Yellow Powder: Let’s solve unsolved alchemy

It's time for us to step up and do the important science that everyone else is too busy to get around to doing. Merch store: explosionsandfire.shop/
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Second Channel: @ExtractionsAndIre
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Twitter: / explosions_fire
References: "Experimental Observations on the Mysterious Explosions from 'Yellow Powder' to enable Yet More Speculation" E. Fire, 2024 10.5281/zenodo.12633482 doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12633482

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Sometimes I worry that if I upload only once every few months, then each video will have too many ideas and distractions in them. But luckily I think I managed to avoid all tangents in this video and stay on topic the whole time! Anyway, uhh, you can buy a shirt if you want to i guess: explosionsandfire.shop/

[@choko_millck9432]

Good to see you

[@Rhodanide]

How long we’ve waited

[@Ignis_1]

I love everything about your videos, including the tangents.

[@nocturnhabeo]

Did you put the NBN shirt on your site?

[@nocturnhabeo]

Also you are just avoiding us all holding you to your promises like getting calcium out of bones…

[@styropyro]

that 2006 yellow powder recipe came to me in a dream. i'm surprised to see it still works over such a variety of ratios!

[@Pyroteknikid]

Our guest of honour has arrived!

[@Dan-bq3rd]

What an explosive idea.

[@LyzergideDaydreaming]

All good recipes (especially with explosives) are best when interpreted through cryptic dreams

[@wobblyboost]

Reminded me of my first 70's childhood 'experiments' (and punishments), with Pottasium Permagenate and glycerin, there wasn't really any correct ratio. Both banned/restricted now ofc.

[@putteslaintxtbks5166]

Great take down. I'm giving it a ten! The only way it could have been better is if there were big sparks too.

[@mopippenger7373]

yellow powder works because potassium carbonate is too similar to baking soda and the universe hates baking

[@interstellarsurfer]

This is the best theory we have so far. 🤷‍♂️

[@Mis.tresss]

Yellow powder works because it’s yellow and thus filled with so much rage against the universe that it explodes

[@liam3284]

It looks closer to washing soda to me. But the same reason can apply.

[@ortholux2343]

Will it work with baking soda NaHCO3 ?

[@testbenchdude]

Interesting take. Also pretty funny since I am currently proofing some bread to bake later on today.

[@stirlingr.buchanan6570]

I reckon it explodes because when it melts the non-sulfur compounds realize they've become yellow and blow themselves up out of shame.

[@n00bist723]

Nah it's the other way around when it melts it stops being yellow and the compounds get excited that they're no longer dregs of chemistry, that excitement of particles results in a cook off.

[@PetraKann]

Definitely scared

[@Nighthawkinlight]

That last shot was a cinematic masterpiece. If I could meet the camera operator I would buy him a large burrito.

[@chillaxter13]

I absolutely love seeing you on each of these videos as you are a legend yourself!

[@Nargleberry]

With extra onion

[@thefrozenflames1658]

I just got back into watching KZbin by watching the PCM video and now I see you watching another channel I like wtf

[@YerpyMoose]

I did think that was your laugh!

[@hardwareful]

"Published in 1648" Elsevier: that'll be $35!

[@monika7063]

sci-hub

[@JohnGardnerAlhadis]

Elsevier really are the EA of academia.

[@rhubarbman2425]

I hate them so much

[@DerHenker_]

oh my god everytime i get a paper published in elsevir I know it won't work there is so much unreliable crap published with data the 'scientists' just pull out their backside. It's unreal

[@magnusbruce4051]

@@monika7063 Also "#icanhazpdf". Although since twitter turned into a cesspit I don't know how useful it would be any more. I'm not sure how much of a crossover there is between academics with really good access to journals from their institutions and 2024 twitter users.

[@Emu0181]

StyroPyro casually throwing Dr. &Fire with a huge grin on his face was pure magic. Thanks to both of you

[@user-kz8tw4vj7z]

All the testosterone makes him aggressive

[@ryanatkinson2978]

"Dr. &Fire" lol

[@danielkidder1313]

I don’t feel safe with them in a room together.

[@ryanatkinson2978]

@@danielkidder1313 the only one missing is Mr. Red, the pre-eminent piss chemist

[@Morethanlikelyaperson]

I prefer Dr. &Ire. But I enjoy them both. Very Esteemed scholars.

[@Petrolpark]

The guy at 0:28 is my lecturer and he does this in one of his lectures. He also starts heating a spoon of black powder, then continues with the lecture allowing the gun powder to randomly go off five minutes later and giving everyone anxiety

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

That’s awesome honestly

[@nigeldepledge3790]

Chemistry is all about anxiety, isn't it?

[@Flodhesten]

Sounds like my college teacher.

[@b82mo]

Peter Wothers. What a guy

[@danielwgk]

"this guy" being StyroPyro is absolutely hilarious.

[@JDLupus]

"It's always important to remember that in about 25% of data points, god just comes in and interferes just to keep us humble." I laughed so, so much at this.

[@nocturnhabeo]

After years of cleaning data that has just the most fucked outliers, this is truth.

[@nocturnhabeo]

A quote: "THIS TOOL DOESN'T HAVE A KEYBOARD WHY AM I GETTING STRINGS OF LETTERS IN MY DATA?"

[@JDLupus]

@@nocturnhabeo Amazing! 😂

[@SocialDownclimber]

This is in fact the fundamental principle of all chemistry research.

[@129140163]

12:00

[@PanophobicCuber]

I love the fact that the source at 7:18 is a young styropyro.

[@alekkowabunga3294]

its crazy how small the internet is sometimes

[@Gameboygenius]

Pretty cool riiight?

[@fanzaii]

that's awesome

[@FyreDrac]

Same

[@nevezetesazonossag]

man was a terrorist in 2006 already, still going strong, godbless!

[@sakomeow]

They should call it Toaster Powder because it goes off at a hot but inconsistent temperature and the pop surprises you every time.

[@kleetus92]

Yellow Toaster Pow!der

[@adaroben1104]

Spread yellow powder on some bread and toast it yes

[@adamengelhart5159]

Shirt: Want answers on the NBN? Just ask a local. Person who wants answers: So, what's the deal with this NBN thing? The locals: Oh, the NBN? It's bollocks. Person who wanted answers: Got it. Thanks.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

“When is my house actually getting connected” “Oh mate no idea at all” “cool thanks” Every time

[@Azimuth-l8n]

17:25 "What if we just edged this guy." ~ Tom "Explosions & Fire" July 5th 2024.

[@knpark2025]

Ex&F: All yellow chemistry is TRASH also Ex&F: I wrote a research manuscript about a yellow chemical and my work is available on Zenodo *_You have become the very thing you swore to destroy_*

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

gotta know ya enemy

[@tialac506]

He bore yellow's sins so we don't have to

[@jbone877]

​@@tialac506 yellow jesus

[@RepChris]

@@jbone877 yellsus

[@Emu0181]

Hey, that's DOCTOR Ex&F, show some respect. Lol

[@Peter-iq9yy]

heroin-core is now permanently in my lexicon, right alongside the phrase 'the atmosphere is nature's bin'

[@vk2zay]

I did a bunch of experiments on fulminating yellow powder in my pyrotechnics obsession phase (many years ago). It is evil shit, I'd rather make chlorate cap compositions than wait for it to cook off randomly... That said. I could reliably prepare the polysulfide separately then mix it with the nitre and have it detonate at the melting point of the potassium nitrate. I could use the same polysulfide preparation that I used for senko hanabi experiments. I strongly suspect the liquid phase transition of the potassium nitrate is important. I also have a weaker suspicion that atmospheric oxygen dissolving into the polysulfide melt may be important too, probably accumulating sulfate like a glitter or senko hanabi, but I never tried melting it in nitrogen or argon to test this idea. Probably something someone should try... It definitely doesn't seem to work using sodium or barium salts, not sure why?

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Hmmm, it seems odd that the sodium salts don't work, as that ingredient substitution is used for making a fairly volatile primer that was used for flintlocks. Maybe there's an issue with the melting point or something?

[@UCgBe3]

This video has it all: ✅ Pink T-Shirt about a mismanaged fiber transition ✅ Obscure Ketamine only available in one Australian city ✅ Science based on a forum post from 2006 Thanks Tom.

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Tbf, CanKet could be available everywhere in Australia, and we'd never know because it's only safe to get it tested in Canberra...

[@gobbel2000]

The paper describing your experiments is pretty great, I can't see why everyone wouldn't want to publish it. These are some of my favorite quotes from it: "These rudimentary shed observations are conducted in the hope that it will shed some light on the underlying chemical mechanism." "Modern science is widely believed to have progressed since the 17th century, however, the continued inability of science to conclusively address the significant alchemist mystery of yellow powder brings this belief into question." "Surely that is worth the paperwork to bring some explosives into your analytical chemistry laboratory and load it into the most expensive equipment you’re allowed to use and just see how it goes?"

[@SpAm-AcCoUnT]

Academia-type-economist here: we have the privilege of access to oh so many good ‘perspectives’ journals in which to publish our most unhinged pet theories. NBER is in no small part a repository of late-middle aged dudes’ winging on about fuck all. I feel for other disciplines who have to do, like, fuckin’ real science or whatever to get published. Gonna turn to the dark side and start a new rogue publishing house for researchers ketted-out ramblings. Break out the smoking jackets again, kids; we are so back.

[@camillovidani2586]

@@SpAm-AcCoUnT In Europe, and especially in Germany, the tradition is to wait for one of your professor friends to retire or have a big anniversary, on which occasion he'll throw a party where his friends are expected to bring the spiciest papers they couldn't get published to be bound in a book

[@SpAm-AcCoUnT]

@@camillovidani2586 You’re describing paradise

[@madarah8533]

​@@SpAm-AcCoUnTi think germany is paradise if you're a chemist 😂 remember klapötke is german too

[@Oosh21]

Acknowledgements I’d especially like to thank everyone.

[@empressassassin9975]

As a geologist who has somehow ended up studying cosmochemistry this summer, I'm with you on the letting hate fuel you. Fuck crystal growth, fuck wet chemistry, and most importantly, FUCK iron isotopes.

[@xxxm981]

Please rant in autistic details what iron isotopes have done to you.

[@noalear]

@@xxxm981 I second this.

[@Flesh_Wizard]

The supernova that produced those isotopes is probably giggling from beyond the grave after seeing that comment

[@TheBackyardChemist]

@@xxxm981 *austenitic

[@CarlVanWormerAE7GD]

We found this book (below) in the reference section of the library when I was in high school. We made (and used a lot of it), and learned how to anticipate the explosion when a spoon of a gram of this powder was held over an alcohol burner. As the melting and bubbling would turn to brown, the character of the boiling/bubbling would change in size of bubbles and darkness right before the bang. We even made little holders for our burners that would hold a half gram of the stuff above the flame, to be placed outside of somebody's home at night. The explosion sounded like a firecracker and would extinguish the flame so it would be "invisible" when somebody looked out the window. We (with our excellent high school knowledge of chemistry) guessed that while the Potassium Carbonate was being heated, it was giving off CO2, inhibiting the O2 and Sulphur from combining. When the CO2 ran out, the O2 and Sulphur would combine to make the explosion. This was probably wrong. Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes (Internet Archive) «Fulminating Powder.»-I.-Niter, 3 parts; carbonate of potash (dry), 2 parts; flowers of sulphur, 1 part; reduce them separately to fine powder, before mixing them. A little of this compound (20 to 30 grains), slowly heated on a shovel over the fire, first fuses and becomes brown, and then explodes with a deafening report. What a lot of fun! (and relative safety) Later, Carl

[@napalmholocaust9093]

I just recommended it to.

[@hmmmmmm3076]

Jokes on you I’ve already been drinking all day

[@CMBag]

Alcoholism 😎

[@custos3249]

Bad call. Everyone knows you dilute day before binge drunking

[@Electronichub_05]

Give this man some car keys

[@jbone877]

​@@custos3249 "day before" implies an existing period of sobriety

[@ajaxrosso1]

Hero

[@Samonie67]

this channel is doing actual science, i thought we were just messing around in the shed not actually doing nerd shit

[@cornonjacob]

I know, right? Like actually collecting data and trying to figure stuff out instead of just following other procedures in the jankest way possible

[@nocturnhabeo]

He's shedding light on the situation.

[@bastianthewatermelonwatile5469]

It isn't already nerd shit?

[@markfergerson2145]

Something something writing it down something something screwing around.

[@RiehlScience]

The difference between screwing around and doing science is writing stuff down

[@Nuovoswiss]

Am I the only one who thought just to stoichiometrically balance the reaction for complete sulfur oxidation (and subsequent reaction of SO2 with the carbonate? 2KNO3 + K2CO3 + 2S --> N2 + CO2 + K2SO3 + K2SO4 Which would give ideal weight ratios of 50:34:16 The reason for the carbonate isn't just to react with the sulfur dioxide, but to lower the melting point of the nitrate closer to the autoignition temperature of sulfur. Carbonates also form cursed complexes with elemental sulfur, leading to a 3-component eutectic liquid of sulfur, nitrate, and carbonate (fuel and oxidizer homogeneously mixed on a molecular level? +heat=Boom).

[@Nuovoswiss]

It occurs to me that making the eutectic melt at ~295C, then letting it cool, it could be powderized and used instead of sulfur in traditional gunpowder formulations for higher energy densities and burn rates.

[@Saleemsan]

I thought of it, but too lazy, so thank you

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

​​@@NuovoswissReading some other comments, a very similar compound (similar ingredients [sodium instead of potassium], slightly different preparation) was apparently used as a flintlock primer in france, and the grinding step recommended the use of an apprentice... Mostly because it's about as sensitive as nitroglycerin and is a hard resin when cooled. Luckily, another commenter mentioned that it crumbles if worked while cooling before becoming basically a solid lump of highly sensitive explosive resin. So granulation using a rolling pin on a cool (explosion resistant) surface is recommended. Powdering can be achieved by moving the still plastic granules to a warm surface to work with a smaller roller. Admittedly, I'm thinking that it could probably be poured into the caps as it is apparently equally violent as when ground (it's already got an oxidiser, so granulation seems unnecessary). Will probably try it out when I can next afford the ingredients. (Edit: reread posts and corrected some inaccuracies related to ingredients)

[@pietrotettamanti3183]

Wow mate, I remember you from like 6 years ago giving reasonable chemistry hypotheses under just about any amateur chemistry video. At this point I'm curious. Where did you study?

[@dn7627]

How many shots did you take?

[@steveschein2619]

WAY back in the day I was the chief engineer of a semiconductor research lab for a big university in Florida. I can remember telling my boss he probably shouldn't let all of us have access to ultra-pure chemicals that we did. So much for that! We certainly had FUN! Okay, blowing up a hot plate with fulminating gold was really fun.

[@SA12String]

"Some random amount of time" is really a scary concept when working with pyrotechnics. It's really strange that no one has figured out how yellow powder works.

[@seivernoname-tz9uh]

The randomness is probably why. If there's a practical use for this stuff, I cant think of one, so there's really no incentive for already underpaid scientists to waste their time on it

[@SolidIncMedia]

My mate, an "expert" at doing dangerous fire-and-explosions based shit with no real care, would refer to that time by it's correct name, "[shoulder shrug] I dunno, whenever", as he's lighting a sparkler that is attached with masking tape to a almost entirely sealed metal tube full of gunpowder.

[@TheLtVoss]

​@@SolidIncMedia could be me in my Teens 😅

[@EwariDiaz]

I read the research paper you wrote, and the line sentence in the conclusion "It is the author's firm belief that the last 400 years of chemistry research has led us to this; a moment in whitch we as a society can finally break free of the yellow powder chains that have held us down for so long and step into a golden age of advancement"

[@Vistico93]

He should strive for a silver age of advancement. Gold is just too yellow

[@zacharywolter]

@@Vistico93I was thinking platinum age as it is not yellow and can act as a catalyst and not consumed

[@welporajackwelp4899]

Why not an iodine age of advancement?

[@BigParadox]

I made this mixture when I was 14 or 15 (1973 or so) after finding the recipe in an old encyclopedia. From the name used in the book I got the impression that it would detonate if you hit it, but it didn't, to my disappoimtment. Then I thought It might work better if I disolve it in water (well, not the sulfur of course) and let it dry. I waited for it to dry, but I was too impatient, so I thought I should dry it by heating it. I took a small amount and heated it on some aluminium foil over a flame. The water boiled and evaporated. And as soon as it became dry it melted and then BANG. The time from the water totally evaporating till the bang was very short, and the reason for that was probably that the amount was so small. But the bang was incredibly loud and sharp.

[@NoriMori1992]

18:53 "2006 was like 23 years ago." Explosions&Fire has time travelled to us from the year 2029 to bless us with advanced chemistry knowledge 🙌🏽

[@TheRealLAC]

"It's only through hate, that one stays human" - Explosions & Fire, 2024.

[@TheBackyardChemist]

The Sith is strong in this one

[@Thetracker69]

Or a line straight from the Imperium of Man from Warhammer.

[@SomeUnsoberIdiot]

He's not wrong.

[@semi-useful5178]

Hate is born from deep familiarity.

[@phillipmele8533]

Didn’t know Dr. &Fire’s real name was Hama Druz.

[@isaacdalziel5772]

Oh no. The yellow. It's here.

[@chrisharvie-smith486]

It's called a moustache ! 🤣

[@SomeUnsoberIdiot]

Quite a lot, actually. Some would say "too much".

[@g.waughan]

Petah, the yellow is heah

[@Flesh_Wizard]

It's coming to ruin your mixtures. Be very afraid

[@tovrobi5097]

Also tar.

[@apocryphalniche1736]

A few months ago I was working on a synthesis for a bright blue product started to look green because some of the starting materials were degrading and turning YELLOW. Since that discovery the whole project has not worked.... E&F is on to something...

[@figboot]

There were 49.5 explosions in this video. - 0:04 x1 - 0:06-0:10 x13.5? (one happens during the fadeout) - 0:39 x1 - 1:01 x1 - 1:30-1:35 x3 - 3:30 x1 - 7:40 x1 (there's also a slow-mo replay of the same explosion here) - 7:58 x1 - 8:07 x1 - 11:11 x1 - 11:21 x1 (probably a replay of the same explosion - skip this one if you want) - 11:53 x1 - 11:59 x1 - 12:07 x1 - 12:14 x1 - 12:36 x1 (this explosion and the next two were replayed in slow-mo without sound) - 12:38 x1 - 12:59 x1 - 14:45 x1 - 14:47 x1 - 14:48 x1 - 14:56 x1 - 14:59 x1 - 15:01 x1 - 15:04 x1 - 15:05 x1 - 15:07 x1 - 15:09 x1 - 15:12 x1 - 15:13 x1 - 15:17 x1 - 15:22 x1 - 15:23.24 x1 - 15:23.67 x1 - 15:48 x0 (e&f does not consider this an "explosion" per se) - 15:58 x1 - 17:47 x0 (not an explosion but makes a "poof" sound)

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

It’s a tough drinking game but I like to set a high standard

[@pirobot668beta]

'Priming powder' from a French book on Black Powder variations...sodium nitrate and sodium carbonate melted together, cooled and ground to powder. Sulfur added, mixture slowly heated just until the sulfur melts. If it explodes, you went too far. Remove from heat, allow to cool. Apprentice carefully grinds fused mass into powder...explosion is likely, so don't have anyone you care about do this bit. Friction and impact sensitive, it was used in 'pull-string' igniters, needle-guns and flint-locks. It's main advantage in guns was it's nearly instant ignition...no 'hesitation' as was common with guns of the era. Chief disadvantage was the collateral damage likely with every batch produced! Shaking a jar of the stuff has been know to cause explosion. It's 'dry nitroglycerine' in terms of handling safety. Chemically speaking? I have no clue, but I did read a paper speculating on sodium fulminate.

[@strategicbacon7349]

sounds very similar, interesting. is there an english translation?

[@LRK-GT]

I was gonna say... This 'Yellow Powder' seems like a good candidate for development into a priming compound. Clearly, I'm far from the only one w/ that in mind, between 1648 and today. Makes me wonder if there's any similarity/application to/for electronic primers?

[@TBButtSmoothy]

@@LRK-GT laser plasma and a new Electric SolidRocket Fuel stuff

[@samuelmellars7855]

Ooooh!

[@rtqii]

I have done this, you cannot grind the cold material, it will explode nearly every time, even with a wooden mortar and pestle. Once you get it heated properly the material becomes plastic. Immediately remove it from the heat, and transfer it to a preheated iron plate that is lower in temperature than your heating plate. Once it begins to cool but it is still hot, you can break the material up into crumbs with a wooden roller. If you want finer powder, which I think is not necessary, transfer the material a second time to a preheated iron plate that is warmer than the plate it was removed from, and rework it with a wooden dowel or rolling pin to powder it. But it must be done when the material is hot, coming off the melting plate. As it cools it becomes crumbly. (Edited to add: as it cools it goes through a crumbly phase, once it cools past this phase the material becomes very hard)

[@biscuit715]

As a geologist I get unreasonably excited when a ternary diagram comes out

[@plasmasupremacy9321]

Loam fans assemble

[@dontquestionjustbelieve5757]

I love how at 10:34 the map of Australia doesn't have North or south Australia

[@AndrewGillard]

I'm kinda fascinated by that map tbh. What's the story there? Is it like how I consider most of the UK to be *"The NORTH"* because I've only ever lived in the southernmost 50-ish miles of England & Wales (i.e. south of London), so anywhere north of Birmingham is basically "here be dragons" on my mental map? 😅

[@Flesh_Wizard]

there's like 5 and a half people there it'll be fine

[@dontquestionjustbelieve5757]

@@Flesh_Wizard HAa well in that case why is westen there

[@lessefrost]

Formulation scientist here and you did more mapping of exactly where the line on each ratio is than anyone else was willing to do so props!

[@WeebRemover4500]

what % of scientists are gay these days

[@DatSun.]

@@WeebRemover4500 wait until you find out about programmers

[@Casa-de-hongos]

​Same as all people. Probably arounf 5-10% depending on the excat definition.

[@odenetheus]

I'd be really interested to know what happens if the heating is done in a vacuum chamber, honestly. In some of the shots you can see that it catches fire (with a purely blue flame) at first riiight before the explosion happens. Since I'm not a chemist and I don't have the desire to look the reactions up, do you think it's possible that during the melting process, oxygen is incorporated, and that if you keep the temperature too low (or high) either not enough oxygen or too much oxygen is introduced and the explosion thus becomes impossible? Additionally, since it seems to burn first, is it possible that it needs one temperature to meld together, and another (higher) spot temperature to start a chain reaaction leading to the explosion?

[@alexrogers777]

You have a furry pfp so I'm inclined to believe that you really are a formulation scientist

[@KevinWood-vq4tg]

The fact E&F is wearing the NBN shirt in the last shot is pure gold. and "its always important to remember that in about 25% of data points god comes in and interferes just to keep us humble" had me in stitches.

[@Mad_Bioengineer]

For Infrared spectroscopy, we sometimes use polished metal plates or metallic films as IR reflective substrates. Its cool to see it be picked up with an IR camera.

[@nexaentertainment2764]

I knew I recognized that post! Styro is all over some early internet science forums. I ran into his posts more than a few times while looking up laser stuff in the 00s.

[@Icecreamman571]

We are so fucking back

[@andersjjensen]

See you again next year?

[@Icecreamman571]

@@andersjjensen I will be there no matter what

[@invalide]

We never left

[@Kinetic.44]

Who's back

[@alexrogers777]

@@Kinetic.44 We are

[@chivethelizard]

Can't wait for the follow up white powder episode

[@ridderjaim3]

"We're gonna be so cooked" - Tom (2024)

[@DruggiePlays]

Blows the nose this one 😂

[@SomeUnsoberIdiot]

With the conclusion that white pow...der is far better than yellows? :)

[@patavinity1262]

I hope this is a reference to 'The Novel of the White Powder' by Arthur Machen, but I'm sure it's not.

[@nixel1324]

yay for more metal-spoon-over-flame science.

[@sarahjrandomnumbers]

"How much of this triangle explodes?" That's never been said before.

[@jaimepujol5507]

I'm not here for the chemistry, I can't understand it. I'm here for the emotional journey.

[@hammerth1421]

To quote a certain math video: "Let's see the R^2!. Let's not see the R^2..."

[@tolkienfan1972]

I just watched that!

[@Ioun267]

What video? Sounds fun.

[@bob2859]

@@Ioun267 Stand Up Maths "UK Election charts are a nightmare"

[@Phroggster]

That video has had an ∞% increase in views since 1066. Truly inspiring content, and an exquisite example of statistical soundness.

[@terribleterrier1685]

To be fair, Matt's r was over 0.5 and I think this was around 0.45? Good enough for the shed LOL

[@196cupcake]

6:49 In US criminal law there is a rule called "the rule." So, "yellow powder" could be a lot worse.

[@einfisch3891]

When tom said 25% of data points just say fuck it as God's way of keeping us humble, holy fucking shit my grad student heart felt that...

[@veneroso3337]

Tom, I hope that when you were digging around for that shirt that you found the hearing protection also.

[@-r-495]

Please publish that paper, it is relevant. Science isn’t gray, it is yellow.

[@hallucinogender3810]

I enjoy the fact that Canberra has its own version of ketamine and it's considered "slightly worse" than normal K. That might be the single most Canberra fact I have ever heard. Also, I've seen those "secret third axis" diagrams before, but exclusively in the context of people meming on the soil composition diagram because for some reason people on tumblr find loam hilarious. It absolutely is, but I could not tell you why. And congrats on Actual Data by the way!

[@gluesniffingdude]

tag urself i'm sandy clay loam

[@hammerth1421]

Ternary diagrams are cool. Not for plotting data that is supposed to be read off from the graph again, but for visually communicating the properties of ternary mix which is exactly what Tom used it for.

[@lazydictionary]

It's used with some regularity in material science as well. Don't let those geologist dorks think they're the only ones using it.

[@fnytnqsladcgqlefzcqxlzlcgj9220]

It also has its own version of ketamine called "special K" that is sold online by a guy in a horse mask, it lasts nearly 8 hours and is about 3x more potent, who knows wtf it is though Edit: am canberran, partied a lot a few years ago

[@liam3284]

I used to see those diagrams in refrence to colour space. Oh the days of every display having weird colour casts.

[@maxxbassett8594]

I dont know shit about chemistry, but at 17:45 when you light the "cooked" powder it starts to darken (perhaps it's simply burning, or rather starting to melt and turning black from carbon being burnt), and then seems to vaporize more than explode, what if the "explosion" is actually the powder becoming molten (It definitely starts to bubble right before detonation) and then either undergoes sublimation, or fully liquifies and violently vaporizes into a somewhat flammable gas, I feel the slightly flammable gas idea could be valid since at 13:02, that particular detonation clearly shows some gas burning up while the ploom rises up from underneath it, so either they are different gasses or it "cools down" rapidly enough to cease being combustible. Maybe try the experiment in a vacuum, at the very least you'll find out if the reaction requires oxygen or not, and that sounds like good data!

[@quaestionarius7730]

FUN FACT for the next time you wait for something to go booM. This fun fact is from circa 2009. In Afghanistan toilet paper is a status symbol and men who possess it frequently wear a roll of it dyed in a flamboyant color, such as pink or purple. The roll is suspended from their clothing via a device used to dispense toilet paper around the world, but attached to their clothing, not the lavatory wall.

[@semihezen9541]

Finally, Yellow chem bad - The Episode

[@calyodelphi124]

So I have some observations based on that beautiful triangle diagram of yours: 1. Too much carbonate bums the reaction out. It looks like if the carbonate composition is above 55% then the reaction won't cook off. But the one test point at 0/50/50 confirms that the reaction requires _at least some_ carbonate to successfully cook off, so let's say more than 5%. 2. Nitrate DEFINITELY contributes significantly to the reaction, but not if there's too much so it definitely needs something else to react with it. Not enough nitrate (below 20%) or too much (above 60%) can cause the mix to not cook off at all, it seems. 3. The reaction definitely requires some sulfur. More than 10% but maybe less than 70%. The ideal mixing ratio doesn't seem to be the one cited in the 2006 forum post, but rather somewhat closer to 30%-40% carbonate, 30%-50% nitrate, and 20%-30% sulfur. Taking the averages of these ranges comes out to 35/40/25 carbonate/nitrate/sulfur, which is exactly where the purplest dot indicating the fastest cookoff time sits. But as long as the mixing ratio is somewhere in the ranges of (5,55)/(20,60)/(10,70) then it'll _eventually_ cook off with enough heat (at least 325°C but no testing at higher temperatures appears to have been done so we don't know if there is an upper limit to this).

[@mckseal]

The plot shows time til detonation, not detonation strength. It could be that the forum post's source was optimizing a different metric.

[@LRK-GT]

I wonder how resistive the mixes are? Small enough amount, contained, electrically resistively heated... could get it pretty predictable and 'configurable'.

[@Mediocrates9]

“Let’s run fiber to everyone’s home” No, INSTEAD, how about we do 99.9% of the work, and THEN use 60 year old copper lines for the last mile!

[@liam3284]

They thought they could reuse the conduit for fibre but - half the places used direct buried cable - much of the conduit was crushed or broken. So NBN were digging up yards. Wealthy people didn't like this.

[@Mediocrates9]

⁠​​⁠I get that, but pretty much anyone that’s worked out in the field could tell you that’s a terrible idea. Half the *newly* installed conduit is crushed, let alone old conduit. And that also only really works if there’s extra, unused conduit, otherwise you end up having to do a cutover on a cable with hundreds, potentially thousands of circuits, depending on the cross-box or PFP. Either way, it sounds like they didn’t really use their heads. No surprise there with the government lol

[@micahphilson]

6:24 So from this and personal experience, the only two things driving any chemist are hate... and alcohol. What a great combination!

[@yorkshirechemist]

nice work! having done quite a bit of work in the past with molten nitrate salts (trying to reduce them to nitrite, with very mixed success), I had to point out that the melting point of potassium nitrate is around 330 °C, i.e. just above the temperature where detonation occurs - I strongly suspect that whatever reaction is taking place involves nitrate in its molten state

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

That’s a great point!

[@hammerth1421]

So liquid nitrate + goopy liquid-ish polysulfides = boom?

[@yorkshirechemist]

@@hammerth1421 liquid nitrate and polysulphide-contaminated sulphide on its own is quite a violent and very exothermic reaction with gas ejected at high speeds, even under an inert atmosphere it's quite plausible that it could potentially become explosive under the right conditions

[@hanelyp1]

The addition of carbonate may produce a mixed salt with a slightly lower melting point. Possible tests on that point, then using the mixed salt with sulfur. Other oxidizer mixed salts with a low melting point may exhibit similar behavior.

[@T3sl4]

​@@hanelyp1 Also a good point. Hmm, looks like KNO3-K2CO3 system has a eutectic, not much below KNO3, on the KNO3 side, like 3%at CO3. Oh, NaNO3-KNO3 has a pretty deep eutectic at ~50%, that should be easy to test, and may be promising.

[@BackYardScience2000]

"Science sucks, know what I mean?"... Yes, I know exactly what you mean.

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

At the same time it's pretty awesome. Hope you had a great Independence day!

[@chrisjvas]

There’s a 1000% percent chance someone from the FBI watched your most recent video 😂 I’m here for it

[@ChrisBigBad]

ah. perfect fun. as usual. and welcome in the world of "aaaach, copper cables will be enough! Lets put some fiber where no one will notice!". Cheers from Germany!

[@FlaminTubbyToast]

My favorite part about this is that this guy didn’t even complain about yellow chemistry being bad. He just says “the worst part is the suspense” like mate non-yellow chemistry would be better for you

[@Gunbudder]

This reminds me of my great uncle who did essentially the same research but for rocket fuel back before rocket fuel existed. he made the first computer database (using COBOL) of all mixtures of rocket fuels and fuel tank materials. no one had even measured the vacuum of space directly yet and they had no idea which mixture would be best or what to even make the tank out of. some fuel mixtures were too corrosive and would eat through the tank and some mixtures were not corrosive but were too inefficient. After his research, he ended up with a large table of data (much like your triangle chart) all in COBOL and printed out on punch cards, and he wrote the original technical manual for ideal rocket fuel and fuel tank material. unfortunately, all PII was removed from the TM he wrote because it was classified at the time, so all he could do later in life was claim bragging rights that he wrote the book on rocket fuel. And i still have all the punch cards because he kept a copy in his attic lol. your triangle chart will be become the new reference that people use 20 years from now and wonder "who the hell was this random guy who posted this data online 20 years ago??? I'm definitely not going to credit him though lol"

[@electrowizard2000]

Post those punchcards on Github XD Kidding aside, it's a shame that stuff like this gets lost to history. Thanks for sharing the story.

[@SaphireLattice]

Honestly, these punch cards would be pretty cool to see

[@LabCoatz_Science]

Interesting...it only explodes after you heat it enough to melt it and get rid of the yellow color. From now on, to correct the terrible naming, this explosive shall exclusively be known as reddish goo. Also, I wonder if this would work with different ingredients (sodium nitrate/carbonate, maybe other chalcogens like selenium instead of sulfur, etc). Might also be cool to test the nitrite hypothesis with actual nitrite and polysulfide!

[@phoenixmercurous884]

Selenium is rather unhealthy and you don't want to be making smoke or vapor containing it, which is hard to avoid when making an explosive.

[@nosidenoside2458]

​@@phoenixmercurous884considerate the following: metal box + fume hood

[@eaglgenes101]

​@@phoenixmercurous884Nothing a gas mask and bailing at the first sign of stink (selenium compounds are even stinkier than sulfur compounds) can't mitigate

[@phoenixmercurous884]

@@eaglgenes101 After some googling, it looks like elemental selenium isn't as bad as I thought, but the oxide's MSDS is no joke. It stresses not letting it into the environment allowing dust formation, contact with air, or contact with water. I have lab experience, so my safety instincts really don't like the idea of putting a compound with a 4 mg/kg dermal LD50 out into the environment where it could injure someone else.

[@angusmatheson8906]

​@@phoenixmercurous884 FOUR MG/KG LD50?! Jfc. Yeah, no thanks

[@jorgetlw12]

i have enjoyed watching you for a few years now, and some how this is one of the best episodes you've ever made..... could also be the drinking game, im calling it shot per pop

[@matterwiz1689]

Polymerous Chain would be a beautiful name for a baby boy

[@crash.override]

A good friend to Thelonious Monk

[@Qfeys]

I think they threw out your paper when they read: "These rudimentary shed observations are conducted in the hope that it will shed some light on the underlying chemical mechanism." Big mistake to write a pun in the introduction. You should have kept it for the conclusion.

[@RepChris]

5:00 Somehow Australia and Germany BOTH made the mistake to go for a fiber-copper hybrid internet, which as a german I can confirm is absolutely horrible.

[@richardpurves]

The UK was doing it too. Another good reason to avoid it.

[@lettuce984]

@@richardpurvesThe UK or copper hybrid internet? As a Brit it’s probably both

[@Sp00kq]

​@@lettuce984 both.

[@tildessmoo]

I mean, I can understand the hypothesis: Homes use less data than whole networks, so the best transfer speed/cost ratio is probably somewhere in the area of using fiber for trunk and neighborhood lines and existing copper for home connections. They just fail to realize that there's a difference between home fiber lines and trunk fiber lines, and that the difference in speed between copper and fiber is greater than the difference in data volume between home and trunk lines, and that there's a bidirectional delay involved in the interface between copper and fiber.

[@andersjjensen]

@@tildessmoo Denmark solved that as following: Fiber itself is cheap as fuck, but fiber switches and routers are expensive, so it was mandated that every time there was some kind of cable work (power, infrastructure signalling or telco) they had to put fiber in the ground while they were at it. Then over time "the problem mostly solved itself" and it became cheaper to go fiber-only then to maintain ADSL networks. Some still have coax internet because they get it bundled cheaper with their cable TV, but even those companies are starting to segment the internet out on fiber because people switch if they can't get as fast internet as they want. Personally I pay $22/mo for 100mbit (a Big Mac is $4.65 for reference) and the fastest my provider offers is 1Gbit.

[@ThrowingItAway]

I feel like the fact that it's yellow is why it's still a mystery. Like a giant middle finger to every explosive chemist

[@remcovanvliet3018]

Fun fact of the day: waiting for yellow powder to explode is boring. You heard it here first, folks!

[@Therealpro2]

"Explosions&Fire, Backyard Shed, Australia, 0999" that cracked me up

[@CNGboyevil]

0:06 suddenly realizes I shouldn't watched this at work

[@tadcastertory1087]

Working from home is key for that.

[@baleksus]

This is your best edited video to date, loved it. It's super cool you're back and keep on rocking

[@chaosisnthere]

"I'm really upsetting the birdlife in the area." made me laugh too much considering a past vid where you encounter a bird nesting in your shed lab and approach with: "Hello? .....I'm sorry I'm here...."

[@jdmaine51084]

Man, I may have said this already on another video, but it's worth mentioning again: You have a good sense of comedic timing. "What was I wearing, what is that shirt?" Next scene: "so I found the shirt..." There's something monumentally funny about an Aussie chemist working in his shed. Because the chemistry, the science of it all is very real... but you make it NOT boring. If I were a chemistry teacher in high school, I'd have my students watch some of your videos in class.

[@andersjjensen]

What makes it even funnier is that he has a degree in physics, not chemistry, and other YT chemists outdo him routinely in every other metric.... than being actually interesting.

[@jessicabowden6857]

100 percent agree. i always am paying attention to try to catch the easter eggs. i wonder if dr.andfire likes "this old tony"

[@alexrogers777]

Yeah and what's funny is if you're interested in that tangent about the internet then it's a nice break, and if you hated it then you're just sitting there thinking "Hurry up and get back to the chemistry" which is like every teacher's wet dream

[@Gakulon]

WOOT TRIANGLE DIAGRAMS!! The most interesting part of soil science!

[@bashkillszombies]

Imagine not doing this in your kitchen. That's unaustralian!

[@remjoleea5560]

I walked into my living room and said “new explosions and fire!!” And my mom thought there had been a terror attack 😭

[@Jack93885]

11:11 really cracked me up. I was so focused on the intesresting drugs and then that got me so good.

[@andersjjensen]

For a chaos chemist, who breaks glassware, janks setups, contaminates samples, and generally just shoots from the hip, it's kinda weird that he has comedic timing down to the millisecond.

[@Ardient_]

My guy has finally synthesized enough Cubane to be proud of himself once again to upload a video.

[@johndoe-zf8kg]

Great tto see you back with the experiments, i take it all the studying and school work went well (from what i last remember hearing you talk about it) great video!

[@peterpanda5069]

tom’s defended his phd and now faces his ultimate nemesis: yellow

[@Dank_Lulu]

The fact that my fave OG youtube "homebrew" scientists get to meet-up and exchange ideas is one of those odd joys that only The Internet can afford. Happy you're part of that, Ex&F since apparently the australian internet can't really afford much... 😁

[@baconman2366]

AH! SURPRISE DRINKING!

[@baconman2366]

thank god its Friday...

[@ffoska]

VB you're the one for me

[@SpencerHHO]

Styro would have basically been a fetus in 2006 the fact he happens to be the best source of information on this in this manner is both concerning and somehow, not suprising.

[@JayDaPeace]

The moustache is giving you really strong Brad Leone energy, and I'm here for it.

[@SuperCookieGaming_]

the potassium carbonate being important to the explosive makes me this thats where the focus should be. While working on a different project i found a source (Handbook of inorganic chemicals, Dr. Pradyot Patnaik) that stated that potassium chlorate (KClO3) can turn into potassium perchlorate (KClO4) and potassium chloride (KCl) when heated. I suspect that something similar is happening to the potassium carbonate and it is turning into potassium percarbonate (K2C2O6) which is a strong oxidizer. I doubt this theory is right but its my best guess. Edit: to be clear i don't think its the heat alone that is causing this, either the KNO3, sulfur or both are needed to do this. to test this you could try heating the potassium carbonate with one of the two and both and cool them. then examine them in an FTIR machine. the change bond structure for the percarbonate would show up on there.

[@xxxm981]

Well..... that should be very easy to test, no? melt some carbonate and then see if it violently reacts with organic solvents

[@liam3284]

I also suspect some complex with the KNO3 is at work. I would be interested in what products are left after the detonation.

[@felixml919]

I literally looked at your channel like an hour ago and was disappointed to see no new upload in months. Now this pops up. Good day

[@LeCharles07]

Customs: "What's the nature of your visit" E&F: "I'm here to track down some esoteric data to make explosives." Customs: 😨

[@ilsaalsi857]

the warped jazz in the background cracked me up lol

[@mohinga2136]

love how elegantly the shrapnel spins after explosion

[@etelmo]

If you want to measure the temperature of metal like the hot plate I find putting kapton tape on it to change the emissivity/reflectivity works pretty well, it's generally good at high temps with soldering too.

[@miklov]

Could you also add a thin layer of soot with a lighter? I assume there would be a temperature gradient but that the soot would be more or less the same temperature as the metal.

[@etelmo]

Maybe? Kapton tape is nice because it's very very repeatable though and it doesn't really break down until 400c or so (although the adhesive does a bit earlier, ymmv depending on brand)

[@lazydictionary]

You could just attach a simple thermocouple to the plate pretty easily, no need for IR and messing about with emissivity values.

[@applepiesapricots3109]

@@lazydictionary True but most don't have a thermocouple and don't know how to use a microcontroller to make one for $20. Explosions&Fire doesn't seem to be an electricity dude so I doubt he has a multimeter capable of attaching a cheap probe.

[@ame7165]

you can buy sheets of it to cover it completely. they used to use them as a 3d printer bed surface back when we all printed ABS with 2.85mm filament and everything warped like crazy. kapton handled the heat and held like glue

[@MatBaconMC]

"Science just takes... science just takes, you know what I mean?" (de Prinse, 2024) [t. 18:34]

[@petersmythe6462]

"my main reference is going to be myself" You know, you could start a journal.

[@sativaburns6705]

This triggered a core memory of the transformers cartoon where they traveled to medieval times and made black powder from bird crap and rocks or something.

[@snakedoc9533]

The world must never forget Tony Abbot eating an onion like an apple 😆

[@daniellassander]

Fun fact if you take the sum of a specific divergent series in math you end up with a nonsense answer. Now in math they say you cant take the sum of a divergent series so that is the rule that is broken here. But if you do take the sum of 1+2+3...+ininity it is equal to -1/12 not a si-ngle negative number went into that series of numbers, but it is oddly true as well its used in physics all over the place instead of multiplying something with infinity and it gives the correct answer which agrees with experiment.

[@FBerserkerF1]

I'll forever love that he says "goo'day" instead of "g'day"

[@sianingdog]

18:22 As someone halfway through a physical chem PhD, I know exactly what you mean.

[@edtheduck6219]

I found this channel mid pandemic and it was one of the things that kept me sane during the lockdowns. I love the shed vibe and the unique Ozzie slant, along with the stuff on E&I. This was at the same time the most sciency vid I’ve seen from Tom as well as one of the maddest with the interrupted stream-of-consciousness ramblings. Never change.

[@GabrielGABFonseca]

"Why should _I_ give back to science, science just takes!" [Long, soul-deep sigh] "... science just takes, y'know what I mean...?" Resonated with me and my current time in life entirely too hard

[@brendanmitchell4581]

Ex&F and Styropyro?!? That's the collab I've been waiting for for YEARS! Make it happen!!!