Sodium and Chlorine Reaction - The making of table salt

An Erylmeyer flask is filled will chlorine gas by the reaction of hydrochloric acid and potassium permanganate. Sodium metal is placed into the flask and the reaction is catalyzed when a few drops of water is placed on the sodium metal in the flask. What results is an exothermic reaction that produces a white smoke full of NaCl or sodium chloride dust.

[davidchisholm]

Great idea to have the concentrated hydrochloric acid in a bottle labelled zinc nitrate!

[JorgenLePoulpe]

It's funny to think that a mix of poisonous gas and highly reactive metal is necessary for us to stay alive

[szjozsi]

the label on the bottle is Zn(NO3)2 which is zinc nitrate. Hydrochloric acid is HCl. It is dangerous to mislabel chemicals.. could be surprising if you forget what is inside...

[STBill]

Haven't you heard? The Fine Bros own reactions and are thus going to take this video down.

You have been warned.

[johnspencer]

Two things, 1) far more impressive if he started with two clean flasks and measured amounts of chemicals to guarantee chlorine production straight away. 2) A minor quibble but, as a deaf person, it would be good if enough space was left at the bottom of the screen for closed captions. The sodium, and later salt, could not be seen for much of the time because the captions obscured them until the camera was moved.

[bcat]

If I was better at understanding the formulas and concepts behind chemistry, I would have majored in it. I love chemistry so much!

[shanecoyle]

This was very very cool my understanding of chemistry is limited but u made it digestible and easy to understand I'm excited to become a chemist so i can do reactions like this

[matteopepe]

Your supposed to press the buttons that have F O O D on them

[KasiaWesoek]

Dude! You're supposed to push the button with the picture of food on 'em!

[jepiebo]

B I G. M C. T H A N K I E S. F R O M. B I G. M C. S P A N K I E S

[fireandcopper]

"let's make some chlorine gas" is something I'd never imagine would be said casually

[chakritsasorn]

Why do you have hydrochloric acid in zinc nitrate bottle?

[the_chomper]

thats a lot of work for a little table salt.... makes you appreciate what the earth went through to make all the things we use on a daily basis.

[Ibrahim_Ezzeddine-dy]

I have a question so basically you added water to sodium wouldn't also produce a little bit of NaOH with NaCl?

[ronaldcox]

It's amazing how two dangerous elements can combine to create a compound that we use everyday and is, for the most part, safe to consume.

[AnnemarieBeth]

what's the sand-looking stuff at the bottom of the flask? was it necessary for this experiment?

[Vbox]

Explosion happens at 4:10 just f your wondering.

[Roboboy-v]

Is it possible to use this reaction as a form of renewable energy? I've been wondering about how to use the byproducts of sodium and chlorine in saltwater electrolysis for hydrogen collection as fuel, but couldn't the embodied energy in this reaction also be used to further the efficiency? Could this combustion be used possibly in expansion much like an engine where the colloid is ejected like CO2? How could we safely use this reaction? Could it be used more for it's heat produced than thermal expansion?

[teamfortresspewp]

I wonder, if you licked the white smoke, if it would taste salty

[dw]

I watch this were it was dark and when that light went off I almost went blind!






Its a good thing I didn't cause if i did that would've been very bad for me and my also the experiment was awesome