March 18, 2009

Work And Play.

Sometimes I get to play in the lab as well. The young chemists know how to have fun. Recently we were creating smoke; it looked just as if we were making a magical concoction of some sort.
Please watch the video clip and try to guess what we are doing; or read the explanation below the clip;)



It is dry ice that has been dumped into the sink and mixed with water to create smoke. Dry ice is frozen Carbon Dioxide, or CO2, which is a gas under normal conditions. When in the "dry ice" state, it becomes extremely cold and in the laboratory it is used to transport or to "snap freeze" samples. When it mixes with water, the extreme cold causes the water vapor to condense into clouds. This was in no way dangerous as the amount of dry ice was very small; only a harmless fun to end a long day at the lab.;)

17 comments:

j. said...

I love the bubbling sound it makes.. very reminiscent of a witch's cauldron (not that Ive seen one in person) minus the yuck factor.. hehe.. I remember my theatre group using some dry ice to create fog during a play-- I never handled it myself but it was very effective. :-)

xx

V

Hilary said...

Fun stuff. It's very cold.. but it burrrrrrrrns.

steviewren said...

I recently went to a Vietnamese restaurant with my grandkids. The owners of the restaurant had a diorama of mountains and a stream in the vestibule which had dry ice in the water making fog on the mountain. The girls didn't need any explanation. They knew how the effect was made.

Gal Friday said...

At first, when I began watching the video, I thought you and your crew were doing an experiment with a big vat of Guiness! Ha...ha..
Oh yes, you have to have fun on the job sometimes, and dry ice(handled correctly, as you said) seems to beg to be played with.

Julie Hibbard said...

We use dry ice at the hotel for bands and entertainers...it is always a GREAT effect bringing a mystique to the event!
Dry ice fun at work!!

Diane said...

Ryan would love having you around! She's like you in many ways... incredibly creative but science is her favorite subject (she definitely didn't get that from me!)

Claus said...

The must fun I get to have at work is play music, close the door and sing along :-)) but nothing as close as making "wizard fog" ;-) I actually have never seen dry ice up close before...does it really burn as they say?

swenglishexpat said...

Brewing a pint of Guinness?!

Mahmud Yussop said...

The SFX created brought me back to the withches scene in Macbeth: 'Double, Double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble'.I memorised those words in 1967 and still remember them now!@**@

Holly said...

Oh, you mad scientists are all alike aren't you??!! ;) I love it!....it looks like a brew of some sort of trickery ;);). I bet that you are fun to work with.

Shelly's Style Shop said...

Glad to see you can have some fun in the lab! I like the way it creates that smoke! ;-)

Happy Wednesday!
xoxo, Shelly

Betsy Brock said...

Glad you had a little fun at work! It looks fun and mysterious!

Zuzana said...

=Valentine,
yes, it indeed did looked like the witch's cauldron.;) You are so correct, I think it was common to use it in theater productions.;))

=Hilary,
yes it is VERY cold, in fact at times when mixed with alcohol it will snap freeze liquids with seconds, which is very useful in a lab.;)) But one has to wear protective clothing then.;))

=steviewren,
you have some very smart grandkids; I do not think I ever knew of dry ice, or at least knew what it was until I was an adult.;))

=Tina,
hehe, I WISH! Although you are not so far from the truth, as brewing beer is a quite scientific matter actually;))
Yes, at times I get to laugh a bit at work too.;))

=Julie,
how interesting that you recognized this, glad that you too get to play at work at times, or in some way.;))

=Diane,
so Ryan is a little scientist.;) As for not getting it from you; I wouldn't be too sure. I think you have quiet an inquisitive mind.;))

=Claus,
I think getting to play music and sing along is a great fun to me.;))
Yes, dry ice is very cold, down to -80C and it burns; it has to be handled with protective equipment.;)

=swenglishexpat,
I SO WISH!;))) Maybe I could suggest that as my next research project; beer making.;)

=Mahmud,
that is so funny that you still remember those lines.;)) That is over 40 years ago.;) Hope you at least enjoyed the play.;)

=Holly,
yes mad scientist is my name.;)) I had fun (it is my laugh in the beginning of the clip;), but if I am fun to work with I am not sure. I think I am known for being quiet tough on my students.;)))

=Shelly,
I try to have fun at times, so I do not become an old bore.;) Hope your Wednesday was good too.;))

=Betsy,
yes, I thought the same, that is why I filmed it. Even though the clip is poor, as it is done with my phone.)))

sallymandy said...

I want to work there! I love the sounds.

Have a great weekend Pro.

Zuzana said...

=sallymandy,
yes, sometimes my work is fun.;) Hope your weekend is good as well.;))

Noelle Chantal said...

Haha, this smoky thing reminded me of the one they use in movies and theater productions. I told you your job is really cool, Protege! Discovering and solving, experimenting and everything sounds so much fun! :)

Zuzana said...

=Noelle,
yes, you are right, my work is kinda cool. And especially now when I am making progress as well.;))
Thank you for your always positive mindset.;))