with...
The whole process smelled amazing though :p
You're very unlikely to hurt yourself distilling ethanol though.
@@elnombre91 yeah, I know. At the worst I could maybe get a bit drunk if I had a leak or burn myself. Thankfully, none of that happened
@@AdreaSnow I agree, as soon as you don't screw something up a lot, it isn't that hard. Actually for me the hardest part was to get controlled heat, so only the ethanol evaporated. I don't have a proper heather, so I just placed a beaker in some nearly boiling water and it worked just fine
"so how did you start this meth empire?" - "... nilered"
By watching Breaking Bad
"One day, i opened my glass kink drawer and told to myself, yea, i could do that today, and it never left"
Nike: I will kill you. Meth is bad.
Chemistry As a Hobby without formal training like an apprenticeship or a chemistry degree of some sort sounds really bad. to work safely you have to know so many details about, propertys, hazards, reactions or side reactions, so you don't fuck something up and hurt yourself or people around you, so I can't recommend that.
I generally agree that some sort of formal training is important. Otherwise you are pretty likely to make a lot of basic and potentially dangerous mistakes.
I agree completely.
I would definitely agree with this. I can't imagine a lot of amateur chemists without some sort of academic or industrial experience would think to check the MSDS for their reagents/products, for example.
Even with 8 years of training in chemistry, I wouldn't want to do chemistry at home.
Second that
I'm going to study Chemical engineering. I thing it is enough. :D
Can you please do one on cleaning glassware
Thank you for being real unlike other chemists on UA-cam it’s really cool and helpful thank you
Chemistry kits can still be a good way to start, even for adults.
That's what got me started... Doing the hydrogen "squeeky pop" experiment repeatedly at 7yr old lol
Well chemistry kits are usually designed to be safe such as putting a rock in a solution to make synthesized jade grow from it which you can find at a dollar store here in the US for kids of course. And let me tell you trying to get those jade crystals to bound with Pyrite is a pain in the ass as it does not want to however it does happen every now and then and usually easily breaks off of the Pyrite though i did get one that did not break off and it did change the color of the Pyrite to a lighter green mixed with its usual Pyrite color
@@scrappydoo7887 what got me started are simple flame tests such as a sodium flame in a sodium lamp produces a black fire as i thought all those different color of fires was cool. More cool if you walk up to a house on Halloween and see their jack o'lanterns have actual blue fire so a simple sodium backlight with a sodium flame you get a black fire for your jack o'lantern. Though a kids curiosity is something you want to watch as they can accidently make something that produces toxic fumes as they are mixing shit together and burning shit just to see what happens
@@JohnnyYeTaecanUktena I agree with you completely there, I generated quite a lot of nitrogen dioxide in my mum's kitchen through nitrate salts and sulfuric acid.
It's definitely one to supervise but it Gabe me a life long fascination with silence and chemistry especially so I think the good that's done is worth it
*_What you need:_*
Vinegar
Baking Soda
*_What to do:_*
Mix them
*_What's the use:_*
Inflate a balloon, make a volcano, a cake etc
*_Who are you:_*
_A chemist. Or a chef. Or some human that enjoys chemical reactions_
Ima try this
Don't forget to make a plastic bag explode when they react. Though my dad did it with glass bottles when he was a kid
Am I seriously here after watching dr.stone?
What the hell this dude is attractive? Not what I was expecting lmao
Damn, I better disassemble my distillation equipment and put the drain cleaner back in the cupboard, lol
Three videos in a week, your on a roll 😆
Cool. I’ll just start by distilling fermented corn!
perfectly legal (in the US) as long as you don't sell it
Check your state laws too
Love the safety info. I'm going to start by simply making solid soap, which some people might not even think of as a chemistry experiment, and consider doing other simple things from there.
Making soap is what got me into chemistry! It's so rewarding, just don't get discouraged if not every batch is perfect right away.
But eye protection is obviously a must.
No chair turn and leaving it weirdly in this video eh?
I did it but there was a loud noise in my goodbye, so i took it out.
@@NileBlue why :c
@@whywhy7634 your name suits your reply-
I completely agree with this advice. I remember the first time I saw a project I wanted to do and had all of the chemicals and glassware I needed already on hand from previous projects, it felt great.
From my perspective as a chemist myself I cannot stress out enough how true you are, especially when you got to the dangerous point.
There a countless simple, non-dangerous synthesis availiable in books, you don't need to go to an University to study a bit of chemistry I guess
Watching your video have been always my guilty pleasure, i'm a chemistry student and your videos is my inspiration and give so much advantages, so in the future i really want to be like you, enjoying chemistry in a fun way, thank you nile red/nile blue
I begun with a children's chemistry set.
Nile, you're one of the few youtubers I would listen to talk about literally everything. I'm so glad that you revived this channel, it is something I wished you would do a long while ago. ❤
Aw, me too. He's so good...
Although personally I'm happy to watch these videos without feeling the need to replicate any of the experiments, perhaps you could make a playlist of some of the safer/easier practicals for aspiring chemists to try?
(Also 1.2k likes to 9 dislikes is actually incredible, congratulations!)
Now I’ve had time to think about this, I personally love watching your videos, I don’t understand most of it, but I do get the gist of what’s happening. (Some basics videos would be nice)
Personally, I don’t think I would ever try to carry out any experiments my self, I’m not confident I understand enough of what’s going on to be able to do it safely.
Having said that I would love it if universities and local schools had the ability for people to rent lab time, with supervisory support for people like me who have an interest but not the confidence to do it alone.
I don't feel the need to mess around with dangerous chemicals when I can just watch you do it haha
So thank you! I love your videos! Stay safe!!!
Stay safe. Let me risk my life!
CJ the Lion
I _almost _*_wish_* I felt the same, but fortunately I'm pretty paranoid and _love_ indexing information, so I feel like I'd stick to mostly benign stuff and keep all catalogued with crossed t's and dotted i's.
I'm currently gathering source after source of safety information (thanks for the list and tips, Nile), don't really plan to deal with acids, and honestly care more about mechanical tinkering than chemical, so I don't plan on making a froth monster out of Chlorine Trifluoride anytime soon, lol, but In the end, I _do_ plan on doing some reactions
I've seen the danger of the Dunning-Kreuger affect though, so I plan on learning even more than I have before anything serious.
EDIT: Oh, and of course I make a plan to monitor and/or dispose of the chemicals properly. It is _crazy_ how many things can go wrong.
That's my favourite part of chemistry so far. The dangerous stuff.
That said, I would rather not risk my life with sub-amateur equipment lmao.
Just when I thought you couldn't get any hotter, you go and put your glasses on. Marry me! 😍❤❤
Bitch, I'm a chemist too. I'll have great chemistry with Nile 😏😏
"Just do it"
Mind blowing 🤯
I've unlocked my third eye 👁 and can now do it all.
But yes, I get what you're saying.
I'm sorry in a previous comment I confused you with NurdRage
Just wanna say, I think you’re extremely handsome nile. I’ve learned so much from you and I even showed my teacher so now we watch your videos in class. I love watching your videos and your voice is so soothing. You and Cody’s lab should collab sometime!! Keep up the good work!! @NileBlue
Thanks!
When you say "more or less safe" the white phosphorous video comes to mind 😂
...or cutting old potassium metal with a superoxide layer on it :D
A good distillation start is just water... Distilled water is needed for other reactions so make it yourself while you familiarize yourself with the process...
I actually really liked orange oil for a first distillation, safe, but more of a feeling of accomplishment than moving water from one flask to another,
@@trumpeteer240 but wouldn't a soxlet extractor be better for that?
@@thefourthtuxzt3078 perhaps, we did it by pureeing orange skins (none of the white pith) in some water and straight distilling it over it worked pretty well and was a great introduction to the process of distillation
That is some really good advice right there. I wish I heard that 4 years ago. I never stopped to ask myself WHY did I suddenly think I wanted to get in to chemistry. I've played with different sciences all my life and haven't touched chemistry since I was 10 playing with a used chemistry set I bought at a rummage sale. But about 4 years ago, I got the urge and I collected all sorts of online literature and chemistry books in pfd form and started buying gear, $150, then $400... I finally stopped after I bought about $600+ worth of gear. Once I acquired all the gear, I suddenly realized the interest was gone and I had to stop and ask myself why. It turns out I was subconsciously trying to recreate how I felt about myself when I was a kid. As a child, when I started buying chemistry stuff people started looking at me differently. My friends came over to "my lab". Hell, I didn't know anything about chemistry beyond a bit about the pH scale. But because I played with test tubes and glassware and chemicals, people started treating me as a little professor or a little adult . Many years have passed and I now realize I was mostly reaching for something you just can't get back simply from owning gear.
I find this applies to a ton of things in life. Very good advice
Not many hobbies are like amateur chemistry in where if you are dead wrong about something you might actually end up dead. And/or burn your house down, kill or permanently injure one or more of your family members, etc. You and only you are entirely responsible for what happens if you overlook something or make a mistake. That's asking an awful lot from a young person who's just learning chemistry and it's one of the reasons why people tend not to encourage or discourage the hobby.
Now with that being said, the above does highly depend on what experiments you choose to do. Like someone else mentioned making sodium acetate from baking soda and vinegar is a great experiment for trying at home with very little risk of harm should something go wrong. A reagent like nitric acid on the other hand... my advice is to absolutely stay away from it. A big part of staying safe when experimenting involves being able to accurately predict ALL of the chemistry that may occur during a reaction and being prepared to handle ANY of the products produced. A reagent like nitric acid is so dangerous to use because it has the potential to react in many different ways with many different things all at once and it becomes very easy to overlook something.
Step 1 take a course on lab safety. Step 2 get proper protective equipment (lab coat, goggles, gloves, safety shoes). Step 3 learn what a MSDS is and how to read it. Absolute bare minimum
This is how I got started a few months ago. I didn't really know where to start until I needed a desiccant (for my bees). So instead of buying some desiccant online, I decided to just make calcium chloride with 30% HCl and some seashells I was keeping for literally no reason at all. Over time I've gained more knowledge and experience, I didn't just wait to get into chemistry before getting tons of glassware or a PHD, I just got started with what I had available.
My first synthesis was calcium acetate from calcium carbonate and acetic acid :-) I also learned a lot - it's fascinating how even the simplest experiment gives you a ton of experience.
Hi ! I'm on with your DIY Soap project, I bought NaOH, oils and all :) I'll put glove and gogles AS YOU SAID and be careful not to splash it or anything. That's a good exemple of (many I guess) people you inspired the good way to discovery Chem-Chem. I've been a chemistry enthousiath for very long I LOVE to learn how our world works. What triggered me to chemistry -may i say- way fluorescein. She was so beautiful I did a bit of research on it, and I found the structure of the molecule was *almost* as beautiful as the visual side of it!
For the little story I made a stinking ball when I was ~15 yo and got expelled for school ^^ Now I profundly understand consequences, and I'm happy it happened this way. Meaning: always be way more careful than necessary instead of the other way round !
Hope you stay with us for long, Nile ;)
PS: i'm french sorry for my approximative/funny writting
Start by making soap.
The first real thing I did was a duplication of your making wintergreen from asprin and methanol.
I can't agree more though with how dangerous it is. The real problem I've had is working with gaseous chlorine.
Also, have a head for physics and hydraulics and pneumatics and thermodynamics. Those are the things that will get you into trouble as they're usually not well spelled out in syntheses.
Im 16 and I do my own film developing, it's a good thing to start with a would say. None of the chemicals are very dangerous and it gives practice for safety precautions. You have to be very precise to get good results too.
WHo the fuck asked you
Yesterday, I began my hobby chemistry journey with a baking soda and vinegar volcano. Tomorrow, I'll make some black powder in the basement. I'll be distilling mercury by Saturday. All thanks to you!!
J/k I'm not a chemist, just a dad who likes to dabble with safe stuff and watch your videos.
What’s your job
IIRC he's a biochemistry or pharmaceutical PhD student
@@braceharvey no
@@braceharvey He graduated long ago
I AM ENRAGED!!! I have been asking for a chem set for months now, my birthday is coming up so I thought I could seize the opportunity and get one. I watched this video in front of my mother and my dreams have been crushed, YES I agree chemistry is a very dangerous hobby...BUT NOT TO SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN STUDYING THOROUGHLY FOR MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the disclaimer Nile. It shows you do care for the safety of your fan community. I do appreciate the sincerity.
Me after this video: I WANNA MAKE NaK
I agree with everything really well here. I get questions a lot, even about energetic materials. It puts me at an odd point because, I don't want to encourage people to make explosives at all. It is dangerous and pretty illegal in most places. Yet, if they want advice, it seems they are doing it anyway, and often the advice is safety things like, "how do I make xxx safely" and... I feel bad for refusing to help people no hurt themselves... So i feel bad and responsible having answered or not answered the question. Is a tough one
SO you're saying you did it for the chicks?
I have been starting think about making a small home lab. I'm a former chemistry student and have a couple years of experience in the practical side of things, and I have always enjoyed it when I was working on it. Now however I no longer study chemistry, the itch however is still there.
I feel a lot of people who want to get into it for a hobby might indeed not realise how dangerous chemistry might actually be for their well being if done improperly.
That being said, your channels have been an inspiration for me and have kept that itch going.
Thanks for that.
A question for you though, have you ever had a police visit or anything of the sorts, a lot of amateur chemists seem to be fearful of having their glassware taken or destroyed even when doing fully legal chemistr because of law enforcement mixing them up with less savory home labs.
The first project I’m working on is making putty or slime from borax and Elmer’s glue. Through research I learned what causes the reaction and dived deeper looking for other glues with polyvinyl alcohols. Every glue has immensely different putty outcomes which fascinated me. Now I want to explore pure polyvinyls in attempt to make a copycat putty of Crazy Aaron’s thinking putty.. to my knowledge this is safe as long as high heat isn’t involved.
I would love to see you explore this project if it piques your interest @nileblue
I've heard once you read the "Golden Book Of Chemistry" there is no turning back. SO and RIP to the kid who made a nuclear reactor in his mom's tool shed.
I agree chemistry is pretty dangerous. I started as a stupid kid and managed to never get hurt but could've very well gotten hurt. When I got some strong acids I always wore safety goggles a lab coat and other PPE. I wasn't very safe but safe enough to get lucky.
It's been a couple years and I have since advanced into a much safer amateur chemist. I am performing legit synthesis, taking all of the necessary precautions, ALWAYS staying by the reaction (almost all of the close calls I had were when I left something alone DON'T EVER DO THAT (I don't care if it's outside, I don't care if it's outside, I don't care that nothing should happen, STAY BY YOUR REACTIONS PEOPLE AND HAVE EVERYTHING PLANNED OUT AHEAD), having proper PPE for the job, storing chemicals the right way (I used to store my sodium hydroxide right next to the calcium carbide, and all of my acids. I also found some MnO2 near the HCl. That was a disaster waiting to happen. I got very very lucky that I never had a serious incident. I am now more careful than most chemists in a real lab. I have to be. I get to know the chemicals weeks before I get them and familiarize myself with all of the reactions. Possible side products, hazards, chemical hazards, etc. There is always a risk no matter how prepared you are but you can minimize it as much as possible. The goal is to get to a negligible risk to no risk. And even if you get there, prepare for the worst. The glass cracks and spills your hot nitric acid into an olive oil bath, the reaction foams over and you are releasing corrosive and toxic gases. Something as simple as a small spill can catch you off guard if you're not prepared for it. Plan (I can't stress planning, do dry runs with water and salt as your chemicals), prepare (bring ALL of the PPE you would possibly need and make sure you wear the right stuff and have the right stuff on hand), and execute the plan (don't try to diverge from the plan unless you have to. Being able to think things out beforehand with a calm mind and lots of time is priceless. Have people double check your work and don't get upset/take it personally if they tell you to not do that. There is a reason and listen.
Just be safe and start safe. The more experience you get the better of a chemist you will become. Be responsible and plan ahead for the reaction, side reactions, possible emergencies, PPE, waste (don't forget waste, I know I often did), and work outside with a fan! Just working outside doesn't cut it for lots of stuff. I used to work outside all the time and even then a whiff of acid fumes can catch you off guard. Wear a respirator with proper filters and get a fan. In my experience, gases and fumes have been my worst enemy. I hate them and they scare me. I use a good non sparking fan to blow away and disperse vapors right away. I still have a respirator for certain things. Look up odor threshold, IDLH, and exposure limits. The ppm are hard to tell what is safe and what isn't but look at things you know are relatively non toxic like acetone, and compare the values to something like HCl. HCl is a lot more dangerous than acetone and the MSDS data will tell you that since the exposure numbers are a lot smaller.
I wish there was a site that gave out such information very easily and accessibly. I want to make something like that but probably lack the time or effort. Sciencemadness is a good place to start but don't follow what a lot of people do there. They tend to take safety less seriously than people in r/chemistry.
Have fun but stay safe!
Also get a fire extinguisher. Just do it. Lots of flammable solvents exist and lots of things can catch fire. Get an ABC extinguisher. I have one that costed me $20. It's not the best since it's small but it's absolutely better than nothing. Make sure whatever is possibly flammable can be put out with your extinguisher too. Don't use water unless you know it is okay to use. A mineral oil bath fire can have water put onto it but an olive oil bath cannot. Avoid using olive oil anyway. Just buy baby oil.
Why do chemistry as a hobby, spent lot of time and money. And then also the Danger to hurt, when u can just watch videos about the projects?....
Hey guys. I have been in the community for a few months now and I want to start chemistry as a hobby. Chemistry has always been a fascinating science to me and Nile has most certainly reignited that spark. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for where to buy supplies and glass ware. Does anyone know particular experiments that are engaging, yet still able for a beginner to complete? Are there any books that I should get before embarking on my chemistry journey. In regards to supplies I know that I should just go to EBay for chemicals. Any help is much appreciated!
For chemical fires, particularly those that may involve flammable liquids, metals, or reactive substances, the appropriate fire extinguisher types include:
1. **Dry Powder Extinguishers**: These are often used for Class D fires, which involve combustible metals (like sodium, potassium, or magnesium). Dry powder extinguishers work by smothering the fire and preventing access to oxygen.
2. **CO2 Extinguishers**: Carbon dioxide extinguishers are effective for Class B fires involving flammable liquids and electrical fires. They work by displacing oxygen and cooling the fire.
3. **Foam Extinguishers**: Suitable for Class B fires involving flammable liquids, foam extinguishers form a layer on the surface of the liquid, cutting off the fire’s access to oxygen.
**Note:** In a chemistry lab, the specific type of fire extinguisher needed depends on the materials and chemicals being used. Always ensure that the fire extinguisher is suitable for the types of fires most likely to occur in that environment. Additionally, proper training on how to use these extinguishers is crucial for safety.
Some chemicals and chemistry experiments are dangerous, but the most dangerous thing in a chemistry lab is the chemist himself. If you know what you're doing, if have plenty of experience, if you put in place every possible safety measure and you always respect the stuff you're working with, the vast majority of chemicals can be controlled even within amateur set-ups.
I like that 1:06 safety knowledge is gained through experience..
me after watching breaking bad lol
I'm a boyscout in Michigan, you've inspired me to build a nuclear reactor in my mom's shed.
Sadly it's not that easy, we can't even buy Acetone as private customers in Europe. That's how restricted chemicals are here.
Some of the greatest chemists were self taught. What pisses me off is the amount of restrictions that can be put on you.
The best thing to start with: the rapid crystallization of sodium acetate
Thanks! Really, coming from you this is one of the few times in my life I listened and believed in a safety talk.
One becomes numb and cynical about this stuff with the force-feeding of impractical nonsense corporate safety material, just for liability.
Some of it can be questionable, but there are definitely some things that need to be taken seriously. Maybe I'll make video on lab safety
my wife says I'm one lab accident away from becoming a super villain. lol
All STEM Professionals and Hobbyist are the Bomb…pun intended
Thank you very much for everything. I have always had an interest in chemistry, but your videos really got me seriously invested in it. I'm currently finishing the last exams of highschool here in Germany. I will probably get a grade good enough to start studying biochemistry at one of Germany's best scientific universities right away. Thank you for everything you've done and continue to make videos.
I'm also interested in doing science at a university in Germany. Do you mind me asking, what is the university? Good luck, that sounds fantastic.
I'm getting a degree in computer science. I feel like I like chemistry as well. When I go to grad school is it possible that I can use my University lab for South chemistry project I want to do
Hey Nigel! I'm an early subscriber. Just found your channel about a week ago and finished all of your posted videos in both channels. Never knew chemist can be fascinated, fun, and dangerous at thr same time. So much things to explore. Keep up the good work and be safe for you, your brother, and your friends!
i wish there was some chemistry simulator for reactions and stuffs or something on those lines
You should also mention that you cant only damage yourself or others but the environment too
Hows it feel to be about to hit 1 Million subs on this channel? You are at 999k right now.
you are one my motivations for wanting to major in chemistry and I would really love to do stuff similar to you, doing random fun reactions, and showing people. I love science and ever since I've seen you just doing them for fun, it's really helped me to push for what I want to do in life
I've been following you for a number of years now. These videos have been tremendously interesting, entertaining, and educational. However, based on watching your videos and those from similar channels, it doesn't seem like hobby chemistry produces anything practically useful. I mean, outside of soap making, wine making, or beer brewing, etc. And with those types of projects, though technically chemistry, you don't even need to know hardly anything about chemistry in order to have success. I see you repeat over and over, that if you do actually manage to produce something useful, you always add the caveat that it would have been cheaper and easier to just buy the end product. Chemistry seems like a fruitless hobby to me. It's expensive, dangerous, time consuming, includes a lot of nasty cleanup, and produces nothing useful or at least nothing useful at a price that would make the work worth it in some sort of way. I don't mean to sound negative, I'm glad someone is doing it and making videos they are fun to watch, but this is not a hobby for me.
I totally understand your point. It just depends what your goal is and I think a lot of hobbies are like that. For example, if you're into music, you might just play for fun and never record anything. So, all you're getting is the enjoyment from doing it. I think chemistry hobby chemistry can be very similar.
What attracts me to it though, is that you can often do things that money can't buy. For example, I can make certain chemicals that I aren't sold. Or sometimes, I can do it for way cheaper.
It can also sometimes be helpful because it gives you a wider knowledge of how the things around you work. It has definitely helped me many times in my everyday life.
@@NileBlue, Yeah, I don't mean to poop on your hobby. Obviously, I enjoy watching you enjoy it. It's just not for me. Thanks for the reply, it's a real honor.
The real Q for me is how or from where i can buy! Like i'm not sure if i buyed something is it allowed coming or just the customs will prevent this and lose everything. I don't know if i can find the answer from here, but i really love chemistry and i have a lot of things i want to try do it
You might want to look up ScienceMadness forum. There is a whole category about chemical and apparatus acquistion.
There are still many vendors and fellow amateurs who will provide you the materials you need, just check the regulations in your country and make sure the goods and properly declared.
Me mixing all the cleaning supplies in the cabinet to make a potion as a kid
Chumistry
I feel the same way with carpentry, you can’t just know what to get and all of a sudden you’re a carpenter, you need a tool and you just go buy it, and suddenly your repertoire has been expanded
The difference is, wood won't kill you just for putting the wrong species together. :)
I wanna do something simple first like extracting alcohol
This is very important in all things, really. For example, things like using a tablesaw can be very dangerous. However, this shouldn't stop anyone from pursuing a hobby they enjoy. As long as you're always making sure that you're taking all the safety precautions necessary and have fun while doing it then all should be well and good.
Hey @NileRed, what was your closest call with dangerous chemicals?
So basically start as if you were being a starter kit for a kid got it
I subscribed and hit the bell
Thanks a lot, this video really helped me to start practical chemistry on my own. It's good to hear these type of recommendations when you want to start doing chemistry and trying not to kill yourself in the first attempt.
I'm currently doing my Masters in chemistry and I have helped out as an assistant in undergrad labs quite some times (and of course I remember my experiences in the lab). And what I can say is the following:
Holy shit are people stupid. Not only the undergrads I was watching, but also I myself. And those are people who are taught how to properly do things, yet I have seen people do and I myself did things that are incredibly stupid and potentially dangerous.
So my advice for anyone who wants to get into chemistry as a hobby is the following: First, think about if you'd do stupid things, by which I don't mean doing dangerous experiment, but just being a fuck-up sometimes.
If your answer is "no", you're wrong. You will screw up at some point, everyone does. And it's those times where you have to know exactly how to handle your mistake in order to harm nobody - not someone else and not yourself.
And now that's where the problem really is: People do stupid things, because they don't recognize these things as stupid. And that's extremely dangerous. Proper training under supervision is imho the only way to build up experience in a safe manner. And when you have gotten enough experience, you're free to try stuff on your own.
I'm not wearing shoes
This is why doing theoretical physics as a hobby is the best!
1. It's not dangerous
2. It's not expensive, you just need a pen and some papers
3. It's much more fun than chemistry
-this comment was made by the physics gang
“It’s not expensive”
“Looks at the extortionate prices of my textbooks”
Although I must say, working through physics is much less hassle than figuring out how the hell to get chemicals with the ridiculous laws here in the uk ;)
I got into a chemistry class at school, and it pretty much killed my taste for chemistry, having 2 hours of homework per day in this ONE HIGHSCHOOL CLASS.
Did you study chemistry at university?
My first experiment at home was the Blue Bottle one. It's quite fun and doesn't need too much equipment to do.
Yeah, I nearly burned down the house making rocket fuel in my kitchen. So be safe lol 😎
Fun story: That's how NASA's JPL was created.
Hahahahhaha distilling sulfuric acid in your kitchen
I've read the book Chemistry Made Easy. Which book you recommend should I read next for the next step?
I’ve watched your channel for a handful of years and I first started with acetone under my bed dissolving abs when I was 7, and just now I’m realizing chemistry is actually really cool with all you can do
2:50 eight or 10 years old my ass you’ve been doing that shit since birth 😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂 in the womb mixing it up
Hi 😊 #NileRed
You are a great instructor and at the age of 7, I started learning chemistry and now I can understand advanced stuff and i am really interested in experimenting but I am having a hard time to find chemicals here. And lucky I get good scores 😊.
I started about 2 years ago. I was inspired by a King of Random Sugar Rocket video. As I first got into Chemistry I started by raiding my local grocery store along with a list of common chemicals, I then went to the dollar store for glassware.I started by trying to purify what I bought and make what I could with I had. A few months later I went to the hardware store for my first bottle of Hydrochloric Acid and worked with it in small doses. After a month I got my first Flask and Graduated Cylinders slowly but surely got more and more equipment and labware. After a year I acquired a pretty impressive hobbiest lab. If you are working with dangerous chemicals I recommend working with them in smallest amounts needed for what you are doing. I have filled my lab with smoke, Nitrogen Dioxide, Chlorine Gas. Luckily my lab is in my Recording Studio which is on commercial property and a fire escape door is in the lab room for ventilation. Also I mistake I made was not messing something up but something working really well and being stunned/clueless on what to do with it. This happened on my 4th Nitric Acid production attempt. Was thinking the concentration would not be too crazy. Wound up making red fuming nitric acid and was terrified of it. I left it in a beaker with rubber for about 6 months and forgot about it. Wound up almost eating thru stopper completely. Finally had the balls to deal with it a week later.
Great video. I wish to see more like it. But you might need to play the algorithm some you deserve way more subscriptions and Views than this
I don't care about view much for this channel. I'll just do what I wanna do. I also kind of just started it, so I think what I have so far is pretty decent
You're awesome dude