Chrome-Based Explosive

[@barfbot]

that footage with the hundreds of smoke trails is awesome

[@scrappydoo7887]

Hell yeah it is! We need a larger test lol

[@integral_chemistry]

Right? I get slow-mo of most things I detonate and I've never seen anything put out little smoke trails like this. Want to try it again under strong illumination with a dark black background

[@scrappydoo7887]

@@integral_chemistry it's almost like the white phos trails. Do you think that the addition of red phos could be the culprit?

[@jaredschroeder7555]

​@integral_chemistry phosphorus probably helps in that regard. An awesome explosion, now I wanna see ExF do it too.

[@scrappydoo7887]

@@jaredschroeder7555 yea it's going to be an interesting set of different takes on the comp 👍

[@gavinwilliams4330]

The flickering during the super slo-mo shot is almost certainly due to the frequency of one of the lights in your lab. Great video!!

[@integral_chemistry]

Thank you! And yeah that's what I suspected tbh. That was the first slow-motion video I took and once I shut off the fluorescent lights it (mostly) went away

[@dhawthorne1634]

@@integral_chemistry You'll want to be careful with dimable LED lighting as well. The florescent lighting you are using will pulse at the frequency of your electrical supply. In the US and Canada, that means 60hrz. When you dim LED's, they typically use Pulse Width Modulation to change the perceived intensity of the light. In reality, they are either full on or full off and it's only the period of each state that changes. For shooting high speed, you generally want fairly intense light anyhow; so the full intensity LED's will be ok. If you do need less light, either: 1) Use a combination of "lighting dims" (colorless gels, basically sun glasses for your lighing) and ISO adjustments on your camera. 2) Buy "film making" LED pannels because they change intensity by altering the number of LED's being powered rather than PWM. 3) Switch to dimable halogen fixtures that will change the voltage delivery to change intensity. (The downside to each of those being, dims dull color, ISO can dull or wash out color when moved too far from default, film studio LED's are rather expensive and halogen lighting produces a lot of heat.)

[@Ava-wu4qp]

​@@integral_chemistry slightly higher end LEDs eliminate the flicker problem. If opting for semi professional lights, I'd opt for Godox but if you're just using consumer sockets, 'Phillips Ultra definition' are amazing for the money.

[@waltonchan3931]

First time I’ve ever heard (or seen) a peroxide being a reducing agent. Awesome vid man!

[@j_sum1]

That looks like a very straightforward preparation. But it is definitely on my not-gonna-do-that list.

[@integral_chemistry]

Yeah definitely not crazy tough, but can't say I really enjoy ever working with dichromate

[@gutschke]

@@integral_chemistry to think that my highschool teacher would go through pounds of ammonium dichromate every year demonstrating the famous "volcano". It was one of the more popular demonstration, as it spills chemicals everywhere; all the kids were quite impressed every time -- too bad that those chemicals contain hexavalent chromium. Things were ... different ... in the 1980s and 1990s.

[@TheExplosiveGuy]

​@@gutschke When I was a freshman in HS in the early 2000's my science teacher lit off 5 pounds of the stuff at once. It was phenomenal to watch, NGL, it was quite awesome, especially with how much volume the hexavalant chromium took up after the reaction, but looking back, I don't think she understood the damage, and especially the legal shitstorm she could have caused if any of the students breathed that stuff in. We were outside and everyone was huddled about 5 feet away from the pile, which kinda freaks me out thinking about it, a gust of wind could have blown a ton of that stuff in multiple people's faces. A lot of it spilled onto the asphalt too, she cleaned up as much as she could but there was dark green powder all over the place still. She was fresh out of college and very inexperienced, we all loved her regardless but she definitely needed a little more training in chemical safety...

[@shardinalwind7696]

@@integral_chemistrySpeaking of fun, how about a video on azo dyes and indicators?

[@peterweller8583]

Yah me either yuck

[@SciDOCMBC]

4:21 Please never attempt to detonate a potentially explosive substance on a glass surface, especially if the extent of the reaction is unknown. The risk is that small pieces of glass will fly around like shrapnel and seriously injure anyone they hit. Such things should in principle be left to professionals who have the necessary equipment. If you still want to carry out this kind of experiment use a solid metal plate for this and only with tiny amounts of material. Please be careful and above all stay safe guys.

[@Dan_Wall]

I'm not a scientist and don't see most chemicals used in all the chemistry videos I watch, but I have to say the colour of the potassium dichromate is amazing... I surprisingly enjoy watching all these videos by yourself and others alike...

[@integral_chemistry]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! And yeah dichromate (and many other chromium compounds) are so vibrantly beautiful. Shame they're so toxic really

[@Fernando_S]

Actually, chromium comes from a Greek name meaning "color". Many of its compounds are very colored. They are used to tint glass and paints, for example. Some gemstones contain chromium, like ruby and emerald, resulting in their beautiful color.

[@Dan_Wall]

@@Fernando_S Pretty cool compounds then! Learn something new every day! I will have to look up some more videos about it!

[@thor1829]

​@@Dan_Wallgreat to see someone get interested in chemistry! It's a wonderful world full of interesting things

[@MundanityInsantiy]

The flickering issue comes from the fast frame rate used to record slow mo video, the lights are using an ac current which alternates around 50 times per second. to the naked eye this is invisible but when that many photos are taken in a short period of time, you will catch parts of the frame catching the deilumination. I think.

[@ck2503]

This is one of the coolest reactions ive seen. The different forms of chromium are quite pretty.

[@ck2503]

Smoke trails = win , kinda reminds me of those cloud chambers for detecting radiation.

[@cambridgemart2075]

Transition metals often produce stunning colours in salts and their related acids.

[@chemprofdave]

Thank you for including some of the hazard management.

[@pirotechnik.14]

This is very interesting and great film

[@parviz5246]

Good job thanks alot and looking forward for more pyrotechnics

[@BackYardScience2000]

I'm impressed! Thanks for sharing!

[@integral_chemistry]

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it

[@Salt_and_Peroxide]

The moment you see chróm anywhere u know it's gonna be a good viseo

[@integral_chemistry]

It is truly a fascinating metal

[@Salt_and_Peroxide]

@@integral_chemistry have you tried tasting any chromium based metal compounds? also congrats with the tnt video cause that one rly blew up i was about to post my one but you took all the fame >:)

[@WXUZT]

Thank you for your effort and time !

[@AtlasReburdened]

Don't worry, it takes exactly 0 convincing for me to not make anything that sprays out plumes of hexavalent chromium.

[@integral_chemistry]

LMAO honestly glad to hear it. Cannot imagine the nightmare this could create outside of a fume hood

[@AtlasReburdened]

@@integral_chemistry I wouldn't even want it in the filters of my fume hood.

[@mortlet5180]

The flickering is due (almost always nowadays) to either crappy LED lights, or (more rarely) overhead Fluorescent lights. If (in the LED case, since all fluorescent lights flicker) you can't see whichnlight(s) are causing the flicker, you can ask someone under 20 to take a look, as they should be able to confirm which light(s) are flickering. Or, I guess you can just use the high-speed camera to diagnose each light seperately as well.

[@erikisberg3886]

Hope You dont mind some advice from my career, I still have 10 fingers being close to retire... I would advice You to get a piece of 12mm polycarbonate that can be hanged in front of the fume cupboard in such a way that You can reach around it if doing more similar experiments. Also work with less than gram quantities on unknown materials. Using plastic labware may also be safer, but test with a small amount of explosive first in Your setup to see how the particular plastic behaves and get a feel for what a mishap results in. Use a piece of paper or similar as a witness plate to evaluate shrapnel.Nylon for instance surprisingly creates small sharp shrapnel not visible on xray, hdpe etc is usually ok. In synthesizing unknown energetics the question is not so much if as when You will have a spontaneous ignition... Stay safe. The red P mix You show is essentially an Armstrong mix on stereoids... same as used in toy caps and also historically the cause of horrific accidents among kids using it for bangers and toy "torprdoes" mixed with gravel. I do not have a reference, but it can actually detonate, not just deflagrate as most other pyro mixes do. Therefore the sharp report in mg quantities similar to primary explosives.

[@philouzlouis2042]

Hi Apoptosis, I wonder what is that "stable" yellow powder you got from the unstable brown K3CrO8? You mentionned "hexavalent chromium" but that is Kr2CrO4 (or CrO3 what is red); Cr2O3 is emerald green and stable as Cr(3+) result of the volcano experiment from (NH4)2Cr2O7. Very interesting energetic material. Somehow it reminds me a bit Mn2O7 and KMnO4. I wonder if it can oxydise NH3 into NxOy or HNO3. For sure very interesting for energetic pyro-compositions... with Al, Mg, SiC, S, KClO3 or KClO4, P2S5, C, tricyano-cyclohexatriazene, ... PHZ (PHILOU Zrealone from the Science Madness frorum)

[@integral_chemistry]

Hey! Thanks for the response, I actually spent a while wondering the same thing myself (just as I've wondered about the green decomposition product of my tetraamine copper persulfate). Obviously its hexavalent as it reduces to the green Cr(3+), but there wouldn't be enough potassium for that stoichiometry. Perhaps its a mixture of red chromium (VI) oxide and yellow chromate, but I still honestly am not sure..

[@philouzlouis2042]

@@integral_chemistry Your green decomposition product from (Cu(NH3)4SO5) must be CuSO4 or Cu(OH)2 or a mix of both. The persulfate loose one oxygen to provide SO4 and to oxydise one NH3 and the rest is volatilized by the heat of reaction. Any CuO (black) or Cu(OH)2 (turquoise blue but turns black as CuO under moderate heat) would recomplex the remaining NH3 as a deep blue complex of Cu(NH3)4(2+). So it must be CuSO4 related; maybe 2 Cu(OH)(+) SO4(2-) thus an hemi hydroxy-sulfate a bit like CuCl(-OH) (copper oxychloride) what is unsoluble and green and used in pyrocomposition to provide blue-green color of combustion. About the yellow Cr compound it definitiely requires some investigation and identification / analysis ;o) PHZ

[@NikhillRao27]

apoptosis explosionsandfire beef incoming

[@scrappydoo7887]

Nah lol we need a collaboration lol

[@capnstewy55]

Yellow hex chrome everywhere.😮

[@alllove1754]

It would be fun to add red phosphorus with that. Has been explored as a primer, prior of course to danger recognition.

[@integral_chemistry]

It certainly works well as one

[@alllove1754]

@integral_chemistry BTW I only know that because of your video. When I find out about "new" (new to me) energetics, or just something interesting to me, I get to reading. This was original AF, for an energetic. I've played with hexavalent chromium compounds before (fearing the dreadable words from the doctor someday, "tick tock" or "get your affairs in order", given Erin Brokovich, where I learned of such crazy things as those) I guess plus 5 state is pentavalent, which is scary 😨, given your demo. Thanks for healing my brain. ❤️

[@integral_chemistry]

@@alllove1754 I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it! I have been trying to limit my work with hexavalent chromium these days, its unfortunate how cool and useful it is given its associated hazards.. seems all the coolest things give you cancer. Such is life I suppose lol

[@alllove1754]

@integral_chemistry totally totally understand why you would never use those again... thanks for teaching me. On another note, off the record if you will, gesticulation is good for the soul. You might need to scream from people that comment like me. So go somewhere no-one sees and scream... that or start a rock band. I say that froma place of care, love, and/or respect. I love your videos. I also know how cruel a comment can seem. So I hope you get out all negative emotions that could be contracted from sick comments. I. Hope to learn more. Energetics gets a small group of guys. Pretty colors gets children. You want that, money wise. Hope you get Nilerich

[@lucazsy]

When will you post the video about fluorescent lanthanide salts? I can't wait!

[@LogieD223]

“Stabilized” by peroxide ligands

[@integral_chemistry]

It is quite generous lol

[@jimsvideos7201]

Wild.

[@scrappydoo7887]

How does it perform in terms of friction sensitivity or compression?

[@integral_chemistry]

I didn't test either out because this stuff ended up being a lot scarier than I expected. Certainly more sensitive than nitroglycerin or mercury fulminate but maybe not as sensitive as silver fulminate/azide. I'm 100% sure it's shock and friction sensitive, but I'd need to do a bit more testing to know exactly how sensitive it is

[@scrappydoo7887]

@@integral_chemistry well if it is more sensitive than those it'll probably be a very ..... Sporty... Set of experiments lol I'd be really interested to see any results you get 👍

[@Franklin-jj4jz]

Congratulations, you just created a carcinogenic analog of Armstrong's mixture.

[@Psychx_]

Have you ever made chromium(VI)-peroxide (CrO5)? It's one of the most beautiful shades of blue when extracted into diethyl ether.

[@integral_chemistry]

I have actually! It's such an old video you'd maybe have a tough time finding it but it is an amazingly vibrant shade of blue. Btw I was able to extract it into ethyl acetate as well which might be easier to get depending on where you are.

[@nadi_3305]

This is an really interesting compound! But what about the ammonium salt of this complex?

[@integral_chemistry]

That's actually a good question tbh. Certainly even more unstable and potentially usable as a primary even without a fuel. I'd need ammonium dichromate to try which strangely enough is one of the few chemicals I don't own

[@integral_chemistry]

Edit: one of the few common chemicals I don't own

[@Israfil935]

Hi! Got a question: is there a way to make Ammonium fluoride, or some other type of glass etch out of ordinary household items? I can't get this product in my country.

[@alch3myau]

oOooO fluro stuffs

[@ابوصوف-و7ذ]

Hello, can you make a video explaining the making of barium chlorate

[@pyrocircus129]

It takes lead balls to mill black powder so I'm guessing yours are titanium? Scary stuff but fun to watch!

[@integral_chemistry]

Tbh oftentimes things are far scarier in person than you'd expect just reading about them which is why at this point when I get to the testing phase I work in milligrams now. Still takes some serious nerves though with some of these

[@scrappydoo7887]

As long as you have a mill that has no chance of sparking and is earthed you're fairly safe but as far as milling anything sensitive goes I'd rather just mill separate ingredients then make the comp manually lol

[@thatoneguy454c]

What is the pyrovalance of this compound?

[@internallyinteral]

@1:20 with that color itd sure be a fun trick to play on my parole officer when im submitting my drug test 😂

[@DangerousLab]

Wow damn...cancer-causing explosion, the preparation procedure is very straightforward, but I can imagine how messy it can get and the cleaning process is no fun at all.

[@integral_chemistry]

Yeah it was kinda awful, shut everything else I was working on down for the next two days. Still a far-cry from the my worst hazmat project I've ever done which was the recovery of lead and acid from a car battery. Never again.. still no idea if/when ill even put the video out on that one

[@mitchellh744]

@@integral_chemistry That video sounds awesome, the sooner the better!

[@JohnDDK]

A toxic version of Armstrong’s mix. Even more scary 😮

[@DavidFMayerPhD]

You need to show the equations of the various products in structural form.

[@integral_chemistry]

True.. I'm so bad at hand-drawing them though. I'll ask around on software suggestions

[@derrekvanee4567]

With Fran right below you in the feed: *Saturday Morty, Saturday! Nice work dood.* Chromium and cadmium in pure forms scares the heck out of me

[@integral_chemistry]

Lol yeah they're both unpleasant. Chromium is pretty tame though as long as you don't oxidize it to the +6 state. To me though, cadmium is always terrifying no matter what. Lead, cadmium, and mercury are the big three that I take every possible precaution before handling in any way, regardless of their oxidation state.

[@cambridgemart2075]

@@integral_chemistry As well as the Alochrom I mentioned earlier, we also used to use cadmium plated fasteners everywhere, and often had to deal with corroded cadmium products on equipment being repaired.

[@DerunerlaubteName]

I love this video and compound. I made this compound in my undergrad lab, but I wasn't allowed to "check its decomposition temperature". I did it anyways, whoops.

[@RedDogForge]

thats terrifyingly brisant!

[@scrappydoo7887]

What do you base that on? Genuine question

[@integral_chemistry]

It's basically the crushing/shattering force of an explosion, and the main way you can gauge it on (at least just by looking at it) is by the rate that the shockwave/explosion propagates. Something like this that expands in volume tens-of-thousands-fold in a fraction of a second would be very brisant.

[@scrappydoo7887]

@@integral_chemistry yea I was curious more about the specific part of the video that displayed it 🙂

[@integral_chemistry]

@scrappydoo7887 oh my bad. Technically it's just any of the points where it detonates after it's been mixed with phosphorus (beginning and near the end)

[@scrappydoo7887]

@@integral_chemistry it's all good mate I appreciate that you took the time to respond with a definition. It's always good to see that 👍

[@paulperry7091]

Handled a lot of potassium dichromate "experimenting" as a teenager. Developed bladder cancer (hexavalent chromium is a known cause) fifty years later. You have been warned, (Fortunately I live in Australia, a country universal Government health care, and I was successfully operated on, a few days after diagnosis, at no charge.)

[@beryllium1932]

You stated that the product was very dry, therefore you were confident in the high yield number, but I wonder if you have maybe a hydrate of some degree. What I would worry about is that, if it was a hydrate and it could dry over time to anhydrous, the anhydrous might be much more unstable. Although it would probably be lighter colored a fatal accident could result in handling material that was pretty stable when made, but now very treacherous.

[@psychosomaticdragon]

cursed black powder - potassium tetraperoxochromate, tetrasulpher tetranitride, and carbon because i really have nothing for that one yet.

[@railgap]

I wonder if the fumes from mercury fulminate would be any less toxic!

[@integral_chemistry]

It depends. Mercury fulminate fumes are literally just Mercury vapor which is way worse than dichromate (in some ways) but if you're detonating enough Mercury fulminate for that to be a concern, I'd be more concerned about the blast itself

[@Iowa599]

Can vou use that to chrome plate things?

[@integral_chemistry]

You can use the orange dichromate from the beginning to Chrome plate things! Not sure about the tetraperoxochromate

[@experimental_chemistry]

Peroxovanadates are known to behave similarely - and to be nearly as dangerous as peroxochromates.

[@integral_chemistry]

Huh I admit I didn't know that, at this point I expect to learn at least one new thing from each of your comments lol. I'll have to look into that as I'm assuming the decomposition products must be less dangerous than hexavalent chromium

[@experimental_chemistry]

​​@@integral_chemistry Vanadium pentoxide as a decomposition product is carcinogenic, too.

[@integral_chemistry]

@@experimental_chemistry Ah yeah that is a good point.. I guess I just imagine chromate as the ultimate inorganic carcinogen, right up there with benzene and methylating/ethylating agents as the big organic compounds to avoid. I have read that vanadium (V) is carcinogenic, but I haven't considered working with it enough to read too much into the severity of its carcinogenic properties.. definitely have to do that soon.

[@experimental_chemistry]

​​​@@integral_chemistry Vanadium compounds are primarily mutagenic and therefore secondarily carcinogenic, too. Until now and just recently it's only proven for the pentoxide. Chromates have a great advantage among all inorganic carcinogens: they can be reduced to relatively harmless chromium (III). The worst carcinogenic elements are definitively nickel, cadmium, beryllium, cobalt and arsenic. But we still know way too less about the mechanisms how chemical substances cause cancer - and above all why some people are affected by them and others not although they both were exposed to them in the same way and intensity. One thing about the inorganic carcinogens seems to be relatively obvious: within one class of substances the water insoluble compounds seem to be worse than the soluble. The most insidious property of organic carcinogens is that they are often very volatile and therefore easy absorbable by the lungs. The worst I know here are formaldehyde, of course benzene (as well as nitrobenzene and aniline), di(m)ethyl sulfate - as well as most of the halogenated hydrocarbons (they do not occur naturally - a fact we should think about...).

[@experimental_chemistry]

Vanadium (V) is primarily mutagenic and therefore potententially carcinogenic, too. Until now and just recently it's only proven for the pentoxide. Chromates have a great advantage among all inorganic carcinogens: they can be reduced to relatively harmless chromium (III). The worst carcinogenic elements are definitively nickel, cadmium, beryllium, cobalt and arsenic. But we still know way too less about the mechanisms how chemical substances cause cancer - and above all why some people are affected by them and others not although they both were exposed to them in the same way and intensity. One thing about the inorganic carcinogens seems to be relatively obvious: within one class of substances the water insoluble compounds seem to be worse than the soluble. The most insidious property of organic carcinogens is that they are often very volatile and therefore easy absorbable by the lungs. The worst I know here are formaldehyde, of course benzene (as well as nitrobenzene and aniline), di(m)ethylsulfate and most of the halogenated hydrocarbons (they do not occur naturally - a fact we should think about...).

[@popescucristian8978]

3:20 forbidden coffee grounds

[@PyroRob69]

How impact sensitive is this?

[@dmaster254]

I just started the video. It could have been on mute and i would have gone "boom boom chemistry" from the structure of the chemical alone.

[@yazanzo3bi610]

can you make RDX next time ?

[@redrrr7363]

Can such ink be made that can be seen only when wearing special goggles?

[@rhondalarson-fekkes6023]

Hexavalent chromium is toxic and highly carcinogenic. That is what we have to deal with by tearing out spent chrome refractory safely.

[@alch3myau]

new browser plugins? okie dokie

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

Mmmmmmm, cancer grenades. Lol

[@experimental_chemistry]

So it might kill you sooner or later - literally... 😉

[@integral_chemistry]

Honestly my first thought as well 🤣

[@JoshSteiner14]

Is the reason not to mix the binary powder with metal or glass just a safety precaution to not make shrapnel in the case of an accidental explosion? Or is there some other reason

[@integral_chemistry]

Yeah shrapnel is definitely a concern with glass (which I actually hadn't considered lol). Main reason though is that glass and metal are hard enough that they can easily fracture the delicate crystals by accidental scraping, which can trigger a detonation.

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

@@integral_chemistrythat’s why I use little solo cups for a lot of synths. I knew an old chemist who was friends with my grandfather when I was a kid who had a test tube blow up in his face when he was younger. Even in his 80s he’d occasionally find a small glass splinter working it’s way out of his skin when he was shaving.

[@JoshSteiner14]

@@integral_chemistry I see, that makes sense.. I figured there was something more to it

[@gutschke]

@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 that's how my Dad learned that you don't just mix KMnO4 with H2SO4 in a test tube while sitting on your bed. Growing up as a pre-teen in the early 1950s must have been a blast -- quite literally.

[@redzane5314]

Я как русский говорю: «Это должен знать и уметь каждый»😁

[@redzane5314]

У тебя очень крутой и полезный видеоконтент.

[@experimental_chemistry]

From woelen homescience?

[@integral_chemistry]

Partly yes actually! I made the compound about 6 months ago just based on the Wikipedia page, and since then I just sort of sat on the video as the final "demonstration" didn't feel impactful or interesting enough to merit the danger of the project. About 3 weeks ago though I came across the phosphorus+tetraperoxochromate mixture under his demonstrations which pushed the video to a point I felt worth publishing.

[@InternetFiend68]

can 3% hydrogen peroxide be used in the place of 30%?

[@AsmodeusMictian]

I'm guessing no... If you're referring to the stuff you can get at the store you can at least concentrate it somewhat by freezing it. The water freezes long before the peroxide, allowing you to pour it off and leave the water behind.* *I am no chemist, I just happen to know that you can do that. YMMV, please see chemist for details, some assembly required, may cause discoloration of the urine or feces.

[@uxleumas]

The yield will likely be crap and you'd have to use 10 time the amount of 3% h2o2

[@NguyênKhoaCôngTy]

0:19 : The ionic formula is wrong.Thank you

[@sachabinky2915]

I wouldn't be breathing that stuff in,, that's a cancer bomb!!

[@RWBHere]

That stuff is evil.

[@WeebRemover4500]

ok now mix it up with a liquid, acetone. let it dry out and ignite..

[@john-dm4qd]

The cotton swab detonating was cool

[@XXNerdzillaXX]

Scale it up to the size of a golf ball 😊

[@aqdrobert]

Will my Google Chrome explode?

[@dudemcguy9293]

No but it is highly toxic 😂

[@Chad_Thundercock]

In before the FBI.