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how can i make some gasses from household things?


dcstegg228

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Oxygen and Hydrogen can be produced be conducting electrolysis of water with Iron (worked well enough for me) electrodes and a dilute sodium hydroxide electrolyte. You make carbon dioxide when you exhale.... Also, just putting a flame inside an upside down flask can create carbon dioxide.

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No it will be mainly N2

 

Try making CO2 from baking soda and vinegar

 

and n2 is? nitrogen something...? id like some nitrogen to if thats what it is.. but whats the 2 for? can you explain the subscript superscript and normal numbers mean when they are next to a letter like N or H wich i think are nitrogen and hydrogen.

 

all i know is h20 is 2 hydrogen one oxygen

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Certain elements are reffered to as diatomic, meaning they exist in nature as a molecule containing two of the same atoms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomic_molecule). The diatomic elements are H, O, F, Br, I, N, Cl, and At but that is usually discounted from its ammount naturally occuring.

 

Subscript numbers are a representation of the chemical formula, the ratio of elements in a molecule. Superscript numbers are reserved for ions, more the charge that a certain element/compound has. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_formula).

 

Why do you want to make these gases?

 

edit: superscript numbers to the left of an elements symbol refers to the isotope of the element, which doesnt have an awful lot to do with chemistry.

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Like I didn't think of baking soda.. :( Vinegar + baking soda will make pure CO2 as long as theres no gas in the reaction vessle before hand

 

Indeed - simmilary [ce]H2[/ce] can be made by adding a metal to an acid - saves electrolysis though the results are not always as good and you get less.

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

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and n2 is? nitrogen something...? id like some nitrogen to if thats what it is

N2 is indeed the Nitrogen molecule, althought the best way to get that rather than the flame method (as that will be CO2 contaminated) is to put a peice of Sodium or Potassium in a sealed flask and wait a while (a few days should do it).

the metal will react with the O2 making the oxide and you`ll be left with reasonably pure Nitrogen (with a little Argon, totaly ignorable).

 

this will however create Negative pressure in the vessel, but the contents will be N2 :)

 

Avoid using Lithium metal though, as that reacts with Nitrogen quite easily, and May create potentialy dangerous negative pressures that your flask cannot withstand.

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Making some common gases with easy to obtain chemicals:

 

Oxygen (O2): Take hydrogen peroxide and add some catalyst. A good catalyst is liver, manganese dioxide, but also green patina from copper metal.

 

Hydrogen (H2): Add aluminium metal to dilute hydrochloric acid (10% HCl, do not use higher concentration) and add a small amount of a copper salt (you can make that by electrolysis of hydrochloric acid with copper wire used as electrode). The copper salt need not be isolated. Just perform the electrolysis in 10% HCl, until the liquid has a nice green color and then immerse some Al-foil. Instant and violent production of hydrogen gas. Without the copper, the reaction is MUCH slower.

 

Chlorine (Cl2): Mix some bleach and dilute hydrochloric acid. BE CAREFUL. DO THIS OUTSIDE. Chlorine is a very interesting gas (it is green and it supports combustion of many compounds with a red flame), but it is very poisonous. If you perform this experiment, really do this outside and only use small quantities.

 

Carbon dioxide (CO2): Mix some baking soda with dilute hydrochloric acid. Instant vigorous production of carbon dioxide.

 

Sulphur dioxide (SO2): Add some sodium sulfite (from photography shops) to dilute hydrochloric acid and heat a little bit. Bubbles of SO2 are formed. It is also best to do this outside. SO2 has a pungent odour and is irritating. It is not as toxic as Cl2, but still it is quite irritating.

 

And last but not least, ammonia, NH3: Mix some solid NaOH (caustic soda, drain cleaner) with a small amount of solid ammonium sulphate fertilizer (you can use the plain stuff, without the need to purify) and add a few drops of water. If the reaction does not start within a few seconds, then heat a little. The mix will start bubbling and a lot of NH3-gas will be evolved. This is a funny gas. Perform this experiment in a small bottle, loosely capped and wait, till the reaction stops again, then tightly cap the little bottle. Next, keep it under water and open the cap. The water will be sucked into the bottle quickly, as the NH3 is VERY soluble in water. Making ammonia gas can best be done outside. NH3 has a very pungent odour. It is not very toxic, but it is highly irritating, just as SO2 (although its smell is very different).

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N2 is indeed the Nitrogen molecule' date=' althought the best way to get that rather than the flame method (as that will be CO2 contaminated) is to put a peice of Sodium or Potassium in a sealed flask and wait a while (a few days should do it).

the metal will react with the O2 making the oxide and you`ll be left with reasonably pure Nitrogen (with a little Argon, totaly ignorable).

 

this will however create Negative pressure in the vessel, but the contents will be N2 :)

 

Avoid using Lithium metal though, as that reacts with Nitrogen quite easily, and May create potentialy dangerous negative pressures that your flask cannot withstand.[/quote']

isnt sodium in salt? or does it need to be pure? and can i make any other noble gasses?

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isnt sodium in salt? or does it need to be pure? and can i make any other noble gasses?

 

Sodium is an alkali metal not a salt. For the reaction YT suggested you will need a piece of pure sodium or potassium. (This may prove interesting.)

 

Noble gases are normally extracted through fractional distilation of air, because these are so unreactive they are hard to extract. If your looking for not-so-pure samples you can probably use reactions simmilar to YT's to remove the reactive elements and leave you with the other less reacitve elements.

 

In the end its easier to just buy them :D

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

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isnt sodium in salt? or does it need to be pure? and can i make any other noble gasses?

 

sodium is indeed in common table salt, but you can`t use that.

 

as for the other part, yes there is a way to get a small amount of these gasses, if you remember a few posts ago I told you how to get Nitrogen from the air, and also Not to use Lithium?

well if you Use lithium it will react with the nitrogen also! leaving only Argon and other noble gasses, the Lithium needs to be heated for this reaction, and also a way to take up the 99% missing space without introducung more air into the vessel, this can be done with a gas Syringe, or even a water lock.

but remember, for every 100cc of air you have, you`ll only get 1cc of Argon!

 

OR, you could just go to a welding shop and Buy a whole bottle of it :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

At the cathode the following reaction occurs:

 

2H2O + 2e --> 2OH(-) + H2

 

So, you get hydroxide at the cathode.

 

At the anode you have the reaction:

 

2Cl(-) - 2e --> Cl2 (I use "- 2e", because electrons are taken away at the anode).

 

Summing up both reactions gives the following net reaction:

 

2Cl(-) + 2H2O --> Cl2 + H2 + OH(-)

 

So, with the correct technical setup, such as preventing the mixing of OH(-) and Cl(-) the final compound, remaining in solution is NaOH.

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