Is it possible to calculate the phase diagram of any compound without direct experimentation or simulation?
And if so, how is it done? I am very inexperienced when it comes to chemistry, and it seems like a lot of reactions and material properties, even just of pure elements on the periodic table, appear almost random. My experience lies mostly in mathematics and physics, where there are clear formulas that can be used to derive different behaviors, and essentially I am wondering if something like this exists for chemistry, ideally without needing some kind of reference table or something. It's fine if the calculation involves non-elementary mathematics like integrals, I just want to know if one exists at all.
https://redd.it/1hcshc6
@r_chemistry
Why can I smell Aluminium Nitrate?
So while we were first doing our qualitative analysis we were given Aluminium Nitrate (the first salt)
It was supposed to be odorless and should have taken a while to detect the cation.
My teacher was so surprised that I detected it was Aluminium ion as soon as we recieved it. I just took a smell to get a hint of the anion but I found out it had a weird metallic smell I always got from fresh Aluminium , fresh tin and fresh iron.
Apparantly it is not common for everyone to smell them which I thought it was ?
Can someone explain this phenomenon?
https://redd.it/1hcpaeb
@r_chemistry
Pretty exotic chemical: Perrhenic Acid Monohydrate
https://redd.it/1hclu1e
@r_chemistry
Secret messages with alcohol
Hello fellow lovely nerds
First thing first sorry for my English.
Also I hope my post is okay, if not please let me know and I will delete it ASAP.
I'm making an escape-room-game-thing for my friend birthday and I need some help.
I like to have a puzzle/game, where the participant have a cart with the text "sometimes you should just drown your problem".
And they have to put the cart into water/alkohol/something else to reveal a new text on the card.
Do anyone know what I can use to make this?
https://redd.it/1hcgn8h
@r_chemistry
Which version of dopamine is correct? I see both in various graphics online for creative use and want to make sure I use the correct one
https://redd.it/1hcdds9
@r_chemistry
eutectic from household chemicals, liquid at least between 40 and 200 C?
Hi,
I want to set up a "double boiler" that can work as high as 200 C. The material would have to melt at less than 40 C and stay liquid up to 200 C or so. People use paraffin, oil, etc., but I'd like something less flammable, and, of course, not very toxic. I'm guessing this would require some kind of eutectic, but perhaps not. Any ideas?
I've found innumerable deep eutectic solvents made with fancy or toxic stuff.
I was looking at sodium carbonate and glycerol or ethylene glycol, but the latter are flammable, so if there was much of them maybe the eutectic would be also.
Thanks
https://redd.it/1hc9isd
@r_chemistry
Our university just has xenon difluoride lying around
https://redd.it/1hc8bsf
@r_chemistry
Co-worker blames me for a failed experiment
So I will not provide a lot of info apart from the fact that I work as a lab technician in a US medical company (joined 4 months now). I don't know how to deal with this, or if it's even worth thinking about.
So we are currently running a trial in which we are varying the experimenter. The trial involves a lot of sub-steps. One of my co-workers, who has been working there for almost 6 years somehow always fails or does some minor mistakes, hence she ends up repeating things. She first performed her own "Step X" and it didn't work. So she asked another co-worker if she can redo it for her. Again for some reason the "Step X" failed. Today it was my turn to perform my own and since I only did it once during my training, I asked her if she can watch if I am doing it right or not. Things didn't go as i thought. She wasn't of any help, she just stood there without saying or doing anything. The only thing she said was" do you mind also redoing mine with urs?" (remember hers failed twice, so she was supposed to repeat it). I agreed.
Once the step is completed, we have to evaluate it. Her samples are still acceptable but not good. So today the first thing she did as I clocked in, was to call me and start criticizing or let's say blaming her satisfactory results on me by using some stupid excuses that I don't think they were the reasons (especially that my own samples were good) . I think she spent almost half an hour *ullshitting me without coming with any valuable logical reasoning. Just plain blaming. Keep in mind that as I was performing the experiment, I kept asking if am doing it right. It was all in front of her and she didn't say a word.
At some point I got really pissed off so I told her it would be maybe a good idea, if she just redo it herself again this way we can rule out my way of manipulating. I hated how she kept blaming it on me.
It seems to me that this person knew she will fail it so she asked me to do it instead of her to blame it on me in case it doesn't work out.
We will have a monthly meeting about this experiment and we'll show the results. She refused to redo it, so please tell me how to react or what to say when the graphs are presented. She will definitely mention it and blame it all on me. Should I stay silent? ignore? or am I overreacting and the whole story is not worth it?
Many thanks!
https://redd.it/1hc38sl
@r_chemistry
Meanwhile here in India a politician has been caught with stolen Californium sample from DRDO lab ! Wild!
https://redd.it/1hbtblb
@r_chemistry
Ring vs no ring magstir bar?
https://redd.it/1hbqsi7
@r_chemistry
Things to do with a spectrophotometer at home?
https://redd.it/1hbitg8
@r_chemistry
Sodium growing something
https://redd.it/1hbfxt3
@r_chemistry
Are water proof clothes actually toxic?
I have a set of water proof clothes for work and i was curious if they are actually toxic because of potential PFAS coatings.
For example, if washed with other clothes would those other clothes have any sort of potential chemicals that could harm my family and pets?
https://redd.it/1hb915g
@r_chemistry
I just meet Morten Peter Meldal
https://redd.it/1hb6ltw
@r_chemistry
Water inside plastic water bottle turned pink?
https://redd.it/1hb2so8
@r_chemistry
Video of electrolysis I used for making copper from copper sulfate.
https://redd.it/1hcpr80
@r_chemistry
Cellulose acetate for research project
Hello, we have a research project where we need to produce cellulose acetate with a degree of distribution of around 0.6-1. We've done some searching on the net and found out that we need either acetic anhydride or acetyl chloride as reactants, which we have no access to because acetic anhydride is regulated in our country and we have no way to access acetyl chloride. I found some suggestions where it says that cellulose acetate could be produced using only anhydrous acetic acid and sulfuric acid, relying on the acetic anhydride produced in situ, but it's kind of sketchy. Do you have any suggestions on how we can synthesize cellulose acetate with a low DS using a more accessible material? Thank you so much!
https://redd.it/1hcmf0f
@r_chemistry
Chlorate cell problem
https://redd.it/1hcle5a
@r_chemistry
Briggs-Rauscher reaction but I don't have access to Malonic Acid
I have to perform a Briggs-Rauscher reaction, but my school doesn't have Malonic acid. Is there a good substitute that I can use instead?
https://redd.it/1hce0w8
@r_chemistry
Can someone explain something about caffeine to me?
How is it possible for the chemical to have a higher melting point than it does boiling point. It has a boiling point of 178C and sublimates. But it's melting point is significantly higher (228C). So what does that mean and how is it possible? Does it sumbimate and then start to condensate at a higher temperature? Does it turn back into a solid and then melt? I remember asking about it in college and the teacher either didn't have an answer or I didn't get it
https://redd.it/1hcd7gb
@r_chemistry
Availability of White phosphorus for elemental collection
Title pretty much says it. The one on etsy is either a scam, drop shipper or both because the photos are stolen from a website, and price is jacked up. copy and pasted description too! I am wondering if anyone has some confirmed samples, or knows of a site that isnt etsy, bookchem, luciteriachem etc or anyone of those scammy websites or chinese/indian ones.
im collecting:
White phosphorus
Red phosphorus
Arsenic
I already do have some of the more rare ones, including liquid mercury, uranitite, thorium, galena, trembolite etc. Ideally white phosphorus is the only one i need, because the other two i can get. The purpose for collecting these specific elements, is because im building a collection ive dubbed 'Stuff that has caused humanity the most harm'. Hence the galena, trembolite and uranitite.
https://redd.it/1hcafbh
@r_chemistry
How do i dispose of mystery crystallised substance!?
https://redd.it/1hc60ik
@r_chemistry
Henry Cavendish and Discovery of Hydrogen
https://redd.it/1hbx4o4
@r_chemistry
Research S.O.S.—Ask your research and technical questions
Ask the r/chemistry intelligentsia your research/technical questions. This is a great way to reach out to a broad chemistry network about anything you are curious about or need insight with.
https://redd.it/1hbrw9i
@r_chemistry
A damn rat just destroyed 4 days worth of work
https://redd.it/1hbqhnf
@r_chemistry
High-vacuum lines keep confusing me
I frequently use a high-vacuum system in my lab. It used to get under 1 millitorr pressures, but ever since some part changes, it only gets down to 30 millitorr. I've not had any formal training on the operation, maintenance, and repair of very strong vacuum lines - just learned from others. Can anyone recommend official textbooks/resources on this matter?
Also, related question. Sometimes the vacuum doesn't quite reach the pressures I want. I've found that if I let a little air into the system and then stop it, the vacuum re-equilibrates at a lower pressure than what it was at before! I don't get it. Can anyone explain this result? This system seems so inconsistent.
https://redd.it/1hbho57
@r_chemistry
What is your dream gift as a chemist?
Beakers? Elements? Periodic table? A puppy? I’m curious.
https://redd.it/1hba00y
@r_chemistry
You know iodine clock reaction but behold mercury clock reaction!
https://redd.it/1hb8nua
@r_chemistry
Copper sulfate crystal I made and later turned back into copper.
https://redd.it/1hb3u9g
@r_chemistry
Feeling super bad for a silly mistake I made
Hey guys! So I’m a master’s student and for my first semester of the Master’s I did a short project in an organic chemistry group in my uni. Now moat of the project actually went surprisingly well, however once I finished up experiments and left the group I started writing a report (which will then be graded by the group’s PI) and while working on the supporting information I noticed I apparently mixed up 2 NMR tubes during the project (still pissed at myself for this 🥲)
Now because of this I am missing a carbon NMR spectrum for one of the compounds I made while I have 2 carbon spectra for another. The compound is already reported and the proton NMR spectrum is essentially identical so I should have proof that I made the right product.
However I have been up beating myself up for this mistakes and as I am no longer at the lab and the deadline is approaching I cannot rerecord another spectrum so I will likely have to submit only the proton NMR. I really needed to vent because I am so mad at myself for this silly mistake which costs me a complete SI and am super scared about what the PI will say.
Also the project was really short mainly for collecting practical experience and not “real” research which yields super important results but I’m still scared this will bite me in the ass once I submit the report soon.
Anyone else gone through this? I’m really curious to hear other such mistakes so I don’t feel like a complete idiot 😭.
Anyways have a great day and may your research go better than it did for me!
https://redd.it/1hb2qms
@r_chemistry
