Education Through Pyrotechnics: Difference between revisions

Line 87:

== Real Life ==

* Possible in some demonstrations in high schools, such as placing an alkali metal in water. Metals that react more energetically can shatter the container if too much is placed in it.

* Happens every so often in chemistry research labs, as [http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/how_not_to_do_it/ can be seen] on research chemists' blogs.

* Happens every so often in chemistry research labs, as [https://web.archive.org/web/20131111150222/http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/how_not_to_do_it/ can be seen] on research chemists' blogs.

* Read [http://www.ie.lspace.org/fandom/afp/timelines/stupidity.html this discussion]. Go on, it's fun. You may have to scroll down a bit to get to the actual school pyrotechnics.

* Read [https://web.archive.org/web/20080629205921/http://www.ie.lspace.org/fandom/afp/timelines/stupidity.html this discussion]. Go on, it's fun. You may have to scroll down a bit to get to the actual school pyrotechnics.

* [[Made of Explodium|Nitrogen Triiodide.]] Freakin' NI3. ''Staple'' of mischievous chemistry students and show-off professors across the world. Rather powerful crystalline explosive, sensitive enough to go off when ''a big fly lands on it''. However, unlike most unstable stuff, it may be handled more or less safely upon mixing and is primed only when it dries up. Hence the popularity.

Line 94:

Once in Soviet times students in Voronezh University ladies' dormitory were quite annoyed by their porter due to her [[Moral Guardians|habit of night patrols]]. Enter the... Chemistry students and enigmatic faint smell of ammonia rising from the corridor's floor. Next morning she was found sitting atop her stool with boots. This little experience apparently taught her something valuable about wisdom of ''not'' sharing one's insomnia with everyone around and about peaceful coexistence with bunch of crazy students in general.

* The university [http://www.mst.edu Missouri S&T] actually offers a [http://mining.mst.edu/programoverview/minorexpeng.html minor in explosives.] And they're not kidding. Seeing as how they were originally Missouri School of Mining and Engineering, or something like that, its hardly surprising.

* The university [http://www.mst.edu Missouri S&T] actually offers a [https://web.archive.org/web/20110315223834/http://mining.mst.edu/programoverview/minorexpeng.html minor in explosives.] And they're not kidding. Seeing as how they were originally Missouri School of Mining and Engineering, or something like that, its hardly surprising.

** They now also offer a [http://dce.mst.edu/credit/degrees/explosives_engineering.html Masters]!

** They now also offer a [https://web.archive.org/web/20120501101754/http://dce.mst.edu/credit/degrees/explosives_engineering.html Masters]!

** The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology also has [[wikipedia:Energetic Materials Research and Training|an explosives division]]. These guys are quite infamous around the town for setting off explosions that would probably cause air raid alarms if they were anywhere else. Shockwaves powerful enough to rattle windows are not unheard of, to the great amusement of the university's students.

* Purdue University professor George H. Goble won the 1996 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his world record of lighting a barbecue in 3 seconds. He did this by dumping a 3 gallon bucket of liquid oxygen on 60 pounds of coals; the resulting fireball reached 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. For those curious to see what the fuss is about, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sab2Ltm1WcM here] is a video, and [http://www.ambrosiasw.com/Ambrosia_Times/September_95/2.5HowTo.html photos and an interview.]