Reacting Fluorine with Caesium - First Time on Camera

In preparation for the 2012 Christmas Lectures Dr Peter Wothers heads off to the University of Leicester to conduct an extraordinary experiment - reacting the most reactive metal in the periodic table (Caesium) with the most reactive non-metal (Fluorine).

Due to the extreme reactivity of the two elements, Fluorine expert Professor Eric Hope is on hand to enable the experiment to be conducted safely.

We believe this is the first time the reaction has been caught on camera.

[TheRoyalInstitution]

Thank you, our Swedish friend, for translating this video into one of our favourite Nordic languages. Tack så mycket!

[devc.]

Who else came here immediately after learning about periodic trends? I’m here but I need to study for my chem final:p

[lukemich]

thats what light sabers are made out of

[SomeNerdWhoRocks]

The flame was bright enough that any color wasn't seen in the unfiltered frames, but in the filtered, the purple of exited cesium atoms could be seen.

[occamraiser]

I would have been interested to see the spectrum of that light from the reaction.

[mymessyworkbenchneedstobec]

Wonderfull example of more energy is released when a bond is make, than a bond being broken.

[bhangrafan]

I used to work in the Adrian building opposite the Chemistry department. Regularly, it seemed every month, the fire brigade used to turn up. It seems as if they can open up the whole side of the building for fire brigade access.

[pietrotettamanti]

He's the same professor of the periodic videos' fluorine video :D
That guy 's getting famous real quick

[fraserorr]

Cesium is also the most ductile of metals, so what I'd like to see you all do is to take some cesium and roll it out into a thin foil, then put that foil inside a bell jar, evacuate the air, and the (presumably standing a long way away) dump a matching quantity of fluorine gas in there. Can you do that for your next experiment? 😉😉

[michaeld]

Bottom left meets the top right and the electron has no doubt where it wants to go and find a real friend cosied up to the nucleus.

[TheBoxOfBeats]

Francium 223 has a half life of 22 minutes though, surely that would be long enough to observe a chemical reaction before total decay? I know any chemical reaction with francium would be very hard to do, but in theory francium should be more reactive than caesium, after all it has a lower electronegativity than caesium.

[TimpBizkit]

Now try powdered Caesium into pressurised heated Fluorine. You might want to do it outside and with a remote release.

[lestergillis]

Me wonders what kind of impulse one could get out of some kind of rocket engiine using cesium fuel & flourine as an oxidizer...🤔

[ThePokeMusicLover]

I was expecting a bomb. I saw the celestial birth of a new star instead.

[JJPrizeDistributionComittee]

"I thought you were totally and utterly mad!"

Not me. I thought it would be an awesome idea (for someone else besides myself to do). That's why I searched youtube to see if anyone had done it.

[cdweedz]

Since cesium is radioactive, is is safe to handle....even behiend a test tube barrier?

FYI: potassium is not radioactive and would serve you well.

[Konnr]

Please do ununenium + tennessine next (would be a salt)

[vidcapper]

Anyone else expected it to blow up the lab? 😜

[ViewingInterests]

Could there be some useful application for this reaction? Could this be used in rocket propulsion (once in space)?

[ameenkunnathu]

well isnt francium more reactive? 3:35