Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

me and my friend r planning on nitration of organic compunds....we have nitrated benzene easily but we would like to know abt how much damage would 3-5 ml of Nitroglycerine or TNT will cause bfore we start nitrating glycerol and toluene....can some one plz tell me

Natarajan,

I don't believe that this is a good project topic. The making of explosives is not a recommended science fair project.

Even a very small amount can cause severe disabilities, the loss of a hand or eyes.



However, if you want to calculate the effect of a given amount of explosive, one may conduct a web or encyclopeadia search for the amount of energy released per mole of a give explosive. From there, one may calculate how high an object may be thrown if all of the energy were to be converted into motion. You may also wish to research the gas expansion velocity from such an explosion, based on the energy released and the mass of the original material, per mole. These calculations would be instructive in exploring how one models effects of reations that are too dangerous to pursue in reality.

Thanks a lot Mr.Elliot....i guess i'll have to start thinking on a new project....this one is for my class XII Annual Chemistry proj....can u please help me to choose a topic thats both impressive and not-so-difficult??..i've thought abt analyisis of the amount of Nickel in choclates or amount of bicarbonates in antacids....could u suggest a few more??

Natarajan,

Actually... it's Mrs. Elliott. I know... people expect a scientist or technologist to be a man, but many are women. It may amuse you to read this article about me:

http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/bizwomen ... id=1174753

I know that it can be a puzzle to know what project one should chose for one's chemistry project. For my High School Senior (XII) year chemistry project, I chose to explore ion exchange chemistry. But that was just me...

One of my classmates built a spectrograph...

But YOU must decide what area you will explore... and when you do... we can help.

I agree with Ms. Elliot. Nitrating organic molecules is a dangerous proposition, and even small amounts can cause life threatening explosions and fire. The acids used in the process are also hazardous, as are the fumes which can be produced.

I understand the need to do something cool, something with a WOW factor. Are you good with electronics, computer programming, or in the wet lab? You can do cool chemistry in any of these fields, and cooler still if you combine a couple of them. One girl, whose picture is on the science buddies home page, figured out a way to photograph thin layer chromatography plates with a digital camera and get accurate quantitative results.

You can grow plant seedlings and treat them with different doses of chemicals to see how their growth is affected. You can get dried plants or other organisms and extract chemicals from them, track them with paper chromatography or colorimetric analysis, and purify them.

If you have access to equipment, facilities, and competent supervision, you can possibly try some chemical reactions. I don't recommend synthesizing molecules, that can be a lot more challenging than you might expect, treacherous and unpredictable.

Doing reactions to detect things is another matter, such as your idea for detecting nickel in chocolate. Challenging? Perhaps, but not nearly as unpredictable. There is a wide variety of possibilities. If you already have some ideas, pursue them!