The lead sponge mystery continues...

[@bielanski2493]

"Remember, viewers at home; The difference between Messing Around, and Science, is Writing Things Down."

[@Mae_is_gae]

Adam savage?

[@GuardTower]

I wonder if making a video of it counts as science :)

[@ILoveCatsYippee.]

@@Mae_is_gae allie brosh pfp also lul

[@namelessguy199]

For cyan

[@Kumquat_Lord]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqHKgKZme62jhpY

[@danethegreat5366]

Metallurgist here. The white film or coating on the cast iron is from vaporized zinc. You have two samples that did it and both had zinc. You can get this same effect from over heating brass on any other zinc filled material . Also it's the last step in the parkes method for silver extraction to heat the zinc and silver mix until the zinc vaporizeses off.

[@MrSparkefrostie]

I see my surname, i give a like

[@vmelkon]

+Dane The Great: The zinc vaporizes and burns with O2. The white stuff on the cast iron pan is ZnO.

[@dingleburry7919]

Same shit you get from welding galvanized bolts. Or zinc coated

[@denizbluemusic]

I assume it was antimony

[@truedarklander]

@@denizbluemusic why would it be antimony? where would it come from.

[@12Prophet]

*set it on fire* *throws it in water and acid* *keeps getting different reactions* "What are you?!"

[@cal7103]

an idiot sandwich

[@jazzling]

@@cal7103 joe

[@jazzling]

@@cal7103 ask who is joe

[@x1-facilitiesthe-end-proje873]

@@jazzling it's Joe mama

[@ScienceForeverKnowYourSciences]

he is a Scientist... :| :| :| its his job... XD XD XD

[@5thearth]

I love these real science videos. It's like a "let's play" for chemistry, we get to watch the actual scientific process.

[@akashv4788]

Oooo

[@temmiemew]

i know it makes me happy

[@themurph930]

Hypotheses: 1) The acid treatment removes the zinc leaving behind a dry cake of lead. The lead particles are separated by a lot of air and loosely held together by friction so it takes very little heat to melt the fairly pure lead sponge. 2) Looked blue/grey/white to me but maybe a coating on the pan? 3) Different reactions by the different lead and zinc compounds, salts, oxides. Impurities, uneven heating, trapped liquid. 4) The zinc is intertwined in the lead matrix. Ties in to 3. Imagine if you soaked an actual sponge in water and tried to evaporate the water (lead) with a blowtorch. You’re going to burn the sponge (zinc) before the water inside (lead) evaporates (melts). If you take the zinc out of the equation the process is simpler. 5) There’s no elasticity to the lead matrix so it only compresses. The only thing keeping it “spongey” was the liquid separating the particles. Once dry, when placed in liquid some will fill the holes but unless it’s soluble in the liquid then it will stay “set.” Similar to porous cement or a sponge that’s crusty and super old. 6) See 5 and 7 7) Both, sort of. Like trying to bring a piece of beef jerky back to pre-jerky freshness.

[@archangel3237]

See if you can make sheets of it with embedded copper, gold, or aluminum wire and see if it can be used as a lead acid battery. The extreme surface area might augment its ampere output. It would be an interesting experiment.

[@nonstopgames7591]

What about trying to get it to become a led based aerogel

[@loganclementi8947]

@@nonstopgames7591 you know that aerogel is a massive leap between some lead and zinc in water, right? Nile has some incredible skills and equipment, but I think that creating an advanced aerogel with nowhere near as much public research as normal silica would be quite the endeavor. But I think it is a cool idea and personally wanna see it :)

[@loganclementi8947]

@Michael Persico the issue is making the aerogel out of lead. That is different than the sol-gel process. He is not just impregnating the aerogel with lead, he said made out of lead.

[@brokenshard9323]

@@loganclementi8947 kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2Grl6CPd9F5bsk , he made aerogel 8 months ago...

[@alkrolyd]

@@brokenshard9323 that was with silicon, though. Lead's a completely different element, so the process would be completely different and may not even be possible.

[@JacobJonesy]

When you're checking for conductivity don't use the "continuity" setting on your multi meter, use the ohm setting (resistance) and you will be able to get a numerical value for the conductivity.

[@toshley6192]

There's something that happens to plant roots that might explain why you can't respongify it after its dried. When you take a cutting from a plant and put it in water to grow roots, a very fine network of hair-like roots fans out in the water to maximize surface area. It's difficult to transplant a water rooted plant into dirt, because when you pull the roots out of the water they all clump together because of the surface tension of water, and they don't spread back out when you plant it in dirt. New roots have to grow to replace the ones that are stuck together. When you dry out the sponge, all of the very delicate suspended filaments of crystals get tangled into a crystal-like matrix as the water leaves and eventually they lock together when dry. Rehydrating it doesn't untangle the knots

[@boxfox3555]

"Placed on this cast iron, cooking thing", sweetie thats a pan

[@nonchip]

@C Lopez wouldn't a skillet be higher, more like a pot? EDIT: nevermind, turns out skillets *are* pans. mixed up a word there i guess

[@nonchip]

@C Lopez i was thinking of saucepans actually and just confusing the words :'D

[@SecretAgentXD1]

@C Lopez you're thinking a griddle

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

I also love in the one where he admits he doesn't have a spatula.

[@Ealsante]

He's a chemist, not a chef!

[@andrekorenak2417]

I immediately wanted to know how long you could maintain a stable sponge, or if it hardens over time even in water.

[@SovietLlamaMC]

Why is it that I fall asleep in chem class, am reluctant to do chem homework on Aleks.... but I'll watch these videos all day long? Thanks for making the subject interesting. Keep experimenting!

[@NileRed]

im glad you like them :)

[@lukaswursthorn581]

Theoretic classes can be boring, especially when your teacher is not-so-great. Don't let that discourage you from learning more about chemistry. It really is a great field of science!

[@weaseljay469]

@J Hemphill this is an unreasonably harsh judgement for a youtube comment, not liking chem classes (which might have a boring teacher) while enjoying entertaining chem videos isn't a character flaw. they probably have something else they are more passionate about, the way nilered is passionate about chem.

[@monkstandinglast]

@@NileRed The latest vid Cotton Candy from Cotton Balls awesome, was it a coincidence you started with cotton balls and ended up with something resembling c*ock n balls lol either way the science you do is excellent and been binge watching them at work cant wait for the next one thanks also you should see if Mark Rober wants to colab with you, think between the two of yourselves something awesome could happen combining your chemistry and his mechanical engineeriring skills.

[@cooperisntanelement4252]

Could you possibly do a video of the equipment your ‘lab’ consists of and the level of education you have that allows you to do all these amazing conversions and demonstrations?

[@MrJob91]

Lead sponge for when you need to poison your dishes

[@moritzbecker4246]

Job91 : D

[@OF01975]

Seriously not cool, my dog died of lead

[@MrJob91]

My pet fish died of boredom really not cool m8

[@OF01975]

Job91 are you seriously just gonna insult me and more importantly my hole dogs spirit like that ffs read a bible learn to FEEL

[@TigerBrows]

how was he supposed to know that? isn't it a bit absurd of you to go around picking fights with people you've never met?

[@wyvern4588]

Maybe when it dries the sponge matrix collapses (since it's so soft) destroying it's ability to absorb moisture. It would be interesting if you could replace the water with oil.

[@o_-_o]

"place on this little, cast iron cooking thing" cute XD

[@bluemarigoldofficial]

o pretty much everything about him is adorable

[@o_-_o]

True (except *tasting* artificial sweetener from Tylenol and =>P E E

[@OF01975]

Autism xD

[@bluemarigoldofficial]

Four Twenty Why?

[@theterribleanimator1793]

Isaiah Thompson OH, WHERE TO BEGIN!

[@gl8763]

I like it? Yea I understand it? Hell no

[@bimbojimbo9126]

Malkinn big feel

[@L4r5man]

That's like 90% of Nile's videoes for me.

[@agatkagrzyb653]

same

[@csweezey18]

But it's so simple...

[@ggittins4097]

I put his videos on auto pay as I'm falling asleep, so soothing

[@Krawacik3d]

I think that you woudn't been able to melt your first piece was caused by the oxide layer and sponge-like nature of the chunk. When you blasted it with propane torch, you created a thin layer of lead oxide (which have higher melting point i think) and, because of air pockets (just like in aerogel) behind this non-meltable layer you've made a pretty heat resistant material. It would be great to create flat-ish piece of lead sponge and measure temprerature behind it while blasting it with torch.

[@OF01975]

krawacik3 lead oxides actually have a lower melter point dude

[@Krawacik3d]

So that would explain why it worked only with unwashed sample, because zinc oxide has much higher melting point than lead/zinc/lead oxide. Yellow colour strongly suggest that it's heated zinc oxide (kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIHTY3abm8mLjNk).

[@homosapienssapiens19]

Has he re-invented starlite?

[@mnovak4178]

wasn't that based off Bakelite?

[@CrilDril]

Four Twenty umm, no they don't.

[@stuffthings828]

I have a few theories with the purple flame appearing during the heating of the normal pre-dried sponge: 1. Due to the sponge sample you were burning having a substantial oxide layer on the outside from being heated previously on the watch glass, maybe some of the oxygen interacted during combustion, contributing to the blue hue. I noticed when you were filming the various melting tests that once a decent amount of lead oxide started to form on the outside of the sponges, the flames developed a purple color, at least to some degree. The first test was definitely the most pronounced, but I believe I saw small traces of purple show up in the flames during the other melt tests once lead oxide started forming on the sponge. 2. The gases in the flames from the burner you were using had some kind of direct chemical reaction with the sponges, leading to other compounds being formed/burned off during combustion. This one I don't have as clear of an idea on how it might work, but it seems plausible to some extent. As for the acid-treated sponges being more receptive to melting, that most likely has to do with a lack of zinc oxide, since ZnO has a high heat capacity and thermal stability, which makes it useful in some fire retardant materials. Again, I'm not entirely confident that this is the cause but it does seem to explain why only the sponge that has very little zinc left in it would be more receptive to melting. I have no clue why the remaining sponge would have a melting point lower than that of lead, though...

[@jxoesneon]

1) , 3) and 4) I think that the acid removed all or most of the Zn in the sponge, when heated the lead strands quickly transferred the heat and since they are so thin they quickly melted 2) The purple flame might come from the combination of lead, Zn and remains of the acid that was used 5) and 6) There might be some crystallization going on, I think that when the sponge is first formed the zinc acts as nucleation sites for lead crystals, after enough time in solution, or after drying the crystallization process is done which gives the brittle material 7) Since you end up with lead crystals, no mater which environment the sponge is in, after the crystallization process is done it will be brittle

[@Murr1can]

5:40 "I placed it on this little cast iron cooking thing and continued eating it." Wait what

[@chlime_]

Heating not eating but lol

[@sammykaspar7374]

Pass a large current through the lead sponge material!

[@yushatak]

Or a high voltage, imagine how an 800v AC current would dance around through a wet (or dry) metal sponge!

[@B-System]

@@yushatak The only good number I caught off his meter was in the 0.16 ohm range, so you could get a theoretical 5 kA through it at 800 V, but that would be a nominal 4 MW, so it ain't happening.

[@easymac79]

6:30 I've found that when I burn propane through my very basic Bernzomatic torch head for a long time I start to see orange streaks in the flame. It could be impurities in the gas, but I'm thinking that it is coming from the metal burn tube. By this time, it's glowing red hot at the tip. I'm not sure if it's some type of off-gassing, or evaporating something in the alloy - typing that, it sounds like the same thing. IDK how it works, that's why I watch your videos, to learn.

[@VideoPerfection]

Chemistry is just..... EVERYTHING. I love it so much

[@jacobmontez9150]

Yeah. It literally is.

[@csweezey18]

Same here. It's the reason I exist. Literally.

[@knurlgnar24]

Fascinating! Please keep making videos like this one. Often times videos that don't have all the answers are the most educational and interesting.

[@jackh1577]

Wow, the only not click bait experiment video on KZbin.

[@StarshadowMelody]

*channel

[@gameknight.thump1]

yes, its a channel

[@nathanwest2304]

13:30 is actually a new years tradition in my country you pour the lead and then try to identify shapes wich are assigned a certain meaning, that's sorta like fortune telling^^

[@EveryFakeGenius]

Now this is some real classic honest-to-goodness chemistry.

[@ScienceMaths2012]

Since the lead(and zinc) is so porous, it almost immediately got oxidised once heated. The first sample will create a mixture of lead and zinc oxides, which zinc oxide has a much much higher melting point, while the second only contains lead oxide when heated, melts easily. I’ve made lead sponge years before, but using magnesium powder instead, the reaction is way more vigorous, but dissolving off magnesium impurities is way quicker and more thorough, I then hammer the stuff down into a foil, and looking pretty neat in the end.

[@ChongMcBong]

last nights attempt at cooking lanagne ended up looking very similar to that lead sponge :P

[@johnather]

Oof

[@classicconundrum]

4:10 it looks so cool to show this to someone without any prior knowledge of what's happening cuz it just kind of looks like he's extremely strong and just breaking apart a rock

[@AtlasReburdened]

Pro tip, when heating something with a flamable gas you shouldn't hold the torch close enough that the sample is cooled by the uncombusted gas stream. Just sayin.

[@AB-80X]

This is a thing many miss. Closer is not hotter.

[@leocurious9919]

Yes, the tip of the "blue cone" is the hottest part. He sould have seen how it stops glowing read hot...

[@yushatak]

With such a professional lab (now, anyway) it's kinda surprising he doesn't seem to have a bunsen burner.. xD I was looking into it for my own purposes, and you can even get butane-powered bunsen burners powered by a portable source, or propane, etc.. No need to run gas lines and so on.

[@SpydersByte]

aye, using the tip of the blue flame was one of the first things I learned when starting to weld and cut with a torch.

[@jaredgarden2455]

Makes me wonder if the pure lead sponge could be impregnated with platinum and used to produce SO3. The lead would be alot safer to both prepare and handle compared to asbestos, also it appears heat resistant enough to handle the temp required for oxidation of SO2.

[@AVerySexuallyDeviantOrange]

jared garden Plus, it’s a lightish, compressable radiation resistant piece of glop! I, for one, am fine with replacing lead jackets with the glop.

[@tannersrdr2clips432]

Fuck lead

[@ViaStrata]

Dear NileRed, my idea for making the lead sponge useful: you could try mixing some carbon fiber/cellulose and graphene in the lead acetate solution (maybe add some solvent like 10-30 % methanol/ethanol/acetone to aid the dispersion a little, if the reaction allows for it). Then test the lead sponge in an amperage/voltage-setup as an electrode for a lead acid battery. Maybe just a small scale experiment. It could improve the weight-capacity ratio by giving it low internal resistance and improve charge dispersion (graphene) and good mechanical strength (carbon fiber, cellulose) an making use of the relatively high surface area of the sponge. Kinda a quick charge low weight car battery... Feedback of any kind would be appreciated.

[@jugarnaut40]

This seams like something Cody could solve. Right up his alley

[@gregorytaylor5976]

Great video, loved your thought process throughout

[@quickscience5090]

I think the acid treated lead sponge melted as although the zinc particles supporting the lead strands were removed there was still some structural support holding the lead up heating the other one cause zinc particles to move and stop the lead from melting as the zinc could have been trapped by the lead strands.

[@D1ckator]

Well Nile, to be honest, this is one of your top videos. Most intriguing.

[@420keeneg9]

I know this is very old but my science obsessed ocd brain can't help but give my opinion on those questions 🤣 1 the presence of water within the cavities In the acid treated pre dried sponge may have caused more even heating as we know empty sponge metal has good heat insulation properties. And if a single spot was getting above it's melting temp and forming compounds you didn't expect maybe it formed faster than it could melt? 2. Either a more even distribution of zinc and lead or a reaction between impurities and propane? 3 and 4 l. Perhaps other flammable compounds are formed from zinc and/or air products and water that reduce it's flammable qualities but are not present after the acid wash allowing combustion? 5. A thick layer of oxidation preventing water from reintegrating with the porous chunk? 6. Something to do with the lattice structure "interlocking" as it dried and compressed irreversibley like concrete? 7. I'd guess an interaction of both. The structure/surfaces changed as it dried leading to the water being unable to enter and reintegrate into the structure? Just a nerd giving my best guesses, I love chemistry but am not this advanced an this is just my intuition 😂 I don't wanna get ripped for being way wrong

[@snowdaysrule]

Could you do a video on how you deal with your chemical waste that's formed during experiments in the lab? Stuff like heavy metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Do you process the waste yourself or use some type of 3rd party?

[@OF01975]

snowdaysrule2 dig a small hole maybe 3 foot deep and sprinkle layer of sand, then whatever waste you have and another layer of sand and it should be contained and let to break down naturally

[@TheChemicalWorkshop]

Four Twenty are you fucking serious?

[@lysergicide]

it helps if you poop a little on it before you add the last layer of sand

[@OF01975]

The Chemical Workshop uh yes.. thats actually what they do with chemicals in recycling centres just on a larger scale

[@bradshawford575]

not NR, but depending on the level of nastiness of the assorted salts, either drying them and adding them to a small batch of concrete and letting it harden into a brick, or adding sand, CaCO3, and NaHCO3 then melting the mess to make glass. both methods decrease the rate of release enough that you can store them however you like.

[@user-pg8er6dt8r]

1) i would say that the surface area of the lead being extremely high causes it to heat far faster makeing it seem to melt at a lower temp

[@senpie-i1f]

1) The acid dissolves some oxide coating on both metals to form Pb and Zn, and changes the overall metal composition. This change in metal composition results in a change in melting point and the formation of a eutectic (tl;dr alloys have lower melting points sometimes, kind of like azeotropes in distillation). 2) Potassium impurities are the simplest explanation, but I have no clue. It may be a result of the metals giving off a combination of different flame colors. 3) 14:50 The porous sponge is less thermally conductive because of the formation of convection currents within the air pockets of the sponge, so it didn't melt but instead reacted with heat (this is the basis on why aerogel and styrofoam are such good thermal insulators). The air bubbles were isolated from each other because this time the sponge was not treated with acid (allowing the currents to form and insulate, unlike in the other runs), and because it had not dried there was still fresh lead that was not covered in an oxide coating. This combination of high surface area and fresh exposed lead is also what lead to its rapid oxidation, as shown by the sparking and brilliant flame released. 4) Treatment with acid dissolves the oxide coating, which prevents the metal from melting by being a thermal insulator and having a high melting point as an ionic salt. 5) When the sponge is exposed to air, its high surface area causes its oxidation to be faster than normal, so an oxide forms such that the water cannot penetrate the oxide to "soften" the sponge again. 6+7) It might be like you said, the water cannot re-enter the small spaces in the sponge once it is dried. For example, water is trapped between the metals as the sponge is formed, but it's not thermodynamically favorable but rather a "kinetic product" of the reaction. Thus its "hydration" is irreversible. As for why it is softer when wet, that seems to be more of a materials science problem, but I suspect it was something to do with water separating the strands of metals, such that when the water is removed the strands just rub against each other and crack under friction. This was a really neat video, and it reminds me why I'm majoring in chemistry next year. Thank you for the content, this was a joy to watch.

[@pokeball1101]

ｓｅｎｐｉｅ～ the eutetic point for the Pb Zn system is at ~98% Pb and the melting point isn't much lower than pure lead

[@wesleysull]

Those burning segments are unbelievably beautiful.

[@JosephParker_Nottheboxer]

You might have a reaction similar to Toasting bread... once it's toasted (in your case dried / dessicated) it's almost impossible to convert back into bread (sponge). I'm no scientist but that seems to be essentially what you'r seeing. Chemically I have no idea how this works, but I don't think it's an uncommon event.

[@sansprobus7209]

Bread is a much more complex collection of compounds than lead. Bread is full of proteins and starches which break down and caramalize when heated. Lead is just lead.

[@Splatpope]

1) It seems plausible that reticulated structures melt easier as their dimension increases since the surface area increases too. 2) As you say, a metallic complex. 3) My best guess would be a reaction with superheated water 4) If relatively big zinc particules get reticulated by lead strands, one could say that the dissolution of zinc after the acid treatment would leave only a very fine lead grid. 5 6 7) As people have already pointed out, aerogel production may be the mechanism in play.

[@noobpro9759]

Sometimes when Nile does things in moderation I'm just sitting there like "just go ham you mad genius!"

[@joannpelas5101]

😅😅

[@elitearbor]

This is simply fascinating. Mistakes do lead to discovery!

[@FilbieTron]

Pun intended? 😆

[@reneeanderson1820]

Thank you nilered I love the experimental videos

[@Mr.Nichan]

I think that maybe the chemical differences between zinc and lead are having an effect here. Firstly, this is based on considering the possibility that your torch flame is actually CREATING the oxides as you are trying to melt the sponges, simply because heat increases the reaction rates. Maybe pure(ish) lead melts before it oxidizes under the flame, but zinc, which not only has a higher melting point but I think is also more reactive with oxygen, usually oxidizes before it melts. It's also worth noting that ZnO is BY FAR the most refractory substance likely to be involved here, being solid at temperatures where all the other likely compounds would be gasses: Pb(CH3COO)2: decomposes 510 K Pb(CH3COO)2: melts 553 K ZnCl2: melts 563 K, boils 1005 K PbCO3: decomposes 588 K Pb: melts 601 K, boils 2202 K Zn: melts 693 K, boils 1180 K PbCl2: melts 774 K, boils 1220 K Pb3O4: decomposes by ~800 K PbO: melts 1161 K, boils 1750 K ZnO: decomposes 2247 K

[@DemMedHornene]

Did you change your microphone or something, your voice sounds a bit different. Also, I was wondering if maybe when you condense the loose sponge into the little clumps, it alters the structure to a point where it can no longer return to the original sponge state.

[@Nabbehh]

Saturn666 he got a sinus operation done

[@pietrotettamanti7239]

Nabbehh He got it a long time ago.

[@NileRed]

I got the surgery less than a month ago. Allegedly my voice will be different for a while

[@pietrotettamanti7239]

NileRed whooops! My bad.

[@fuumax7969]

@@pietrotettamanti7239 that's awkward lol

[@buggsy5]

I think I can explain one small part of your results. Very finely divided lead is very pyrophoric. When you immediately vacuum dried the wet sponge, the oxygen supply was limited, so only a bit of lead oxidized. But after it was removed from the vacuum, it immediately started oxidizing again - as you noted with the heating that occurred. These oxidations would occur quite quickly, so in all but one instance, you are trying to melt lead oxide as there is little unreacted lead. Comrpressing the wet sponge while still in the solution and then vacuum drying might produce a higher percentage of elemental lead.

[@petersmythe6462]

I'm noticing that the toaster-dried sponge is basically a refractory insulator.

[@DembaiVT]

I was thinking this too. And since it's malleable before it dries, you could form it into something to protect a sensor.

[@mrlithium69]

Groundbreaking, truly.

[@TurboBaldur]

Combustion of tetraethyl lead gives off this same by product that turns the engine's exhaust valves white.

[@OF01975]

Baldur Gislason your saying fentanyl turns people whiggers

[@jamestrotman3238]

hmm interesting, i thought it was a reaction with prehaps a layer of something on the skillet itself, it this seems more plausable

[@dustinsmith8341]

Yea. I figured it had something to do with the acid vaporizing since it was fresh out of the HCl

[@bradshawford575]

ZnO is also white, and is commonly given of from hot zinc

[@BillAnt]

@@@bradshawford575 < That exactly what I was thinking too... and maybe some byproduct of uncombusted methane gas combining with lead/zinc.

[@rafaelsjm]

hey, here are some theories to that could explain(?): - when drying, the pockets of water leave air behind which potentially can't be supported by the weak pn/zn structure and collapses so when you try re-wetting it doesn't regain its softens as water only makes it back out the outer pockets also due to surface tension. - the acid bath must have removed as well as the zinc most of the lead salts formed in air and left a very heat conductive material so it melted quicker. - when its in its salted material structure, its not as conductive as the air pockets insulate the heat of the torch. - if you try again try leaving the sponge material into a large cylinder and leave it undisturbed rather than compressing and crushing it and when settled siphon off the top layers. then something like oil might help it remain in its pure zn/pb state. Amazing video, keep discovering!

[@treykilgoreiscool]

I think the water prevented some cold welding of the lead fibers

[@samlabo1688]

Lead oxide is nice yellow. The acid treated piece left behind zinc oxide on the cast iron skillet The untreated piece had compounds that resist melt, oxides When it caught on fire that was zinc

[@michaelneufer8592]

I'm going to take chemistry next year because your videos interested me and made me want to try it. Thank you for expanding my horizon

[@lusiaa_]

Spahgetti ? Don't discourage him..

[@lukaswursthorn581]

Well i guess spaghetti is right in that you won't do stuff like this in any entry level class, but if u pursure chemistry further you will get to do these things and other awesome research. And this channel helps a lot to keep you interested ;) Science rules!

[@michaelneufer8592]

Spahgetti ? While you're probably right I think it'll see if I like doing this kind of thing so I might so more advanced classes on it

[@Hugh.G.Rectionx]

did you end up taking chemistry?

[@CTimmerman]

17:37 I've only completed secondary school chemistry and watched some internet, but here are my guesses: 1) I think the lack of contact with other metal molecules made the ones you heated melt faster. 2) Lack of enough air to make a blue flame, but enough air to avoid a yellow flame. 3) Oxidation catalyzed by the solution. 4) Alloys have different properties than pure metals. 5,6,7) The metal chains fused together.

[@_nexus5943]

U r awesome!! My science class love you!! Edit: 170+likes? Damn.

[@paulzaim7900]

Four Twenty Dude wth

[@OF01975]

Lost Night ?? Dont tell me your tryna judge bro...

[@JBobbyB]

Nabbehh fantastic! My dungeons and dragons group worship you as a draconic overlord!

[@DUIofPhysics]

My English classes look up to you.

[@Kabodanki]

Fantastic! My whole jihadist group like you! It's a joke CIA, FBI, Interpol....

[@Brandywine6969]

I'm still a complete and total newb at chemistry, but the shiny pieces looked like little sci-fi creatures and would make great props in a movie. Iirc, it was the piece you treated with acid without drying it first, then it got stuck in the spoon and you reheated it and dropped it into the water.. It looks like some of H.R. Giger's artwork. I love those little pieces.

[@X4Alpha4X]

this seems very similar to the process concrete goes through when it dries.

[@Turtlefire1]

3) I would guess that while its still wet and uncompressed, the particles are fine enough to burn, while drying it compresses it on its own, making the particles more interlocked, but fast drying with the blowtorch ignites it before it can collapse from the drying. 5) 6) 7) While its still in water or wet, it has additional structural support and can stay "fluffier", while drying it makes it collapse, possible with some particals acting like hooks that don't allow it to fluff up again

[@homesynthesis]

Hey man, I really love you're videos and I am currently on my path to getting my bachelors in Chemical Engineering and Organic Chemistry. I hope to one day pursue this farther to get my Phd in chemical engineering, and I think you're one of the main reasons I've been inspired to do this. Also, by watching nearly all your videos, I've been kinda inspired to make my own channel for the same stuff. Right now I only have 3 videos out and they're not the best but I just wanted to thank you for all your inspiring videos, I really love them.

[@jackwarneckii4406]

Btw, dang, if this is video is indicative of the quality of videos the new lab.... Just amazing. Top shelf exploration.

[@speckles_cheetah4307]

"I decided to _lead_ it cool." Pls kill me.

[@U014B]

_[cocks old-timey double-barrel shotgun]_ ...what the? How did I do that?

[@mrid5850]

Hypotheses: 1) Perhaps the Hydrogen, which was a side product of the acid treatment, got stuck in the pockets still present in the sponge. When heating it with a torch it ignited the Hydrogen thus making it hotter. Thereby making the meltingpoint appear lower. 2) No Idea. 3) Maybe the fresh sponge doesn't melt because it still contains some water, thus cooling it. When the water is vaporised the oxidation process takes over. Perhaps the high heat quickens the process so much, it litghts on fire. 4) It could be that the zinc oxidises quicker, making Zinc Oxide (ZnO). According to the wikipedia page on it, ZnO has a much higher melting point and also decomposes into zinc vapor and oxygen, instead of actually melting. The point at which it decomposes is lowered if heated with carbon. 5/6/7) The reason that it doesn't revert to be a sponge after initially drying is probably due to the pockets collapsing when no longer supported by the water. This should mean that the volume decreases when dried, which appears to be the case. The only thing left are a few larger pockets, but these are probably too few and far between to make it spongey again when put back into water. I'm not a chemist, my only knowlege is out of prior curiosity and middle school chemistry. I also know that wikipedia isn't always accurate and certainly not a good reference source. Though in this case it seemed adequate.

[@trappster48]

5:26 the forbidden chicken nugget

[@ghostcrime6098]

*CRUNCH*

[@arandumendez9557]

3 and 4- the yellow stuff is some zinc compound formed when struck with a flame, and it's hard to melt, and sometimes it can catch on fire. The white compound appears after trying to melt lead that has been in hydrocloric acid.

[@Jobobn1998]

"This here is my Science Knife!"

[@nickjordan9035]

In my experience with melting zinc, the yellow oxide is almost impossible to melt. I imagine that the zinc oxide is creating a sort of lattice that traps the lead inside. The reason the map gas melted it down further is because the lead became less viscous with the increased heat. Which caused it to flow into a puddle, and collapse the lattice. I'm no expert, that's just my theory.

[@jacmac225]

this is such a fun video. It feels like you're taking me on an adventure.

[@73KSY]

3) We can see that it melts to a very small extent, almost unnoticeable, and then burst into WHITE flames, which is a very good indication that the Zinc is burning before melting. This is the case when the metal has a very high surface area (such a very porous material with very small pores, obtained by squeezing the fresh sponge. Moreover, the zinc in the fresh sponge is not covered by an oxide layer, which allows it to burn like that.

[@jamesparker8529]

the purple flame may have come from the lead and zinc salts

[@MarioRodriguez-ow9rl]

I think I have some answers: 1. Regarding the purple flame, it's obtained when a blue oxygen flame and red carbon flame is mixed. This can be seen in Bunsen burners as intermediate colour between red and blue flame, depending on carbon/fuel and oxygen ratio. Hence, it means that your more oxidized samples have also carbon, very likely coming from a residue of acetate or carbonate (by decomposition of previous acetate by heat). This acetate/carbonate impurity disappeared with acid treatment, so the purple flame did. 2. Trying to "rewet" lead sponge has no effect as insoluble oxides and maybe carbonates could form a coating. This coating is formed by heating the sponge in presence of air, with a possible conversion of acetate into carbonate. 3. The oxidized sample gets a higher temperature under the flame as oxide/carbonate crust doesn't melt (and eventually gives that additional color to the flame). This increased temperature could overheat the metal core and make it easily reactive with oxygen, with more oxide generation, which rises the temperature and so on. The samples without coating can melt without reaching high temperatures and therefore, they are less reactive to oxygen, generating less oxide. Remember that zinc is a well known additive to coat other metals with a protective oxide (galvanization).

[@Mohanvenkat]

It's good and all But the Question is WHY DIDN'T IT MELT?

[@DembaiVT]

Water and air are excellent insulators. Look at aerogel. The fibres of the sponge are protected by the air around them.

[@Morbacounet]

1) Lead isn't a good heat conductor and the sponge-like structure should also increase that aspect. So I think the surface of the sponge melts quickly because it can't dissipate the heat as fast as a solid chunk of lead. 2) Flame tests are not really accurate because a small amount of contamination can change the color greatly. Maybe it's the surface of the pan ? I don't really know. 3) Maybe the alloy of lead and zinc is pyrophoric ? It seems to catch fire as soon as it hits oxygen. 4) I think the acid just removed the salts and allow the lead metal to cleanly fuse. 5,6,7) Ben from Applied Science had a the same kind of problem with aerogel. When you remove the liquid that maintains the structure together to quickly, it collapses and adding liquid again can't give it back. He used supercritical CO2 to avoid the problem.

[@dewaldklaassen4893]

Its odd that you haven't tested its electric properties (sorry bad phrasing). I wonder what sort of potentials you could get when using these as anodes and/or cathodes for a cell.

[@garethdean6382]

My general impressions would be as follows: 1.) The sponge is covered with an oxide layer. What little metal there is clings to this and cannot form large metal droplets. This also acts to insulate the rest of the sponge. You can see a similar effect with slag, especially lead slag and the spongy lead you get in some car batteries. In fact I've found about the only way I can get lead out of such slag is to reduce the oxide in some way, and it can be remarkable how much metal gets irretrievably bound up in it. (Worse though is aluminum slag, at least in my experience, maybe because the metal is less dense.) 2.) The yellow\orange flame I an get, either carbon or sodium which are EVERYWHERE. The purple naively looks like potassium, but that makes no sense. Maybe some weird molecular species? 3.) WATER. Dear LORD water. Have you ever dropped water onto hot zinc powder? Boom! Aluminum too. That stuff is hydric acid and packed a LOT more densely than atmospheric oxygen. Just try heat wet zinc powder as a comparison. That sort of stuff is dangerous. 4.) My guess here would be that the acid strips away the oxide layer; if an acid treated sponge were again toaster dried, how would that react? Is the change permanent or does some time standing in air negate this? The sponge is evidently VERY reactive if it can start steaming in air. 5.) The strands of metal are getting tangled. You'll see this with a lot of plastics such as PVA; they'll start out dispersed in water (Or another solvent) but will get hard on drying as the strands pull together and tangle. Then adding water doesn't reverse the change since the structure itself has altered. You might try hot water but I doubt that will have much effect either. 6.) The drying process seems to take some time, and the sponge again is VERY reactive. What happens when you use a solvent like alcohol to displace the water then dry THAT?That should minimize the time the metal will be able to react with water and oxygen. 7.) Answered above. I think there's a structural change going on.

[@cptchromosome2325]

During the heating would it have been possible for the iron skillet to be affecting the color of the flame?

[@jamestrotman3238]

depending if there was a coating on it, usually to make the skillet food safe or non stick, the white percipitant after one of the tests could be another form of reaction with this layer

[@CAoffRoading]

James Trotman I've never used an iron skillet that had a synthetic coating. Always had to condition them myself with oil. But I've never had one newer than 20 years either.

[@kkirschkk]

yet iron would burn a brighter gold color, not purple. Interesting point though [though if there is a coat on the pan that might affect it but then an easy test would be to burn the sponge on somthing else]

[@randomng2588]

1) The two metals probably alloyed a bit during the heating, resulting in an alloy with a lower melting point than both. 2) Probably some random crap like acetate shifting the blue flame into purple - specially if forming a complex with one of the base ions. 3) No idea. 4) The acid removes some carbonates and oxides that have higher melting point. Removing zinc doesn't help so much, considering zinc on its own melts easily. 5, 6, 7) I think that, before drying, the water content of your "clay" is inside a network of tubes and pores. Once dried though some of those tubes close down, making it really hard for the water to go back.

[@Bananakid11]

could make a great electrode material

[@hellborn2012]

Ich Selber it's used in commercial lead acid batteries

[@TheChemicalWorkshop]

Use carbon... it's cheap

[@vylbird8014]

Not as it is. Great surface area, but too mechanically weak - the deformation from repeated charge-discharge cycles would quickly cause it to crumble.

[@anatolyurban208]

Or, probably, some catalytic of adsorption stuff.

[@TheChemicalWorkshop]

Vyl Bird for the price we don't mind... and we always filter the solution afterwards

[@alyasgrey9370]

I would like to see the lead sponge immersed in a bath of liquid tin as the melting point of tin is lower than lead. Then testing the conductivity of the tinned sponge and then dissolving the sponge while leaving the tin intact to see if the network of tin is stable. It could also be interesting to try to create lead sponge in liquids of different densities including water at higher and lower temperatures or at varying pressures.

[@moritzbecker4246]

Is it possible to make a lead acid battery out of the sponge?

[@OF01975]

Mo Be one time on acid i felt like a battery

[@andrewmckenna73]

I doubt it. You'd need to keep the electrodes separated. Otherwise you just get it to short and overheat like we saw

[@vx-iidu]

Andrew Mckenna that wasn't an electrochemical reaction; it was oxidation. There was no electrolyte involved.

[@andrewmckenna73]

nobody's shadow I thought that had happened after he had used acid

[@vx-iidu]

The sponge only heated up AFTER the liquids were dessicated away and only when exposed to oxygen. Seems like oxidation to me.

[@73KSY]

3) The sponge which wasn't treated with acid contains a significant amount of zinc. The fact that it is also very porous gives it a high surface area and makes it burn like zinc powder, with a white and bright flame which ignites also the lead.

[@jf53363]

I love your Chanel I came here from Cody’s lab and I’m here to stay

[@OF01975]

jeremy forant i cam from Lab XCodeh

[@73KSY]

5),6),7) The water doesn't make it soft again, which means the drying process is irreversible. Furthermore, it is independent of CO2 and air, so it is not influenced by the formation of oxides or salts. To see why, we have to think about the structure of the wet sponge. It is composed of very small particles held togheter by friction forces (like you said in the video), but IMO the water is trapped between these particles when they are formed, acting like a lubricant which reduce the friction, so the particles can move relative to each other. As we know, if the particles forming a body can move realtive to each other, that body is malleable. After the water is evaporated, the particles come into contact, the friction forces become much stronger, and the sponge becomes solid. Finally, the water cannot re-enter between the lead particles after they come into contact, so the sponge stays solid. Even when you just squeeze it and let some water escape, it becomes harder, and the water doesn't soften it back when you dip it. I can say it is an "irreversible sponge" which can be squeezed only once :D.

[@twocvbloke]

Who knew that robot poo could be so fascinating... :P

[@csweezey18]

Agreed.

[@bflippsytrance]

1) as both acid treated sponges melted as expected, I do think the pre-dried sponge that was faster had it's main shape after drying and then having the zinc removed leaves for a more porous structure prone to melt faster.. After melting both, you can melt them again and see if it's still different? I would be surprised if it was. 2) no clue. 3) If you melt zinc (which has a higher melting point) it will glow bright orange and have colored flames, I think green.. I think the amount of zinc is quite high as compared to the lead and most of the reaction seems similar to video's of people melting zinc. Before melting it would almost look like it's burning up. 4) is answered by 3. 5) when it dries it gets so dense it becomes impenetrable for water? No matter if it would fill up pockets, the material doesn't seem to absorb it. 6) possibly answered by 5. 7) possibly answered by 5. I'm certainly no chemist and if my answers don't make sense that's probably why.. I just like watching these video's and intrigued by the mystery of the lead sponge.. :)

[@jackwarneckii4406]

Maybe this would be a really good anode or cathode for a battery?

[@joannpelas5101]

I love it! Admitting to not knowing everything is the best way to learn something new!

[@Hikarmeme]

Now THAT'S how you season cast iron

[@EngineerNick]

the surface tension of water during drying can actually exert surprisingly large forces on fine particulate matter. For example when clay dries it shrinks significantly as the tiny particles are pulled together. My hypothesis is that the initial formation of the sponge is incomplete, and there are voids with finer pieces of lead 'suspended' loosely within them, with water lubricating them. When drying occurs these finer pieces cake onto the larger joined pieces forming a more structurally stable mass. Finally when the pieces are all caked together, vacuum welding or chemical oxidation causes them to be bound together tightly making the mass rigid.

[@63CorvetteStingray]

Different microphone?

[@SECONDQUEST]

Mowskii I'm scared now. I don't want my voice to change.

[@raintrain9921]

i honestly prefer the experimental videos and the follow up to the experimental videos more than your other ones.

[@mrandmrsliamrussell]

this boi has made metallic aerogel

[@OF01975]

Liam Russell not really aerosol if it sinks on Ass Juice

[@mrandmrsliamrussell]

aerogel you tard not aerosol, look it up XD

[@zanpekosak2383]

Not really. It was made be4 from many other metal oxides. And aerogel is waaay lighter.

[@OF01975]

Liam Russell why you hating i proved your theory wrong stop being a GrammarMuslim this aerosol wont float on Water so its not a thrue aergel

[@mrandmrsliamrussell]

jesus christ youre an idiot, its replacing the water in the lattice with air in a similar way that liquid CO2 replaces and evaporates in regular silicon dioxide aerogel which is soluble in water anyway.

[@joepirkl1287]

Depending on the type of acid you use it may have acted as a flux, which welders and solderers use to clean metal and get rid of oxides, which would explain why it came out so nicely

[@AntoineBilliard]

i wonder if drying it in a supercritical CO2 chamber would prevent it from becoming so brittle.

[@diamondjub2318]

this is like some sci-fi material with mysterious properties the writer won't tell us

[@bashkillszombies]

My explanation: ALIENS.

[@PSUQDPICHQIEIWC]

Yes, but the real question is what do they want?

[@thatlinuxguy]

No, the answer is alien nanobots!

[@tal3783]

that linux guy NANOMACHINES SON!

[@medalla09]

Make sense

[@BillAnt]

Well so far that's the most logical explanation.... he-he

[@snowballeffect7812]

Perhaps when drying, you get oxidation in air and cold welding under vacuum which creates thicker fibers. Did it require more or less pressure to break the sample after drying in vacuum? I would guess it would require more pressure to deform and crack and that the newly-create sample was much easier to deform due to the much finer strands of lead kept apart by molecules of water. This may partly answer questions 5 and 6, though I'm not sure how valid the theory is.

[@chixulub]

I was thinking this also. Perhaps drying it in a nitrogen atmosphere would keep it soft?