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Chemistry Sets for Adults?
An Anonymous Coward asks "I've been pursuing a few different lines of study, to refresh myself in basic sciences before I return to school. Right now I am reading up on Chemistry, and thought it would be fun to acquire a chemistry set just to play around with and maybe learn a few things from. Do any science geeks here have any suggestions?" My childhood garage probably still has purple and black stains all over it (lucky I was wearing glasses). 300 in one electronics kits, anyone?
Carolina Biological Supply has a bunch of learning kits, books, and software that would probably help you out. We get most of our lab supplies through them.
Edmund Scientific
http://www.scientificsonline.com
My dad used to take me there when I was a kid, a very trippy place. It got me through all of my science classes with pre-made projects.
ACK!!! Great stars! Are you *MAD*?! NEVER take anything from the Anarchist's Cookbook. Might as well drink a jug of chlorine, it'll do the exact same thing and save you a lot of time.
Paul Anderson
"I drank WHAT?!" -- Socrates
I agree. Building your own chemistry set would be more fun, and you would learn more.
The best way to learn is to teach. Collecting a bunch of good chemistry experiments, and the sources for the materials, would make a great project.
And you aren't the only one who benefits...
Some places to start:
Delights of Chemistry
Demonstration Lab
Lecture Demonstrations
Chemistry Resources
Some Sources of chemicals:
CHEM Scientific
Fisher
Sagent Welch
Carolina
I am certain you will get lots more from other Slashdaughters...
Free book: Science Toys You Can Make
That dude shouldn't get just any chemistry set. He should ignore inorganic chemistry and go for the gold (organic chemistry). He needs to read Phikal first. Then he needs to check out Rhodium and The Vaults of Erowid and a gander at The Lycaeum
"Only in their dreams can men truly be free 'twas always thus, and always thus will be."
--Tom Schulman
To clarify, there are multiple versions of the Anarchist Cookbook, and if that's a copy of the original, just strap some TNT to yourself and light it, it really will save you time in the long run. The original is replete with errors, many chemical, that could cause lots of damage.
However, I doubt that's the original, since the original is extremely rare (if you don't see something about the bridges in NYC, you're not looking at the original). Still, it's not a wise move to perform chemical experiments using instructions from a book that's designed to cause destruction, chaos, and anarchy.
If you're really just looking to win a Darwin award, however...
You zap the moderators with a wand of humor! The moderators resist!
If you are serious about doing synthetic work, I
would see about taking several lab courses at a
local college. They are already set up with
sources for the reagents, safty equipment (ie,
hoods, glove boxes, safe storage for the reagents,
safe disposal of the reagents, plus more
analytical instrumentation so that you will be
able to confirm that what you made is what you
intended to make.
If you really insist on seting up a lab at home,
make sure that you set up a safe lab. Please do
the following:
1) Ensure that you can safely store, handle and dispose of any reagents.
2)Be sure to join an amateur scientist oganization, and find some help, if only to double check that you are doing #1 correctly.
3) consider the legal difficulties
-in the state of texas it is a felony to own
certain common glassware without a permit.
Just to be safe, check your local laws along
with the fire codes.
4) If you can legally own glassware, consider
buying the microscale equipment. It should
be the same price or less for it, however
you'll use smaller volumn of reagent.
I wouldn't advocate using most essential oils in food. You could use them in absolutely microscopic amounts -- but most kitchens/chefs don't have the tools, time or inclination to measure out correct amounts of essential oils. And leaving out the "potentially physically unsafe" part of it, essential oils are so strong in flavor and scent that they will easily overwhelm the other flavors in a dish.
That's why most commonly used "food safe" extracts have an ingredient list that goes something like "distilled water, alcohol, whatever oil". The water provides a buffer.
By all means, check out the Student Science Service (http://www.tri-esssciences.com) in Burbank, California. They sell a few high-end chemistry sets of their own design (these are not kiddie sets). Ira Katz and his daughter, Kim, are the owners and are easilly accessable via e-mail. They're also one of the largest suppliers of pyrotechnic special effects to the local movie studios. Can't recommend 'em enough. -Kevin
I totally agree with this. Most "modern" chemistry sets are so sickeningly-safe that they do not truly allow any chemistry to be done. I would collect your own chemicals, maybe buying a chemistry set to give you some guidance.
There are several cautions that I would keep in mind. First of all, chemistry is highly dangerous. Many of the "first" discoverers of a chemical compound of process have actually turned out to be the second, third, etc. The true first discoverers literally killed themselves in the attempt and were thus not able to make their claim to fame! The first inventor of gunpowder, the first discoverer of fluorine, chemistry is riddled with those that tried something without understanding the consequences of their actions.
Get several good chemistry texts and read them all the way through. Start off with simple, harmless experiments. Do not try anything potentially explosive, corrosive, or vapor-producing. Keep several neutralizing agents on hand, such as baking soda, lime, sand, a good multi-purpose fire extinguisher. Perform your experiments in an extremely well-ventilated area that has been fireproofed and is far away from any living or eating areas. A separate shack is a good place. Use goggles, a heavy rubberized and/or canvas smock, solid leather shoes, disposable gloves and face masks for some experiments.
Never leave an experiment unattended. Never dump the results of your experiments in the same place, they can sometimes cross-react and form a dangerous mixture. Do not store anything which has the potential to become unstable, many nitrogen and phosphorous compounds can spontaneously react and cause extreme heat, vapors, or explosions.
Make sure of the purity of your ingredients. If you get ordinary bleach for the sodium hypoclorite be careful - perfumes, surfactants, and other agents are often added to them which can cause unwanted reactions to occur. The same goes for household ammonia cleaning solutions. Most metals you will get will be alloys, always understand the elements in the alloy and how they may react in an experiment.
Yeah, it's a lot to keep in mind, but chemistry is truly a dangerous business. I've been working in chemical labs for over 10 years and I've seen professional chemists with doctorates have accidents that you wouldn't believe. Explosions, runaway reactions, improperly ventilated experiments, splashes of highly corrosive compounds, forgetting to turn on or off some crucial bit of equipment, a lot of people get hurt even in the safest laboratory. I'm very careful simply because every exposure to some of these chemicals shortens my life-span. Many of the chemicals will take up permanent residence in your bones, will leave holes in your liver, will cause you to go blind, or even will make you go sterile. Lots of them have a cumulative effect so every exposure increases the risk, no matter how much time has passed.
So be careful!
Sapere aude!