Don't mix water and aluminum!

I show you how to make water and aluminum react.

#shorts

[OlderSoldier]

As a Aluminum welder... my lungs feel this.

[CZpersi]

There is a reason why aluminium is so difficult to obtain despite being one of the most abundant elements on Earth. It simply does not want to stay in its pure metallic form.

[TacComControl]

There's something else about this that makes this extra cool. That layer that forms on the outside of aluminum? It's called corundum. And it will crystallize if placed under heat and pressure and create very very strong crystals. You've probably heard of them. They're called rubies. Or sapphires. They're the same crystal, just with some mild mineral inclusions, to add color, but the point is, they are both just aluminum rust, and aluminum rust is extremely sturdy. As matter fact, it's so sturdy, that some manufacturers were trying for a while to turn it into a glass that could be used for a vaguely indestructible phone screen. They got the glass to work just fine, but the process to create it is a bit on the expensive side.

[spiderdude]

Also, if you didnt know, aluminum oxide is just the chemical name for rubies and sapphires. Its just rusted aluminum. Theres an insanely thin layer of sapphire on every piece of aluminum metal

[kylemcbee]

I work in paint and we use a lot of aluminum for sparkle and what not. One of the first things they teach us is do not cross the solvent (containing aluminum) and water waste streams or you're gonna have a real bad time.

[parkerbond]

Aluminum is so good at rusting its rust prevents more rust from forming.

[JB-zcsn]

This is also how MRE heaters work! We used to cut a corner out of the bag to turn them into little flamethrowers and point them at each other.

[brunomiguel]

I wonder why Ryan Gosling decided to make a chemistry channel

[TurboPikachu]

Action Lab’s joy at the little explosions caught me off guard 😂

[i_like_orange_f]

I swear people like you are the definition of
“Oh no! Anyways” 😭💀

[zoidbergthebabyjesus]

My dad smelts aluminium, and the biggest no-no is water with molten aluminium results in: hydrogen forming in the aluminium, the hydrogen getting hot, the hydrogen exploding, aluminium covering everything

[makebreakrepeat]

Yeah... you gotta do some nasty things to aluminum to get that oxide layer off. I've been trying to electroplate metals made from old beer cans.

[kornshadow]

Much easier and cheaper to do with sodium hydroxide powder added to water. I learned this when I was a teenager experimenting with fuel economy on my first car. 😅

I found a non-chemical method later though electrolysis which worked better because I could truly do it on demand with a pulse width modulator.

[Sanchez]

The person who invented aluminium foil for wrapping food should get an award

[derogren]

Chemistry is actually so interesting. I would've never thought, based on my school-going experience.

[me]

Note: Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) is sapphire. And the dissolved Al in Ga is called an amalgam.

[kips]

I dont know why but the "ready to be used again with more aluminum" kills me😂

[CalculusIsFun]

Correct me if I am wrong. The aluminum is more reactive than hydrogen so it replaces it in a single replacement reaction. This results in the following reaction:

2Al(s) + 6H2O(l) —> 2Al(OH)3(s) + 3H2(g)

Notice, Al replaces hydrogen, and the expelled hydrogens go diatomic (share their one valence electron amongst each other covalently to create a full shell).

I’m also not entirely sure if aluminum hydroxide is water soluble, but I do not recall seeing aluminum in any solubility rules when I was in high school so I made the assumption it wasn’t.

[WhatDadIsUpTo]

A simpler way is to use a strong (12m) base against the aluminum. The base reduces the oxide, exposing the (now raw) metal to the water. The resulting reaction is exothermic, accelerates automatically and renders hydrogen gas (H2).

[samcurtis]

I love how authentically nerdy you are!