Chemistry people

[10101]

Well my friend (he likes chemistry as i like electronics) asked if i could put this here so you chemistry aficionados give your opinions about it 

https://hobbychemistry.wordpress.com/


(If it's inapropriate i will kindly remove it) 

Thanks in advance, 10101

[monksod]

Kudos! Unfortunately in the police state I live (Arsetralia), if you are a chemistry buff and start ordering equipment online, you'll get a knock at the door from the feds thinking you are manufacturing crystal meth. Try buying the Thames & Kosmos Chem C3000 kit here! Near damn impossible! No wonder the kids are getting dumber down under... 

[Tac Eht Xilef]

Try buying the Thames & Kosmos Chem C3000 kit here! Near damn impossible! No wonder the kids are getting dumber down under... 

I know! I blame all the gutless anti-science governments we've been lumbered for making it damned near impossible!

Bloody nanny state...

[corrado33]

As a chemistry pHd, I have access to a program which lets me view the synthesis of any compound imaginable.  (Including every drug imaginable.) I could fill up that site with many many.... "experiments." Unfortunately, I really don't have the time to do it. 

And besides, I'm no organic chemist (people who care about synthesis.)

[jlmoon]

I love that bit of kit!  That's a much better kit than I ever got to play with.      Think I am going to order 2 an extra one for a spare.  Awesome!!!

[IanB]

I always enjoyed chemistry, probably more than electronics. Unfortunately, a home chemistry lab is harder to set up than a home electronics lab. To do electronics as a kid you just need a spare table in a corner of a room somewhere. To do chemistry you need a well ventilated area, probably outside like a shed or a garage, you need a sink and running water, you need gas to run a burner (spirit burners only get you so far), and if you want to start doing smelly or noxious experiments you need a fume hood of some kind (or a covered area to work outside). At least the various bits of glassware and other apparatus are not especially more expensive to obtain than various electronic gear and test instruments can be. But there's nothing more enjoyable than having access to a properly equipped chemistry lab and knowing how to use it.

[eas]

Nice. I'll have to keep an eye on the blog.

I was a bio major back in college, which required intro chem and o-chem. O-chem consumed most of my time and attention the year I took it, but I did well, and I loved it. I haven't done any synthesis since then, but I've been thinking of seeing how far I can get starting from "Scratch" or close to it, making KOH from wood ash, sulfuric acid from elemental sulfur, destructive distillation of wood to get a variety of compounds, purification of urea from, the byproducts of beer and coffee consumption, etc.  First though I need to spend some time thinking things through.

[magetoo]

Just thought I should mention the Sciencemadness forums for anyone interested in amateur chemistry: https://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/

I've been thinking of seeing how far I can get starting from "Scratch" or close to it,

That sort of thing, doing [blank] from scratch is fascinating, almost no matter what goes in the blank.  I'd love to hear more if you are planning to write about it somewhere.

[monksod]

I know! I blame all the gutless anti-science governments we've been lumbered for making it damned near impossible!

I wonder, is that a new listing for this kit? I was looking around for this kit just a month or 2 ago & couldn't find it anywhere locally. Very cool! Although bear in mind it is missing a few chemicals deemed "hazardous" by our bureaucratic overlords... (easy enough to find though).

Then again, probably better off just buying the glasswear & lab gear you need as you go & set it up your lab yourself?

Thanks, I subscribed to this blog.

[Stonent]

I only ordered 5Kg of purified pseudophedrine officer. I sometimes get a stuffy nose....

[Stonent]

I always enjoyed chemistry, probably more than electronics. Unfortunately, a home chemistry lab is harder to set up than a home electronics lab. To do electronics as a kid you just need a spare table in a corner of a room somewhere. To do chemistry you need a well ventilated area, probably outside like a shed or a garage, you need a sink and running water, you need gas to run a burner (spirit burners only get you so far), and if you want to start doing smelly or noxious experiments you need a fume hood of some kind (or a covered area to work outside). At least the various bits of glassware and other apparatus are not especially more expensive to obtain than various electronic gear and test instruments can be. But there's nothing more enjoyable than having access to a properly equipped chemistry lab and knowing how to use it.

All you need is a large supply of halogens and alkali metals and good times and a salty taste are had by all.

I had a chemistry set as a kid in the 80s.

The main thing I learned is that if you mix more than two things together you will likely have a smell or it will turn brown.

Bonus is if it gets on your hands and you get a bad taste in your mouth.

[IanB]

I had a chemistry set as a kid in the 80s.

I also, in the 70's. The funny thing was, we were saying "They have removed all the interesting chemicals from chemistry sets now (i.e., in the 70's) compared to the old days (i.e. in the 50's). Chemistry sets are no fun any more!"

Funny to think that was so long ago, and even then "modern times" were boring...

[westfw]

In the 70s, they removed the "interesting" chemicals.  By the 90s, we had "microchemistry labs", where the amounts of non-interesting chemicals were reduced to miniscule levels.  By the 2010s: computer simulations.  :-(

They rant about needing to encourage young peoples' interest in Science and Technology, and you can get all sorts of kit for little kids.  But there isn't anything for those kids to GROW into.  Chemistry becomes "too dangerous" (drugs, explosives, poisons), ditto physics and most construction/machining.  Even software gets associated with hacking.   I won't tell you about the hoops we have to jump through locally to do "model rocketry", because they're mostly only state-wide.  But the more advanced forms require BATF permits for motors (which of course you can't get till you're 18), and FAA waivers for launches, USA-wide.  grr.

[Stonent]

I had a chemistry set as a kid in the 80s.

I also, in the 70's. The funny thing was, we were saying "They have removed all the interesting chemicals from chemistry sets now (i.e., in the 70's) compared to the old days (i.e. in the 50's). Chemistry sets are no fun any more!"

Funny to think that was so long ago, and even then "modern times" were boring...

Yeah, not even any U-238!



This one had U-238 in it along with a cloud chamber, spinthariscope, geiger counter and some other stuff.  All for $50 back in the 1950s.
(That's about $486 in modern money)

[eas]

Drugs helped motivate me in organic chemistry, not because I planned to synthesize any, but it gave me interesting molecules to think about as I learned new synthetic techniques.

I only ordered 5Kg of purified pseudophedrine officer. I sometimes get a stuffy nose....

You might be interested in this

A novel and straightforward synthesis of pseudoephedrine from readily available N-methylamphetamine is presented. This practical synthesis is expected to be a disruptive technology replacing the need to find an open pharmacy.

Just thought I should mention the Sciencemadness forums for anyone interested in amateur chemistry: https://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/

I've been thinking of seeing how far I can get starting from "Scratch" or close to it,

That sort of thing, doing [blank] from scratch is fascinating, almost no matter what goes in the blank.  I'd love to hear more if you are planning to write about it somewhere.

If/when I do it, I will definitely keep an online lab notebook of sorts. Realistically though, its probably a couple years before I do anything. I've already bit off a lot learning a enough electronics to make things I want to make.