Hi and Hello:

 

To my distress, I discovered this demonstration is used frequently in my Department.  I asked one of my staff to determine a better, safer way to accomplish the demo.  She took on this project with gusto and wrote me a very nice report (which will be submitted to JCHAS).

 

But here’s the basic information:

 

New Instruction 4 – Wooden Applicators Soaked in Saturated Salts Solutions

Saturated salt solutions were prepared according to the table below. See Demo Prep Notebook#1 pg 5 for exact preparation. Note g were added to 250ml DI water (not brought to volume).

	Actual
Salt	g in 250 mL H2O
BaCl2/BaCl2 • 2H2O	106
CaCl2	190
CuCl2 • H2O	288
LiCl	233
KCl	88
NaCl	91
SrCl2	392

 

Salts solutions were prepared in DI water. Five Wooden applicators were broken in half and placed in a weight boat. The saturated solutions were poured into the weigh boats to cover the applicators. Solutions were allowed to evaporate. Most salt solutions evaporated in 1 week. CaCl₂ and LiCl were still damp after 4 months.

 

Salts Results:

Barium Chloride BaCl₂*2H₂O  (light green) - color flame clearly distinguishable

Calcium Chloride CaCl₂ (orange red) – color flame clearly distinguishable

Copper Chloride CuCl₂ (blue/green) – color flame clearly distinguishable

Lithium Chloride LiCl (fushia flame) – color flame clearly distinguishable

Potassium Chloride KCl (light lilac) – color flame distinguishable (better than any other tested)

Sodium Chloride NaCl (yellow flame) – color flame clearly distinguishable

Strontium Chloride SrCl₂ (red or crimson flame) – color flame clearly distinguishable

 

Flame Tests were performed on damp CaCl₂ and LiCl. All other salts were dry. Wooden applicators need an additional flame source to burn.  Just burning applicators alone did not produce a flame able to be seen from more than a feet away.  A Bunsen burner or handheld propane torch were used with similar results.  Results were spectacular, even potassium chloride was able to be seen.

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If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

 

 

Debbie M. Decker, CCHO

Safety Manager

Department of Chemistry

University of California, Davis

122 Chemistry

1 Shields Ave.

Davis, CA  95616

(530)754-7964

(530)304-6728

dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu

 

Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction

that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,

can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."