Growing a Real OPAL 🧪✨

Using a little bit of chemistry it's possible to easily grow an opal gemstone, but there's one small catch...

[@thethoughtemporium]

Another amazing thing you can do with opal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/anLbmouJbtNjmtk

[@MalucoLapin]

i use clay for a lot of molds, maybe with some hydrophobic varnish you could mold opal, and put it in any shape you want... Thanks for your job, a lot of your recipes are very usefull even for a non-chemist like me. Oh, and i'll do an opalescent wand of contorded willow, so, thanks, a lot.

[@gwydionrusso3206]

Can you please do videos on how to grow other gemstones maybe Ruby or diamond

[@_John_P]

Would vacuum help?

[@GeneralPadron]

You need about thirty million pounds of pressure and thousands of degrees of heat to make Opel. This isn't it.

[@fendysusanto876]

@@gwydionrusso3206 for ruby use Aluminum oxide and Chromium oxide. 99 grams aluminum oxide and 1 gram chromium oxide, need really high heat too react.

[@timschulze6173]

“All we need to do” *whips out whole chemistry class equipment*

[@anggreiner7929]

Right, like of course hold on let me get my chemistry set out of the kitchen...

[@Cold_S0up]

Lol to be fair, that’s most of what this channel is. Relative to other projects, this is simple

[@skar5541]

Innit. Thought the same thing 😉✌️❤️

[@SpiceyOats]

He already knows. thats why theres bands around the tube.

[@christineysmalone]

Lets just go the store and get some TEOS... 😂

[@devdobariya]

Him: I haven't figured it out how to take it out. NileRed: Just break the tube.

[@vaibhavvishnoi7342]

That's too accurate 😂

[@lazyadult9497]

Just smash it across the wall/floor/ceiling

[@big.gib.4L]

His channel is the reason I thought "just break it lol" when he said this

[@TASGOD]

This was my first thought lol

[@evancooper5885]

Nilegreen

[@Jizzzmani]

NileRed: we need to extract it carefully NileBlue: *smash the tube*

[@Ditroll_XD]

They are the same people

[@Jizzzmani]

@@Ditroll_XD No shit captain obvious

[@marcodiesta]

​@@Ditroll_XDLooky what we have here.. a detective

[@DumKump]

​@@Ditroll_XD**gasps** "NO WAY!!"

[@cubingperm6]

​​​@@Ditroll_XDno shit sherlock

[@misssunshine6200]

Love that he’s giving us step by step instructions like we’re all gonna try this 😂

[@heyyo3746]

I mean if you have a mini lab nearby or you have one in the garage, you could actually.

[@WAKONIANS]

yeah i did it

[@irishwristwatch2487]

"I dont know how to get it out the tube" NileRed looking over your shoulder, with big pleading anime eyes, holding a hammer: 🥺

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

Underrated comment!😂

[@andrewspielman1921]

Who?

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

@@andrewspielman1921 NileRed is a chemistry channel run by a young Canadian.

[@andrewspielman1921]

@@jensphiliphohmann1876 thanks! What a deep cut.

[@Virgi........]

JAJAJAJAJAJAJJAJA. You are a genius

[@Bubbles-qb5hf]

Use a flask you dont like... and break it.

[@sadpluslonely2775]

This one insulted me and my family, I will break it

[@happyszzzzs2173]

​@@sadpluslonely2775 lmao

[@TheRussell747]

Well that's a cylinder, not a flask

[@tophr2710]

​@@TheRussell747 *beaker

[@squabblenobbler]

@@tophr2710 *glass cup

[@noob19087]

Coat the settling container with wax, and when it's done just run hot water over it. Alternatively cement/hydrochloric acid.

[@soude85]

Or just use a hammer…

[@noob19087]

@@soude85 The whole point is that it's brittle. You're going to have an expensive pile of dust if you do that. Laboratory glassware isn't cheap, also.

[@NebulousNector]

@@noob19087true but opal isn’t exactly expensive either. Real opal. I get the experiment is fun but… idk id rather mine for mine I guess

[@noob19087]

@@NebulousNector Are you kidding? Opal is expensive as hell. Australian especially, but even Ethiopian all things considered (let's say you want a big one). And this is science, anything like that is beside the point. Think of the practical applications, synthetic opal whose properties you have full control over would have much more than natural. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go mining for opals too, (I'm a geology nerd), but synthetic opal is totally worth pursuing in my opinion.

[@lw5264]

@@NebulousNector There are benefits to synthetic. Natural opal has a high water content and is vulnerable to shattering. You also can’t incorporate it into glass blowing because the water will make it explode when it’s heated. Synthetic opals can be put inside blown glass pieces though.

[@FerSkecth472]

"In case of Opal, break the Glass"

[@pittiebaby]

HAHA 😂

[@dclibra2394]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@ramborenegadephantom9434]

@FerSkecth472 Is that an Artemis Fowl reference?😀

[@I_Crit_My_Pants]

This is not funny. Edit: The child replying to me is so triggered that someone doesn't share their viewpoint, it's actually hilarious, and you people that upvoted him lmao, definition of toxic people "I find it funny so you're wrong if you don't"... no, it's just not funny cause not everyone's the same and finding something more or less amusing doesn't make someone more or less of a person, grow up.

[@I_like_Beez_and_Coffee]

LMAOOOO

[@TheAnimatedWonders]

Not me starting this video thinking I too could create some opal 😂

[@SpiceyOats]

He already knows. thats why theres bands around the tube.

[@Ridingwithval]

lol

[@kirkboesch9734]

As soon as I heard the chemical names and saw his equipment I knew I was never graduating from my childhood rock tumbler 😒

[@TheFakeyCakeMaker]

Then who? Who is thinking that? Tell us. Enquiring minds demand to know.

[@SilverMichi]

I mean opal is really pretty so I don't blame you

[@GuineaPigLuna]

If chem labs taught this to students, they’d be way more popular

[@lucid4666]

Buddy really said "let me cook" and made opal

[@CuberRealOfficial]

Him: “idk how to get it out😢” NileRed: “so im gonna smash the tube lightly”

[@bluntslt8023]

Nile green

[@AmirRazan]

"I'm going to destroy this tube gently"

[@J.A.huscher]

"carefully shatter the tube"

[@christinaheagy4602]

It may shatter the opal to break the tube.

[@Chickenbird27]

I’m pretty sure you copied someone else’s comment…

[@brunovavretchek92]

“All we need to do.”

[@ohboilien]

That’s all? Oh sure, I will get all this chemical equipment I don’t have and get going!

[@john_john_john]

It's impossible not to read it in his voice

[@santanupal543]

to follow the damn train CJ!

[@Blaaaaaaah224]

🤬🤬🤙

[@8leggedsquirrel521]

🚨 Danger: One thing you forgot to mention is TEOS is really bad to breathe because those little silica particles can settle in your lungs basically turning your lungs to opal. You have to use a fume hood because the TEOS is so small it can also pass through filtration masks

[@Cicada_kgh.-.]

WE SEE YOU OPAL YOUR TROUBLES ARE MILES AWAY!!!! WE SEE YOU OPALLL!!!! AND IN OUR EYES YOULL STAYYYYYYY

[@shamboopoo]

jack stauber reference

[@TheOneTwitchingDeadGirl]

No no nope nope....

[@m0odiEsubz23]

I thought I was the only one that thought about Jack stauber

[@Cicada_kgh.-.]

@@m0odiEsubz23 well you were wrong 😍

[@syra1541]

don't mind the house across the street

[@enderlauren7248]

i love watching science happen, like this guy & nilered are so neat to watch dude

[@nosleepproductions5020]

"All we need to do is make some particles and stack them" Easier said than done

[@cloud4579]

I came here looking for this comment

[@nekkoskrilla6750]

I do that in the toilet every day...

[@RC-ii3lm]

@@nekkoskrilla6750sewage cleaners be finding opal now and then 😂

[@Snackable_]

@@RC-ii3lm my sewage cleaner be finding diamonds from me personally 😏

[@apoptosis9459]

Hold my beer, let me just bust out the bottle of TEOS fromy garage storage box

[@izoraiza7169]

Fun fact lab made opal is called opalite. I have a piece of opalite.

[@Los_Altos_Mapper_89]

that is so cool!

[@midnighttheumbreon8857]

Actually no. Opalite is not the same as opal. Opal can be lab grown just like any other gemstone. Opalite is always man-made. It’s not the same as opal regardless if the opal is natural or lab grown

[@maddiedoesntkno]

@@midnighttheumbreon8857also false! There is natural opalite (called common opal) as well, often found at the edges of iridescent opal fields! The size and density of the silica particles that form the opal determine its colour and pattern and these same particles distributed less densely and regularly than in an iridescent, “precious” opal make the milky shimmer of opalite!

[@unrepentant7805]

@@maddiedoesntknoagain, false. opalite is in fact always manmade because it's glass.

[@Froggynarrations]

@@maddiedoesntknothey are glass, plastic, and resin they resemble opal to the naked eye and that is hardly to any opal lover. Lab opals are genuine opals the same as lab diamonds but they simply are not natural

[@Eciaeer]

WE SEE YOU, OPAL, YOUR TROUBLES ARE MILES AWAAAYYY 🔥🔥🔥

[@AsherDasherCasherFlasher]

THANK YOU!! I think opal is my favorite besides Diamond and Quartz, so many to drool over, GREAT JOB!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@nutmegsonuttz8854]

Mom- "tha hell you think your cooking in my damn house?!?!" Me- ....opals

[@opelashraf6162]

Cooking me 🫠🫠🫠

[@SGRADECURSE]

😂😂😢​@@opelashraf6162

[@ar-sithf.austin3744]

Meth?! No ma, OPAL I SAID!!

[@smulestar]

"Meth" :))

[@5Zbo]

@@ar-sithf.austin3744 u deserve more likes bro haha

[@TheAustinTalbert]

Isn’t it kinda funny how chemistry is kinda reality warping, you literally combine molecules that can create totally different substances and shit. Kinda dope

[@zachnies13]

Kind of funny how your average KZbin commenter doesn't appreciate chemistry until you make something shiny in glass tube. Only then does chemistry become interesting 😂

[@nightmareunleash3402]

​@zachnies13 well yeah?? Are we not meant to be impressed when someone literally makes a sick rock from basically nothing

[@RayGalactic]

@@zachnies13Remember this is a real person.

[@uietwyatt4841]

I like drugs

[@OfficiallyMaidenless]

​@@zachnies13yeah that's generally how it goes, as humans we're interested in things that we find interesting....

[@leaf2076]

"i love opal so much, i made it at home." Is the vibe I'm getting from this.

[@Polytherio]

WE SEE YOU OPALLL

[@CanIGetAGoodHandleForOnce..]

*”LET HIM COOK.”*

[@irariddhichannel419]

"All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant woman, a giant woman" steven universe

[@SANJAY-un3pc]

"but we have to let it cook" *Walter white has entered the chat*

[@kipkip8268]

This needs more likes

[@bobmarley2140]

Ain't it sad that breaking bad is getting so old kids these days probably haven't even heard of it 15 years ago it premiered! feels like yesterday

[@vincentbismonte3497]

​@@bobmarley2140 but memes are bringing it back

[@joshuamarcy8990]

The tube is worth 10 times the opal... But ya I would break it

[@xFreSh999_]

@@bobmarley2140 better late than never

[@dontworry4945]

You gotta put a little Crisco down before you bake it.😊

[@miles11we]

Or add butter to the recipe, right?

[@KL-tn1xc]

​@@miles11we only if you don't want the opal to be synthetic.

[@wynoglia]

BAKE IT??? HE JUST LEFT IT SITTING BRO

[@dontworry4945]

@@wynoglia it's gotta cool down before you dig in, obviously.

[@miles11we]

@@wynoglia u ok?

[@HexxyHazel]

Simple talking about wanting to make new Mario Maker levels makes me wanna rewatch all the videos of him making them, seeing the inner workings of this man's mind is shocking and entertaining

[@noob19087]

I think you've got the wrong video, but I totally agree with you. I mean is this a bug on my end or why is there someone randomly talking about Simpleflips and mario maker on a video about synthetic opals 😂

[@ZoroForever02]

nilered: *throws beaker*

[@NightmareBlade10]

This would be a pretty neat thing to do if you could fill an entire mold out of it. Imagine being able to peel off the mold after a span of some months and getting a cool little statue out of it!

[@tyrealarchea9445]

A silicon mold should work.

[@theshuman100]

hngh molds are too hard to make. ill just settle for bones

[@minidonkey8613]

@@theshuman100 this is the comment right here FBI

[@EKimatH]

What’s stopping us theoretically from picking a glass container that has a shape to it and using it as a mold and then breaking it to be left with a bit of opal that’s vaguely the shape we wanted? Would that work?

[@Jok3r00]

@@EKimatHrisk breaking the opal and not it being all one piece

[@BPJJohn]

This is probably far safer and legal than trying to cook Meth. Edit:Thx for the likes, and remember: Don't Break Bad.

[@Strwal]

💀

[@pepert1714]

We have to let it cook

[@nathanchohany8169]

Takes alot longer to make opal though

[@gurcharnsingh2422]

this definitely is a factual statement

[@k3yr0w.92]

yeah but what’s the fun in this? no risk or anything it’s mad boringgg

[@user-lo8gj3wx1n]

Bold of you to assume that we would have a secret lab in our basement

[@WorshipSAY10]

Thanks Mr. White! “That was kewl maynnn.”

[@Heccct]

Tried this at home. Funeral proceedings are ongoing.

[@goosey200]

😂

[@everyvore]

🤣🤣

[@wickedbasket8858]

Rest in peace

[@Astroqualia]

Pecker caught in beaker. Instructions in video unclear 😢

[@BackYardScience2000]

For what, your hopes and dreams or the shattered opal? Or both?

[@SupernovaRat888]

POV: When you look away in science class for 2 seconds

[@elsaposadas6174]

no fr

[@A_Hey]

My strange addiction is this video. Every day, sometimes twice a day or even three times a day if I'm really treating myself, I download this video and put it on a hard drive and then I eat the hard drive. Mmmm tasty.

[@ALICE_4EVEA]

The fact an opal is my birth stone makes this better

[@VforVendetta6669]

“Jessie. We need to cook!”😂

[@rezasher490]

Cooking some crystal 💀💀

[@user-ig1ek6kw2n]

BREAKING BAD !!!!!!

[@RyukyuStyle]

Jokes like these make life worth living lol

[@balkanjoker3111]

True!!! Hahah and so grateful there are people out there , normal... like you​@@RyukyuStyle

[@paige-vt8fn]

😂❤

[@EileenTheCr0w]

That's actually even better, you can make a mold of whatever you want, pour them in there and then break it or pull out when you're done so you can have a little opal tiger or dice for d&d or whatever.

[@TinaDeathstalker]

Omg yesssssss

[@violettracey]

Awesome idea!

[@sc-no9uk]

opal buttplug

[@DickTracy420]

That hella smart my boy

[@frozenflame9913]

That's not really how that would work, the issue is drying the opal. I've been researching this for weeks now on how to make a opal dice for cheap. Real opal is too expensive, Ethiopian opal is it brittle, opalite is not right, I would need lab grown. The issue with lab grown opal that it's convincing is the drying process you either need to dry it at 10k psi so that it would hold the shape it has or use resin. One is expensive and the other doesn't allow for the shape to change. If you skip the drying step properly then it will crack or shrink, and also the opal doesn't harden in the shape of the mold as not all the liquid would be used when it hardens leaving gaps. I did find bello opal slabs tho, that are easy to tell its not real opal but has the right properties and hardness. Plus a slab is about 200 bucks. So all you would need then is someone willing to cut the slab into dice. I estimate the total cheapest real opal look to be about 500 bucks. At most if you use real Australian opal like 30k.

[@Crinjester]

“All we need to do is make some particles” who tf do you think I am 💀

[@reallue]

That's exactly how Mother Nature made all natural Opal anyone's ever found

[@KillianTwew]

Is that the chemical structure of Opal, or an Ad for mini Jaw Breakers from 1930?

[@familyguy1996iscool]

🤣 lmao

[@glenecollins]

Natural opal looks fairly different even after etching it with HF etc but that is indeed what synthetic opal looks like under an electron microscope. Opals from some places have the appearance of much more symmetrical balls and look more like the synthetic version. There are some scans of lightning ridge opal where even after etching the structure is much more interconnected and lumpy but they are still highly opalescent.

[@jeanocasio5432]

@@glenecollins it's pretty cool that you know that. If you don't mind my asking, how come you know that? Do you work with these materials or something?

[@KillianTwew]

@Dyslexic Mitochondria okay

[@mori-patte]

​@@jeanocasio5432 Sorry to butt in, but just a small trivia. Method described in this video is also known as Strober method, it's one of the most popular methods of obtaining silica nanospheres. And yes, there's scientists who study processes of formation of opal like structures ( to find find more relevant info you could browse some scientific papers, usually they have some SEM images ).

[@travellolo]

My father in the mid-60s mined opal in Mexico. My mother said we were very comfy for ten years, until the supply ran low.

[@GazB85]

Are they worth a lot less now that they can be made synthetically?

[@travellolo]

@GazB85 not sure, probably not.

[@ld2048]

​@GazB85 if it's anything like the diamond market, then they can just hog the supply until the perceived value is up

[@GazB85]

@@ld2048 True.

[@Acid_Ash]

@@GazB85Id guess just as valuable considering it seems pretty rare. I mean I'm just now finding out it exists through the video. It’s possible it’s not but I would guess when it’s mind it's technically more valuable because it's not synthetic. Who knows maybe not

[@eliveltonberd4193]

The real philosofer stone.

[@DaddySann1776]

“Need to remove small cylinder from tube…. Cannot break it, cut it or smash it…😂”

[@gorbdrinkingmilk5804]

"Jesse, we need to cook Opal"

[@lilstrap7041]

Me thinking I can make this easy, he pulls out a whole laboratory

[@SpiceyOats]

He already knows. thats why theres bands around the tube.

[@MelodysKitchen]

Lol

[@styx85]

It's just a way to heat something to a consistent temperature while stirring it. No laboratory needed.

[@jaydunbar7538]

Nothing you can’t order off Amazon, really could do it on your stove in a pot if you wanted to but that wouldn’t work for a video trying to show the reaction.

[@chrislive1586]

"I havent forgotten how to get it out of the tube" First 5 sec: it's out of the tube

[@Syfymaster119]

And that's why you think before you work

[@BackYardScience2000]

Can we get an update on the opal? Did you get it out of the tube?

[@louislwspsycdaf9049]

Centrifuge

[@ReadyorNot811]

Lol ​@@louislwspsycdaf9049

[@bigtexuntex7825]

break glass, or pick a better settle-out container, such as a soft plastic, perhaps with a desirable bottom shape.

[@whocareseh1]

​@@louislwspsycdaf9049The issue stays the same. How do you get the opal out?

[@AstraLiminal]

Silicone mold??

[@hardanalljr.3138]

Shape them into Tile molds and you got yourself a business

[@tea830fae8]

You can make some badass dice with that

[@xxTHExxABYSSxx]

Dopals opals. Look it up. There are many opal companies

[@israelfleming3159]

I’m planning on filling a fish tank substrate as opals, I live in au so opal mining is a option. I wonder if you can create black opal like this.

[@MCTheRat]

@@israelfleming3159 won’t work. They’re very water absorbent afaik.

[@pjbiggleswerth8903]

​@@israelfleming3159 look up profound glass

[@poisonivyheart6621]

If they taught this in science at school, I would have stayed interested

[@Indystvmicropachycephalosaurus]

Jack stauber reference 💀

[@lookronjon]

Use a silicone tube. If you can put it under pressure while it solidifies it might have different and or better characteristics.

[@notKix]

Instructions unclear, accidentally made a nuclear reactor

[@Master_Udon]

Instruction unclear, now i'm a druglord

[@x2v9]

unfunny

[@Copter200]

​@@x2v9 Humor is subjective, so understandable

[@nixonnate32]

In your parents garage?

[@daz8726]

Was it in your mom's garage by any chance

[@flache1086]

Realistically if the tube has the same size and opening you can push it out using the same way you clean a flash chromatography column.

[@TheEstrangedMarketSocialist]

“We see you Opal Your troubles are miles away”

[@Markhu0403]

Bro listened in chemistry 💀

[@viniciusdeoliveiraroman]

He's actually Walter White

[@Markhu0403]

True

[@WhiteMarsho]

Bro showed us how to make a expensive gem at home

[@sylthrina165]

Still expensive if you've got to buy all that shit and set it up correctly lol

[@phillipduvall8638]

​@@sylthrina165 the only expensive part is the TEOS, i dont know how much you need for this but it doesnt look like much. You can buy it starting around $75 usd, almost everything else you can find workarounds for

[@Angelina_w]

"We see you, Opal. Your troubles are miles away-"

[@waretaSL]

As someone who consistently failed science class, i didn't understand a single thing you just explained but that looks pretty cool

[@oddity4all2see]

Black fire opal is the most beautiful stone out there

[@Angelaopalart]

I have available opal stone

[@oddity4all2see]

@@Angelaopalart I would love to purchase one. I'm trying to start up my own jewelry business and I dump every penny I come across into it. I'm sure you were there once too. I'm gearing up for Christmas season and hope to make enough for silver and a few of those. I will definitely keep you in mind when I'm ready. Thanks for your posting and reply.

[@robford4679]

Missed marketing chance. Next time try: I have similar stones 'Avail-Opal'! As your new advertizing and consulting partner, I only expect 15% profit, paid in stones, whenever you have the 'Opal-Tunity' to do so. Have a 'Wond-Opal' day, that isn't 'BLack-ing' in 'Fire-endship' in a 'Tr-Opal-cal' place that is 'Beaut-Opal'.

[@mobyythicc]

@@robford4679😂

[@wabbitnred3609]

I had two incredibly beautiful opals...They were stolen...

[@AmaryInkawult]

You're gonna have to make a sacrifice on this one, TE.

[@maxivers3855]

THE JIZZ IS CRYSTALLIZING

[@RyanFerguson-yw4bl]

We did it mr white! We did it!

[@justbeeeb2061]

TEOS Just don't coat your eye with silica. Thanks Justin for this short!

[@Wtfinc]

Uhh, is that a challenge? It sounds like a challenge

[@justbeeeb2061]

@@Wtfinc XD

[@thedoctor2102]

I cover my eyeballs with hydrated silicon every morning.

[@jaroftar]

Instead eat it I do

[@deadlikedisco4726]

Sprinkle a layer of it in your toilet bowl before peeing. Trust me, it's safe for your pipes, and you get to have fun toilet-water urine sculptures!

[@monstarstevo7307]

That could make jewelry on a huge scale... just imagine 5 gallons of solution poured in molds....endless options and opportunities 😊😊

[@BBhatt-pi5ob]

Jesse, we need to cook

[@fort809]

That doesn’t work, because gemstone companies refuse to sell lab-grown gems. Remember we can make cheap diamonds in a lab that are better quality than natural, but debeers and other whole-sellers refuse to touch them because the value lies in the rarity

[@cadavher]

There's tons of sellers who make em! The real ones are expensive, and there is a truly vast difference in the end product compared to real opal but for the price it can't be beat. I feel much less guilty when my fake opals crack or break versus the real ones. 😊

[@frankrincon5557]

@@fort809they sell lab diamonds everywhere them everywhere. They’re 1/3 of the price of natural diamonds. They’re not that cheap

[@lakovkreativity1451]

​@@fort809 "rarity' 🤣

[@AVCXX3]

Nilered: “Now I can’t properly remove this from the tube, so I’ll just lightly hit it with a hammer.” *reels back for a full force hit.*

[@mitochondria1065]

"and a silica precursor called TOES"

[@leftist_agenda]

Bro is acting like this is a normal everyday experience 😭

[@zinzanzoo]

"JESSE. We're making opal."

[@microwave1119]

Chromatography columns could do the trick, that’ll allow you to take the bottom layer out as you wish and can help you keep the silica in the column to make more. Continuous opal

[@brycegaudette5916]

“All we have to do is reconstruct molecules from the bottom up”

[@maciejwisniowski821]

smash the tube, man i could actualy sacrifice the tube for a opal

[@nateharder2286]

Use a glass cigar tube so when you break it, it already has a dome shape.

[@barubary4477]

I bet they'd look more natural if you disturbed the flask often while they're settling. That way, the pattern won't be so regular and perfect

[@donovanfaust3227]

Well you'd be wrong because that's not how that works.

[@ghostratsarah]

​@@donovanfaust3227 if you're going to be so rude, you could explain how it works. Because half of us probably had the same though as OP

[@gabriellewashere7353]

@@donovanfaust3227 We’ve got a licensed opal-cooker here

[@astralloser1177]

@@donovanfaust3227 if you can, please elaborate so the less scientifically inclined can gain some insight from your obviously vast wisdom on the subject? 😊 i, for one, would love to know why that wouldn’t work and if you know a feasible solution, i order to make the opal look more natural! 😊

[@varvashubina74]

Will it even settle if you regularly stir it, though?

[@fireismyname1502]

My great grandpa used to do this back in the day. Said that none of the experts could tell the difference between 'real' (mined) opal and his opal, but he stopped making it after someone stole a bunch from him.

[@Phonkknot]

That opal looks so beautiful!!! It is so cool and I def want to get the materials to make it

[@klarasmetana3136]

My favourite too, much prettier than a diamond, but SO fragile!

[@ressamarieg]

Safety first friend! Get some glass scoring tools, and score the tube. Use the gentle hammering to split the pieces. Do in small batches/steps. Repeat the process until able to free the stone. :D

[@TheCrimsonWolf]

Try doing it while the whole flask is submerged underwater to reduce mess too

[@Average_Internet_DMC_420]

I ain't reading allat

[@dawnbray8325]

​​​​​@@Average_Internet_DMC_420 * noise of a glass tube being smashed against a wall *

[@axolotlsarecute6764]

We see you, Opal Your troubles are miles away We see you, Opal And in our eyes you'll stay >:0

[@a_Iemon]

Steven universe plus Jack Stauber

[@damiansimone1365]

*cringe*

[@jonahhex18]

Don't make me cry

[@lenima23869]

🪞There she is! 💊Thats my girl! 📺Hi Opal! 🍔🍔🍔

[@Aaa-vp6ug]

You’ll never take me alive!

[@autumnryn]

I love this channel ❤ i can't stop watching!!

[@risingwind8943]

Use a silicone mold instead of a tube. You can make really cool shapes. Make a diamond shape and you can set it in a ring like a wedding ring. It would be stunning.

[@matthewpattonv5326]

If you ran the solution in a centrifuge couldn’t you skip the month(s) long wait time, or would the necessary structures for opal not form without time?

[@HydroBossMax211]

I would love to know because that is what I thought about.

[@samuelbucher5189]

The centrifuge would probably still have to run for a long time.

[@ZooD333]

In the full video he says that the centrifuge crashes them out of solution too quickly to form the right structures

[@oonmm]

The Opal is a medium in space, and thus also a medium in space-time. You can't just remove time, because then your Opal will not have anything to form in.

[@mattheww9656]

@@oonmm You’re 14 and that’s really deep

[@Md_BalineseBot]

"Isnt it stunning?" *Phone goes to grayscale* "Not very stunning in BLACK AND WHITE-"

[@luisitto777]

"Make some particles" ngl that's new to me

[@the_terraria_guy9010]

literally my first thought as i saw it settle was how to get it out of the tube and thought you were going to saw it open or something

[@EliteChoice77]

Also if I had the money and equipment I’d actually try this. Opals are indeed very cool

[@Samo_rust]

The "opal" he showed looks nothing like real opal also it's better to mine them youraelf

[@winterfoxey5074]

@@Samo_rustthis is way better than mining, both for the environment, and for all the people(including children) who are slaves working in mines.

[@spoodysnail7624]

@@winterfoxey5074 95% of the world opal supply comes from Australia and they aren’t using slaves

[@Jake12220]

​@@winterfoxey5074opal mining isn't a big environmental issue, it's generally done by one or a few people on individual claims following very small seams in arid areas. I have never seen a kid involved in the process, indeed most of the miners look like old men. The process involves digging a round hold down to the layer they hope to find them then the use of hand held power tools to follow the seam. It's nothing at all like diamond mining.

[@LantanaLiz]

@@winterfoxey5074 A whole bunch of them in Australia are mined by the residents of Coober Pedy who work and live underground to avoid the heat.

[@leatheryfoot6354]

Science is literally just magic with explanation and reasoning.

[@thisisitvf2009]

Everyone else: “breaking bad” Me: “………we see you, Opal”

[@StefanDeleanu]

For people proposing breaking the glass. Opal is glass, so its possible that by breaking the glass beaker it might also break the opal. Maybe you could coat the tube glass to prevent that though. Although the lattice is probably less brittle with opal than normal amorphous glass.

[@jacobiwankenobi9664]

"We seee you Opal, your toubles are miles a-way!"

[@Mcperson823]

Lol

[@LOLrpop]

Noooooo 🥹

[@-VINihilist-]

If you're still on this, you could use breakaway molds to get opal statues or "fossils". Love to see that

[@MID-CRISIS27]

I like your pfp :0

[@utropics4613]

I swear chemistry is the closest thing to magic we have

[@stijn2472]

How about a small plastic square (silicone) mold? This way you will also get a flat piece of opal, which I personally would prefer.

[@rockspoon6528]

What day is it?

[@stijn2472]

@@rockspoon6528 I know, but what he is demonstrating here was from a video 2 years ago (dec 4, 2020 "Can you GROW an Opal?"). So, even though the date of posting might make one think this is a joke, is actually real.

[@dip8]

​@@stijn2472 ye its just unfortunate date

[@KatharineOsborne]

I came here to suggest the same thing. I guess the only problem would be if the silicone was likely to react with any of the chemicals involved.

[@Tunkkis]

​@@KatharineOsborne You'd still want the container to be quite tall, or else your opal will be a very thin sliver.

[@rod8366]

Do it again but use a silicone mold

[@calebalva7073]

Would the opal not expand with it?

[@HansLemurson]

Yeah, there's no way Silica would stick to Silicone...

[@Theorbitaldog]

Check what day video was uploaded on

[@emstink]

​@@Theorbitaldogthe original video was posted in December. This isn't an April fools.

[@Polytherio]

damn Jack Stauber must've took hours to make that

[@shadowofneo]

Last point was what i was thinking the whole time

[@VorpalVulpes]

"I haven't figured out how to get it out of the tube" *NileRed's Hammer has entered the chat*

[@missjddrage1111]

Brilliance in the works. I love how the solution has yet to be determined. This is genuine. Thank you. Subbed.

[@remixcnk]

Really? It hasnt?

[@JohnIgavo]

Yep

[@-belue-6697]

I felt the same thing...this feels quite genuine. 😎... There is no like, "TA DA! WELCOME TO THE MAGIC INTERNET WHERE EVERYONE IS PERFECT!"... I like that! If that makes sense! 😎