GutZ Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Huh? Sr or even the oxide or Hydroxide has no smell!? in fact I would go so far as to say that NON of the metal elements have a smell exactly (nor their oxides)' date=' the NON metal elements can certainly be VERY smelly as Oxides however (or even as the element itself).[/quote'] Maybe just plain irriation. Small particle matter is maybe making it's way into my noise because when it reacts with the air it turns powder like. If I assume thats the oxide, it kicks you in the face all of a sudden which I assume is from the smell, and it's only with that element (...well Al-Sr90). You can't see it clouding though. I wear a mask now so I can't recall so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woelen Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Well, I must say that metals CAN have a smell. I don't know what causes the smell, but it definitely exists. Try rubbing a copper coin with your fingers and then smell your fingers. Do the same with iron objects. Also non-volatile salts of metals can have a smell. Dip your finger in a solution of FeSO4 and let it dry. Then smell your finger. Same smell as when you manipulate some iron objects. Also if you count money, then you'll certainly notice the smell on your hands after you have done that. For me, these metallic smells are not unpleasant, nor pleasant. They just are there. But I agree with YT, that dry metal salts and also the dry metals, are odorless. The smells I describe only appear when the metal or its salts are rubbed with your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj47 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Metals also have a distinctive taste which I think is quite nice and is why I have a bad habit of absent mindedly suck spoons for hours on end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noel Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 limonene is the best smelling chemical i can find in my lab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warut Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Here is how we can smell metals: http://www.nature.com/news/2006/061023/full/061023-7.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 What is the cause of the strong 'metallic' smell in the air after metal has been cut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warut Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Probably the same mechanism, metal dust falls on your body (skin) and creates those ketones. Also, see http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19225754.400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Very interesting, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malumunus Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 does anyone know what titanium dioxide and nitrogen smells like? I'm using it for my experiment so i hope it doesn't smell too bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woelen Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 Both TiO2 and N2 are odorless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1a Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 good ethanoic acid (GAA) most esters toluene/xylene acetone Bad Benzyl chloride chlorine formic acid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanJ Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I wish I could make dithiol or 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one because apparently one of those is potentially the smelliest substance ever. I don't think I'd go through with it though; the stuff would linger for too long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 "in fact I would go so far as to say that NON of the metal elements have a smell exactly (nor their oxides), " YT2095, you might wish to look up the origin of the name "osmium" though I grant that it's unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdurg Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 "in fact I would go so far as to say that NON of the metal elements have a smell exactly (nor their oxides), "YT2095, you might wish to look up the origin of the name "osmium" though I grant that it's unusual. Hehe. I was just about to say the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemhelper Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 (E)-2-butene-1-thiol and 3-methyl-1-butanethiol....aka skunk:-) http://www.humboldt.edu/~wfw2/chemofskunkspray.html ---- Have homework questions in chemistry, physics or math? Who Likes Homework -- http://www.wholikeshomework.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluenoise Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 OMG I completley forgot about this thread. Anyone ever use SybrSafe? There's nothing quite like the small of freshly cooked warm SybrSafe and agarose coming out of the microwave mnnnnnn. (though I rather doubt anyone knows what i'm talking about....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TATER Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Brand new tires and new shoes are the best smells, but chlorine is a very gross smell to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scipHun Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Well...as far as good smells go....benzaldehyde smells pretty good...and we just used...hmmm.....I can't remember it now...it was a nitrogen reagent...aha! tricaprylmethylammonium chloride or aliquat 336. It smelled bad. In organic lab we're doing a convergent synthesis of hexaphenylbenzene. Other smells I like, leather, specifically that around horses. And new cans of tennis balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitric Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 good: bromine,triethly citrate,octane,benzene,iodine,sulfur,natuaral gas,ozone bad:acatic acid,paper dissolving in conc. H2S04,terrilium breath,DMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermanntrude Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 worst chemical smell i remember is phenyl cyanide, or benzonitrile. Smells like almonds and death. Most amusing smell, piperidine... smells just like semen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladeira Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 good: ethanol. bad: hexene, etil acetate, orcein... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dessum Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 hmmm piperidine smells like semen??...hmmm doing an organic project to synthesise piperine and we're using piperidine this'll be interesting :S Worst smell ever that has entered my nose has to be triethyl phosphite...i cringe at that smell. the smell is just disgusting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermanntrude Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I think it was piperidine, anyway... I can't remember for sure. I blanked a lot of it out... I was a first year pHd student and opened a bottle, and as the smell wafted around, one of the postdocs said "hermann, have you farted?" I never quite got over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flarn2006 Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Iron(III) chloride (PCB etchant) and potassium nitrate both smell bad. And copper sulfate, kind of. (KNO3 and CuSO4 only smell when there's a whole lot of it, like in the container it comes in.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Iron(III) chloride (PCB etchant) and potassium nitrate both smell bad. And copper sulfate, kind of.(KNO3 and CuSO4 only smell when there's a whole lot of it, like in the container it comes in.) How come you can list two compounds that are not volatile and one that's barely volatile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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