The microwave plasma mystery

Sometime last year, I got really interested in microwave plasma, which can be made from a lot of things like lit matches, aluminum foil or just some grapes. However, when I went searching for more info about it, I really couldn't find much of anything. There was also no explanation as to why it was yellow every time, regardless of what it was made from. So, I decided to investigate this a little bit and try to get to the bottom of it.
Grape plasma paper: www.pnas.org/content/116/10/4...
Video references:
• Applied Science (Ben): / bkraz333
• Applied science video on making potassium glass: • How to chemically stre...
• RUPhys2012: • Microwave Aluminum Foil
• Steve Mould: • How to film the inside...
• Stupideaproductions: • ☢ Microwave Plasma : A...
• Veritasium (new grape video): • Microwaving Grapes Mak...
• Veritasium (old grape video): • Make Plasma With Grape...
• Walter Mitty: • Match in Microwave Cre...
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Nile talks about lab safety: • Chemistry is dangerous.
Music in credits (Walker by SORRYSINES): / walker

[@Sporkyz74]

Man, if there's one thing I've learned during this video (other than the science), it's that Nile really cares about the quality of the video above all else.

[@mamupelu565]

He is very meticulous and even bought a phone and some microwaves

[@Blazingfireball977]

YES!!!! This video image quality is awesome!

[@shatterednova_]

"However my biggest concern wasn't really safety and I was more worried that if any [microwaves] leaked out, it could mess with the camera sensor." "I think I also almost broke my elbow, but thankfully it didn't damage the camera at all." Lol yea

[@NileRed]

It's one of the most important things when it comes to my videos. I spend a lot of time planning out the shots.

[@ThePassiton]

@@NileRed looks like you didnt lock the white balance of the phone camera? Just a little tip for next time :)

[@marion907]

“For each run, I didn’t use the same beaker because I didn’t want to damage it by overheating it” Well that comment didn’t age well.

[@underscoredfrisk]

10 mil views later, we can say that it was an investiment

[@melvin.martis]

"... But I'll destroy some microwaves"

[@armalyte9848]

it aged like milk

[@fuery.]

*"I had to destroy all of my beakers because they started exploding because of the plasma experiment I did"*

[@Der_Radiotechniker]

@@fuery. And that video answers why the plasma is yellow. Sodium was pulled out of the beakers.

[@stefanogiurgea4298]

"I was worried the beaker would crack" well that didn't age well

[@heh2393]

@Kats No, as in he had to smash all (I mean ALL) of his beakers because of this.

[@charte5485]

@@heh2393 AND THE VIDEO OF HIM SMASHING THEM WAS SO GOOD

[@heh2393]

@@charte5485 STOP SHOUTING BUD, I CAN'T HEAR THE AWESOME SOUND OF GLASS BREAKING!

[@4virus1]

@@heh2393 YOOOOOOOOOO GLASS BREAKING

[@spytf2203]

all of you shut the fuck up!!!! im trying to sleep

[@ryanosborne7246]

"I think I almost broke my elbow but thankfully it didn't damage the camera at all" is one of my favorite quotes from this channel

[@samvogt7031]

He has no fear of injury, as long as he can still do chemistry and make videos he’s fine.

[@LuisSierra42]

He Is a Man of Focus, Commitment and Sheer Fucking Will

[@everettengineers4603]

"Safety wasn't really my concern.."

[@FourthRoot]

Years of experience in spectrometry has taught me that no matter how little sodium you think your sample has, it will always make itself known.

[@nameless......................]

When you kill 99.99999 percent of sodium: the 0.000001 percent remaining: SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER

[@SlyFireVR]

Being reactive and hydrophobic has it's pros and cons

[@FourthRoot]

@@SlyFireVR I'd call them positives and negatives.

[@JAzzWoods-ik4vv]

"I think I almost broke my elbow, but thankfully the camera was fine"

[@allisad7217]

My fav part 🤣🤣🤣

[@josep9016]

Lol

[@AndroCubed]

movie studios be like

[@The_Mimewar]

That’s a scientician for you!

[@blowsohawy]

Brief summury of the healthcare system

[@centurybug]

"However, my biggest concern wasn't really safety" --NileRed, 2019

[@arnissonsondahl8584]

Austin Powers on having safe sex by having a pistol next to the bed.

[@iota-09]

"Thankfully... The camera was fine' Nilered, on how he almost broke his elbow -2019 Remember when cody got the sickest burns due to butter while working with explosives? Same energy.

[@julien_mglhs]

*russian accent* "Safety is number one priority" Crazy Russian Hacker (2014 or so)

[@Lavaflow9000]

Or the time Colin Furze burned his hand making a cobbled together pulsejet and was back at it almost as soon as the bandages were off

[@jkobain]

@@julien_mglhs in Soviet Russia safety kills you.

[@anandinisahu7375]

Nile: Chemistry is dangerous, It's important to take safety precautions. Also Nile: However, my biggest concern wasn't really safety

[@seat0_294]

"I think I also almost broke my elbow, but thankfully, it didn't damage the camera at all" this man is a gem

[@acctsys]

"almost" is the operative word. This this Austin Powers irl, living life dangerously.

[@yusufkurkcuoglu4410]

What a nice collection of beakers i do hope He won’t have to break them all in the future

[@kantraa]

Kötü haberlerim var...

[@user-je2yu8yu7g]

😏

[@akaroyx6068]

Oh no

[@melikshah4564]

Videos took seconds before disaster

[@zachariahkindle8926]

He literally learns that the plasma is pulling sodium out of the glass, it blows my mind that he didnt think this would damage the beakers

[@nateh7674]

"I didn't want to damage the beaker" Welll got to tell you something.

[@waffles6280]

*throws hammer at beaker*

[@wokwok8401]

I was here for this reason

[@everettjames9424]

Nate H I would like it but you have exactly 200

[@ImSoUnbelievablyCooked]

Everett James now i made it exactly 220 likes

[@Galxyz711]

@@ImSoUnbelievablyCooked I made it 230

[@nottiification]

"Hey dad, can i borrow your visible light spectrometer?" "Yeah, its in the junk drawer, next to the refractometer."

[@Flopsaurus]

I love everything about this experiment. Microwaves, plasma, EM waves, light spectra analysis, and chemistry all combined into one. More like this please!

[@ollie8314]

drilling through the microwave safety warning label feels symbolic

[@greed0599]

"Where we're going, we dont need safety warnings..."

[@bloodstoneore4630]

reminds me of "is it a good idea to microwave this?"

[@BetaBreaking]

@@bloodstoneore4630 idk if you're referring to a channel that used to microwave literally anything but if so, good reference!

[@bloodstoneore4630]

@@BetaBreaking I was

[@whi2gan]

AHAHA

[@cambrown5633]

You know you're sciencing right when you find yourself drilling holes through safety warnings

[@MirekHeikkila]

yepppppppp

[@MrWarriorcreed]

Wins internets

[@rocky_adventure_bay7562]

He’s letting out microwave radiation and potentially heating up his internal organs

[@fakename7725]

@@rocky_adventure_bay7562 he’d notice if that was happening

[@cambrown5633]

@@rocky_adventure_bay7562 The hole is too small, he's covering it up with a camera, and he's not standing in front of it

[@parkin-soo3324]

Interesting experiments. I recommend to use quartz-based glassware instead of Pyrex glassware to prevent Na plasma generation.

[@hello_i_am_jacob]

"...but it apparently didn't have any problems at all" WHAT A LOVELY SET OF BEAKERS NILE, I HOPE NOTHING HAPPENS TO THEM

[@louloudaki_]

“my first attempt was with forks because i heard it was dangerous to put them in the microwave” nothing can stop this man-

[@shadowinza4690]

146 likes and no comments. Together we can change this

[@606ZeOceanid]

198 likes and one comment, together we can change this.

[@mayflower-emjay]

237 likes and two comments, together we can change this.

[@quotablegaming7767]

242 likes and three comments, together we can change this.

[@baranorak4080]

256 likes and four comments, together we can stop this

[@jonshaw840]

>I nearly broke my elbow >thankfully I didn’t damage the phone much Nile’s priorities are straight

[@ThePCguy17]

Elbows grow back. Phones don't.

[@SangheiliSpecOp]

@@ThePCguy17 ayyy

[@AirNeat]

He said "thankfully *it* didn't damage the *camera* *at all* ", you got 4 words out of this sentence correct, congratulations! (that's 50%)

[@SangheiliSpecOp]

@@AirNeat science bitches

[@MAGGOT_VOMIT]

*This guy sounds like he has an Injury Notebook that says, "Charlie Babbitt squeezed and pulled and hurt my neck".*

[@rongonewrong8086]

I love the fact that he literally just doesn’t care about his safety nearly as much as he does for his cameras, I love nile

[@robertmitchell2800]

Dude, you had me almost yelling at my phone about the sodium oxide in the glass. I thought that the beaker was one of the main variables that didn't change between each experiment. I've had a number of instances where I was trying to think "what's wrong with how I'm approaching this?" Only to have a friend come up with a solution in 5 seconds, and making me look brain dead 🤦‍♂️. This was an excellent video either way.

[@ThePandaKingFTW]

🤓

[@halo7372]

"I always heard forks were dangerous to put in the microwave, so I tried those."

[@comrademcsalty7676]

Science.

[@trollfacegaming1111]

How did it go?

[@michael636336]

The forks had to much heat capacity.

[@Anklejbiter]

@@trollfacegaming1111 how did what go?

[@Anklejbiter]

@Wei Zhao are you okay?

[@YellowEllo]

"Worried it would Crack the beaker but didn't cause any problems at all" lol if only he knew

[@aerialphotoeutin844]

😂🤣🤣

[@morofry]

Yes it's true that the plasma is super hot but somewhat because of this it is also not dense at all, so the energy transfer to the glass surface is likely minimal at best.

[@Trithis2077]

@@morofry Turns out it did damage some of the beakers but since he didn't know which ones he had used for this experiment, he had to sacrifice them all. There's a pretty fun video of him just smashing all his beakers over on NileBlue.

[@fuery.]

*to be continued*

[@spikesandcurles961]

ur right

[@distar97]

I once placed a circular fluorescent bulb in our kitchen microwave oven. As expected it illuminated brighter than the usual level. I asked my wife to come take a look. She fled the kitchen. It took a week to convince her the oven is back to normal use only.

[@TheFedora-on8dc]

OK now that's just funny.

[@MisterCuddlez]

Although as you said this project was a bit different than your usual stuff, This video was, as usual, both entertaining and informative. Thank you for the content that you create, and please don't stop anytime soon.

[@leenux1707]

scientist life priority "I explode the screen of my phone and almost broke my elbow .... but thankfully the camera is OK"

[@MAMsaki]

If the camera is OK... EVERYTHING DON'T MATHER xD

[@SwapPartLLC]

I just paused the video to come see how many people commented on that. 🤣

[@beskamir5977]

We've got public healthcare so fixing an elbow is effectively free (excluding pain and inconveniences) while getting a new camera would have cost money.

[@lucysparks5326]

I also noticed this xD

[@transkryption]

You can just grow a new elbow in the lab!

[@lukestockett252]

Its pretty cool that you're doing spectral analysis on a microwave, found a surprising result, and then worked hard to resolve it. There is hope for the future of science afterall!

[@aeonsoulstar9066]

Thanks for this video! You have saved many of our microwaves from experimenting to see these amazing views, while also helped learning of this phenomenon. Please do more videos like this.

[@TheShivABC]

"I almost broke my elbow, but thankfully it didn't damage the camera at all" Lol for the content!

[@TimTheHumanBeing]

Mike Fish gotta love Nile red

[@jasonbritchie]

7:28

[@mossy2975]

Carefully, he's a hero

[@mj6463]

999 likes!

[@toxicgamer2835]

lol he has his priorities

[@novelyst]

“I think I also almost broke my elbow, but thankfully, it didn’t damage the camera at all.” Ah, finally, someone who understands my priorities.

[@doodlebobascending8505]

This was a strangely worded sentence, my first reaction thought was that he had a camera in his elbow.

[@andredelacerdasantos4439]

Elbows be recovering on their own, but I've never seen a camera do it.

[@RichardRoy2]

This is really interesting. I think one of the reasons is your approach from a curious perspective. It's fascinating watching someone go through the mental processes, and asking the pertinent questions, and also, not being afraid to acknowledge one's own mistakes, missteps, or misinterpretations. I get the same kind of enjoyments here as I do watching mustie1. Thanks, and subbed.

[@AG-yj1jv]

If we had KZbin and you doing videos like this 40 years ago, I would have my Phd right now. ...Or I would be dead: my mother having arrived home early, found her microwave broken or drilled - and killed me. 🤣 Thanks for yet another phenomenal video!

[@legendarytat8278]

2:43 “All this plasma was incredibly hot, and I was worried that running it for a while would crack the beaker, but it apparently didn't have any problem at all” *“apparently didn't have any problem at all”* Welp, it turns out that there were problems all along. RIP beakers

[@sugarsweet3727]

Rest in pieces.

[@sreyam6724]

*Yeets beaker across lab*

[@Ricar2002YT]

F

[@ChelCoh]

Legendary TAT right lol

[@nerdypotato7356]

NileBlue's video on Beaker Damage: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnjUh4CYdrabeNU

[@Garueri]

You know this man got some courage when he literally drills a hole right in the middle of a red, shiny, glittery danger warning

[@lanthan598]

Or a death wish

[@alastorlapid2365]

​@@lanthan598why not both?

[@LuisSierra42]

It was worth it for science

[@cursedfetus8129]

for SCIENCE!

[@jonnywilson9117]

@@lanthan598 He definitely doesn't have a death wish. Other than this, he's far too safe with everything else he does. Some things might look reckless, but great thought and research goes into everything, before he actually does the dangerous thing. But with science and chemicals, pretty much everything is dangerous. We've had advancements in medicine and technology, because of people willing to test dangerous shit in search for answers about how things work.

[@Felix-hc1vo]

Nilered: Begins to explain basic stuff. His hands: Enter epileptic parkinson super mode.

[@akawilly]

Nile, I could feel myself getting depressed. So I took a shower and turned on your video. Its really helping. Thank you so much brother 👍

[@edgeman83]

"Don't try this in your own microwave." Got it, will steal the neighbors'

[@outside8312]

*borrow

[@zenicstraebel1949]

Rooster teeth RT Life and achievement Hunter sent me here

[@MmeHyraelle]

Try thief simulator

[@treborironwolfe978]

*Neighbor:* "We don't *use* egg products; why does this damn microwave *smell like* metallic eggs all the time?"

[@seanspartan2023]

*appropriate

[@andrewkay3276]

"However, my biggest concern wasn't really safety" alright codyslab

[@heideknight9122]

Or Georg Sprave.

[@snipsnip9534]

I read this as Cody slab

[@alteringreality348]

@@heideknight9122 or styropyro

[@jeffcuyvers1193]

AlteringReality you are on mobile/tablet

[@AnnoPoke]

Any relation to Etho Slab?

[@portergarner5426]

absolutely love your videos! you always pose very interesting questions and your dedication to getting the answers to your own questions is inspiring, also found out that timber is treated with sodium silicate as a preservative, the match sticks themselves more than likely were treated with it also

[@Boogie_the_cat]

thank you for this well-researched video. I had also been interested in this topic but gave up the research (and trial) attempts due to not knowing if the info i found was legit. You certainly know your chemistry, so I believe you know your microwave plasma. Keep up the good work.

[@SkiDooRydr]

My dad always gets mad when I borrow his visible light spectrometer...

[@ethangoldsmith9332]

Smh, sounds like wimp suace

[@isaiahhiggins]

#relatable

[@Anvilshock]

My dad always gets mad when I borrow his _invisible_ spectrometer for light, because he can't even tell that it's gone at first.

[@2mc29]

my dad has a small growshop, so he actually have a visible light spectrometer. I will definitely borrow it from him to ruin the microwave.

[@jennali9800]

I started this thinking there was no way I was sitting through a 30 minute video on microwave plasma. I was wrong. This is fascinating and you clearly spent a lot of effort on it - awesome! May your days be full of interesting discoveries.

[@NileRed]

I'm glad you liked it!

[@Theflash9]

Actually I didn't noticed that it is 30 min untill I read your comment

[@9000giannis]

@@Theflash9 Same here

[@simpledate]

You don't miss much running the videos at 1.5 the speed ;) saves you some time

[@weekendle5564]

Same here xD

[@yaseenayoub4561]

i love his storytelling skills, he keeps us invested and asking questions along with him before explaining the true nature of what we’re viewing!

[@2complex43]

I like science, dont get me wrong, but for my taste there was too much talking about whether the plasma is from sodium, potassium or whatever. It would be more fun if he focused on maximizing the size of it and measure the temperature temperature of it and maybe try to max it out as well.

[@yaseenayoub4561]

@@2complex43 i totally get that, he was pretty insistent on why the color changed.

[@sfoti6973]

This is one of the prettiest videos I've ever seen. I love all the plasma colors!

[@Lucylle]

"My biggest concern wasnt safety." - NileRed, 2019 Somewhere, somehow, Jamie Heyneman is weeping with joy.

[@Xartab]

And Cody is laughing.

[@LadyLexyStarwatcher]

Mike Row would be proud though. His motto is Safety Second.

[@privatetaxcollector1957]

@Fergus McGregor **angry russian sounds**

[@alecnolastname4362]

@Fergus McGregor hey did you know that the CrazyRussianHacker not only stole (plagiarism is illegal) a Video but it is an absolutely horrible idea aswell? If you don't Believe me... m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKeuaXiGoZqLgsU

[@NoTraceOfSense]

Science Revolution say sike right now

[@shannondove96]

Dangerous chemicals , no problem Wet floor, almost takes him out

[@swordsmancs]

Well, he’s chemist, he knows how to handle dangerous chemicals He ain’t no carpenter

[@FZBck]

😂😂😂😂

[@Rurumeto]

Dihydrogen monoxide: is also known as hydroxyl acid, and is the major component of acid rain. contributes to the "greenhouse effect". may cause severe burns. contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape. accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals. may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes. has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients. Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used: as an industrial solvent and coolant. in nuclear power plants. in the production of styrofoam. as a fire retardant. in many forms of cruel animal research. in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical. as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

[@ThePandafriend]

​@@Rurumeto The problem is that this dangerous chemical is also used for the washing itself.

[@szidoniazsigmondbaticzky2848]

@@Rurumeto water H20

[@MrGivmedew]

@nilered dude I want to say congratulations on doing such a better job at making observations than your peers! I think it’s amazing that the observations you made where quite simple to observe and required minimal scientific knowledge. You didn’t need to have a Dr in front of your name to be able to make these observations and get down to the bottom of them. Personally I did assume that the yellow was from the air or beaker and you did a great job of showing why and measuring it. Also showing that when we saw less yellow in most cases the yellow was not reduced just the other colors had increased! So dude great job! Out of ALL the plasma microwave videos this one was my ABSOLUTE favorite because you did what is taught in middle school! I really feel like so many of my peers are failing at their jobs or life in general because they don’t understand some very simple concepts that they should have learned in middle school. Like making observations or one of the most important things imaginable (correlation doesn’t imply causation). So people like you that get normal people and especially children interested in science are very important to humanities future! People are learning differently! While I learned all the concepts in this video in middle school it must have been because I was interested because my peers and even my brilliant wife do not have a grasp on how to apply this stuff to everyday life in order to improve life and to avoid and solve conflict. You have inspired thousands of people to give this video a thumbs up! Congrat!

[@AMBELLINA77]

This looks like the ball lighting I saw once. It stayed more circular but moved and glowed just like this. Too cool.

[@ganaraminukshuk0]

Late 2000s KZbin: Microwave plasma 2019 KZbin: Microwave plasma but in HD 60FPS and with a lot more science

[@laurenpinschannels]

veritasium, years ago: grape plasma! very old-youtube style (5min 30sec, 2,334,003 views over its six years) veritasium, months ago: hey someone was inspired and did research about grape plasma! here's the answer. (8min 16sec, 7,870,771 views over six months) nilered, this week: have a goddamn half hour high production value experiment log presentation of me actually doing research on microwave plasma (27min 51sec, 471,345 views in the first week)

[@hulavux8145]

@@laurenpinschannels content decides i guess?

[@brandanimations3790]

KZbin in 2020: PLASMA ROCKET LAUNCHERS!!!

[@unitedspacepirates9075]

@@brandanimations3790 plasma pumped yag laser rod cuts ring around microwave

[@0x00101F]

"...and I DIED when I saw that there was still this massive sodium spike." So relatable.

[@mj6463]

111 likes lol

[@philip1382]

The thing that was most relatable for me was grasping at straws and googling "air plasma yellow".

[@iteerrex8166]

Great investigation. So it was simply the sodium from the glass. Very cool. From a chemistry point of view the glass is always inert, but Ben is more of a physics guy. Thanks very much Nile.

[@TheHappyhorus]

Cool video, it actually answered two questions I’ve always had but never had answers for. One regard the spectra of light glow from a burnt match being heated. Another light and sound waves having a correlation. Thanks dude.

[@znefas]

"And I died" NileRed - 2019

[@r.b_7875]

Thomas Youssef I was gonna comment this lmaoo

[@neodintchly]

He's got a clone made from his own shit

[@diamondbrony8550]

SHIET

[@U014B]

RIP in Peace Riley Ned before 2019 - 2019 Died of spikey sodium

[@TheGreatWolfYT]

"I just bought a new phone for a better shot" I wish I could say that, I really do

[@Laxz0r1]

The Great Wolf It's his job, so thats like a business purchase.

[@ThePCguy17]

Well it was also because his old phone was cutting his fingers. I think most people would have to find another option at that point, even if it might not be an upgraded phone.

[@davidmedford1166]

Then just say it. It doesn't cost any money to say "I just bought a new phone for a better shot." Sorry, I'll be quiet now. Lol

[@YounesLayachi]

Except the new phone has the same camera as the old one

[@jonathandaniel9644]

I can say i bought one because i broke the previous one.

[@ahungryzygote2917]

One of the things I like most about you is the way you share all your successes as well as failures, no matter how they may make you look. (we're all human and make mistakes). Anyway point is you take us along for the whole ride from start to finish, all speed bumps included. And thank you for that

[@yautiano]

I commend you for all your efforts, hard work and for your critical thinking! I was delighted with this exciting demonstration of the plasma phenomenon and you application of the scientific method. Well done! You can almost publish a paper with all the experimental results that you have obtained and analized. Which proves that sometimes you dont need a lot of sophisticated instruments to do good science. Keep it going!

[@Alex-tc4se]

Yes, I remember the first time I borrowed my dad's visible light spectrometer. It was such a proud moment for him and a real rite of passage for me. My grandfather wept after we told him. It was quite the family moment.

[@charlesbaker7703]

Yes! The family that geeks together stays together.

[@bigsyrup8567]

Seriously? He wept? What a load of bullshit.

[@love2fight205]

@@bigsyrup8567 r/whooosh

[@donavanb1534]

@@bigsyrup8567 r/whooosh

[@catgoesgaming]

lemme guess that everyone clapped

[@timscanlon2820]

I like how his dad has a visible light spectrometer kicking around. Good job!

[@JustTayo]

Like it was simply normal for dad to have a Visible Light Spectrometer Lol. It’s funny how he casually said that.

[@MattH-wg7ou]

That thing is awesome!

[@LuisSierra42]

Science runs in the family

[@jjeherrera]

12:09 This completely contradicts the hypothesis of the Veritasium video as well as the PNAS paper it's based on. Great job!

[@davidreeding9176]

First time watching NileRed on my desktop, and I have to say, his gaze is waaaaay to intense for this format.

[@Has-uo1lq]

“My first attempt was with forks, because I was always told it was really dangerous to put them in the microwaves” “It didn’t end up working very well”

[@ionbladezofficial]

NileRed: "almost broke my elbow .... but thankfully the camera was ok".

[@ImaginationToForm]

A smart person would have stopped then. What these tubers do for ratings, LUL.

[@QPUNeptune]

Priorities

[@rentaspoon219]

Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for science

[@sardonicsardonyx359]

@@ImaginationToForm But then we wouldn't have gotten this video.

[@Guava_The_Guinea_Pig]

The one rule our parents taught was to never put foil in the microwave and this man has done what they warned us not to

[@mellertid]

I am surprised that you didn't think of the glass! You have done some glasswork, you must have seen the distinct sodium orange? Excellent video, as always 👍

[@AngDavies]

A company called Robson scientific (first on Google) does quartz "glassware", contains very little of anything other than SiO2 something like 99.995% and they take orders from individuals ! That could definitely handle the heat, pricey though (Edit: there are cheaper sources: e.g. Amazon which seems to source off celscientific)

[@comradegarrett1202]

seconding quartz apparatus, extremely high temperature tolerance too

[@Bert0ld0]

Whoa, great find! We've got something here

[@terriplays1726]

I guess 4-figure prices per unit?

[@AngDavies]

@@terriplays1726 for a 500ml flask from the high purity hand crafted place I think it was $134, with the cheaper stuff from Amazon etc being about half that? A lot, but you typically only need 1 and just put it inside another thing

[@MrAidanFrancis]

He shows at the end that he did try quartz

[@willguan5429]

1:51 The seriousness in his face while he says "I also thought that it was just a decent excuse to just have fun and play around with plasma"

[@blissfulnirvana1137]

Haha, brilliant isn’t it? 🤣🤣

[@calil_playz7491]

Im think im gonna do this for my science project thx for the idea and for the explanation it was really clear and im gonna check all the other channel you mention for more detail

[@user-bq2ej4ge8f]

Fun fact: the plasma did in fact break every single one of those beakers. Typical Nigel.

[@brodyhilgenfeld8496]

I love how he narrated that little part of him slipping as if it was a narration for a quantum physics documentary

[@SnowblindOtter]

Convenient, completely inert, and made of SODIUM SILICATES Nile.

[@umbrakinesis2011]

I was mentally screaming this every time he failed to determine the source of the yellow color, and was really hoping he wouldn't end the experiment without realizing this. I'm glad he figured it out in the end though and confirmed my suspicions.

[@safaiaryu12]

Yeah, I know nothing about the chemical compositions of things, but when he said it had to be something that was the same every time, I was like, "Oh, the beaker?" And it took ages for him to figure it out after that. But we all miss dumb things sometimes...

[@SnowblindOtter]

@@safaiaryu12 Borosilicate glass is actually a very large chunk Sodium by weight. The two main ingredients in making it are Sand and Boron(AKA sodium borate). A lot of people don't realize this. Somebody else had commented something about how they didn't think there would be any sodium in the glass, but they deleted it apparently. Must have googled what borosilicate glass was made of lol.

[@moki2093]

@@SnowblindOtter sand is quartz tho And quartz is made of silicon dioxide Edit : quartz is made of silicon and oxygen atoms***

[@SnowblindOtter]

@@moki2093 Yes, and the main component of Borosilicate glass is Borax. Borax is made of Sodium and Boron atoms.

[@elementjrose7450]

When researchers analyse liquid samples with mass spectrometry, Na adducts are regularly seen in data due to sample being held in glass sample vial. Lol I was happily guessing Glass as Na source and so happy when tested here. Excellent science videos, I will be suggesting these to my students at the University of Strathclyde :)

[@maple7093]

"I was worried that running it for a while would crack the beaker, but apparently it didn't have a problem at all." that's called foreshadowing.

[@ShadowSora643]

"And it also made a characteristic sound" MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[@Mockingbird-sg8vv]

Omg I'm dying with this thing ahahahahahahahha

[@williamgeorge7842]

"..and I died when I saw that there was still this massive sodium spike. Now at this point, I was dead"

[@daveslamjam]

i laughed so hard when he said he died so dramatically

[@Pizza_Playz]

I have now learned that keeping my smartphone safe is more important than keeping my elbow safe. Thanks for the advice Nile!

[@ilovedoge]

One thing this video showed me is how important collaboration is. Sometimes you just can't see what others can

[@medes5597]

"I stopped the beaker from rotating to get a better shot" "it turns out rotation was nessacary, which I expected to be the case" Sure Nilered. Sure you did.

[@skinbugz]

I think the real highlight of this video was being able to watch an egg actually sweat at 26:41 - like Jesus Nile what did you tell it that made it so nervous

[@toku7319]

If you scream at them long enough then they'll sweat.

[@tuser8]

If you scream at them too loudly they’ll explode, an important balance to keep

[@unrelatedK]

condensation?

[@mechwarrior83]

I was just watching the Veritasium video you mentioned and got curios about the fireball. What a legend for already having done a video on it ☠

[@damanyea]

Great video and wonderful demonstration of the scientific method!!

[@martinloh5553]

"However, my biggest concern wasn't safety" is the most badass line I've heard on a science channel

[@KirbzYyY]

I believe you would enjoy Cody's Lab in that case, where safety is a foreign term

[@martinloh5553]

@@KirbzYyY long time sub of his, he almost died in his last video lol

[@frankzaffuto3670]

@@martinloh5553 the coyotes?

[@rrkred3561]

@@frankzaffuto3670 yup i guess. he really needs a stun buton or some real strong pepper spray. bear spray maybe

[@rjwaters3]

wouldnt have helped him, he left everything he was carrying inside his car which was the problem.

[@seanspartan2023]

Your dad just had a visible light spectrometer laying around? Your dad's cooler than my dad 😂

[@Archiekunst]

@@RyanGaryLeTomo Ouch! Sorry.

[@Aconitum_napellus]

@@RyanGaryLeTomo You don't need a cool dad, you're so cool yourself! You're awesome.

[@1997adnan]

@@RyanGaryLeTomo F

[@cutiemary]

@@RyanGaryLeTomo F

[@S.ASmith]

@@RyanGaryLeTomo OOF..... I know many people aged 25 and under with that experience. There's still plenty of people you can look up to in life & it's something you can learn from as well, helping make you a much better person than your dad seemed to have been... Sucks when a parent just ups and leaves or passes away.

[@drahunter213]

You know this could be a great chemistry class lesson Lol teaching that chemistry glass can react with somethings and you should always account for the glass if you get stuck with everything else lol

[@freekingawwsome]

Scary stuff @NileRed making me think about Maui fires

[@FlorianEagox]

Nile: And it makes a characteristic sound Also Nile: *doesn't show the sound*

[@uncertain3121]

you can't show sound

[@shadow_neutrino]

3:21 listen carefully he did

[@zh4zir454]

@@shadow_neutrino p0p0o

[@johnathanhemphill5080]

So could you make a plasma gun out of sodium and potassium pellets/bullets with a small microwave integrated?

[@Austin01Powers]

It is a low droning noise

[@cryptonitor9855]

I made a simple "supercharging" method for an old microwave once.. Simply distancing the tempsensor on the magnetron alittle makes the time needed to heat things decrease alot. Can also make the microwave set itself on fire. I have a new microwave now.

[@Kenionatus]

Pro unalive tip right here.

[@sabrinaleedance]

I hear that "dumb ways to die" sound in the distance😅

[@mynamejef7963]

Almost an Icarus moment lol

[@marcospelaez5970]

Insane there’s a part called a magnetron in a microwave

[@jblob5764]

​@@marcospelaez5970more crazy is that every single microwave brand is made by one company

[@DonCarlione973]

This friggin guy is one of my favorites! Great technique 👌🏼

[@will.g9277]

Cool but I feel like I'm at least a little more blind now

[@ktktktktktktkt]

2:44 "I was worried that running it for a while would crack the beaker" Shoulda been more worried

[@sugarsweet3727]

Or less. Better one than all.

[@winnipeginstinct]

well, this is awkward

[@DarlockAhe]

Now imagine a collaboration with SloMo Guys. Plasma at 1000000 fps.

[@Jrny32]

120hz

[@TheFrontyer]

Would be hard getting a good shot of it tho.

[@DarlockAhe]

I'm sure they can ask HTME guys and build a microwave or something. Though it will probably take 10-20 years till we get this video. xD

[@markp8295]

@@TheFrontyer Maybe easier with their new probe lens.

[@finnthewastebin1503]

Darlock Ahe all hail Jen our lord and saviour

[@juryrigg8156]

The best 27 minute lesson on systematic error i’ve ever seen bravo

[@FunnyBreadGaming]

I saw the video about the broken beakers ages ago and didnt realize it was from this channel lol i only started watching regularly recently

[@drrrrockzo]

Out of curiosity, what does your dad do? A visible light spectrometer isn't exactly a piece of standard kit like a multimeter.

[@TheKnaeckebrot]

maybe just a hobby-astronomer? :)

[@drrrrockzo]

@@TheKnaeckebrot I'm not an astronomical hobbyist...are they common in the hobby? I suppose a professional or advanced hobbyist photographer could also use one. I work with high-end LED lighting, we have one to qualify new products but I had never seen one before I started in my current industry.

[@-Burb]

dr.rockzo Yeah a lot of people in astronomy have one because using it you can see what the stars you’re looking at are made of.

[@THEinSEnDeaieri]

If I remember correctly, he talks about that in the video documenting his move to the new laboratory.

[@drrrrockzo]

@@-Burb I knew you could do that with a observatory sized telescope, but it never occurred to me that you could do it at home...thats pretty damn impressive.

[@ozzyosbourne6936]

Your videos are really entertaining and relaxing to watch. good work, keep it up!

[@fabri___1883]

Yeah his voice is so rellasing..

[@fabri___1883]

Relaxing *

[@treborironwolfe978]

Does anyone else find their own hobbies a bit "blah" after watching these videos? ;)

[@Aconitum_napellus]

@@treborironwolfe978 My only real hobby is shooting things.

[@fabri___1883]

@@Aconitum_napellus wtf ?lol 🤣🤣

[@tommy_3039]

i did this at home, worked like a charm! the plasma was very good looking and since i used some sort of kitchen measuring cup and not a beaker i did not get a yellow flame most of the time but a very vivid red one

[@shockwave5012]

Is this safe to do at home? I really want to try it on an old microwave but I’m scared it might blow up or something 😅

[@stevenchiverton48]

very nice work there you sure put alot into your plasma experiments , you have the makings for a future plasma canon and propulsion system , now try putting a powerful neodymium magnet against the front door of the microwave when you have your plasma going see if it deflects it more or moves it in any way

[@ideitbawxproductions1880]

finally, the triumphant return of "Is It A Good Idea To Microwave This?"

[@bsibbs2667]

Nobody likes roasted nuts

[@DawnAfternoon]

Ventilation is key

[@bradynationhayes8562]

Safety is our first concern.

[@snowballeffect7812]

12:30 "I borrowed this thing from my dad!" WHY IS YOUR DAD SO COOL?

[@AdricM]

probably a factor in why Nile is as well.

[@TomatoBreadOrgasm]

"Yo Dad can I have some scientific apparatus you just happen to have lying around?"

[@NA-yq4pe]

@@TomatoBreadOrgasm maybe his dead is a chemist or something

[@TomatoBreadOrgasm]

@@NA-yq4pe Yeah, maybe. I know my kids, once I have some, will be able to ask for the same.

[@Xnoob545]

@@NA-yq4pe his dead?

[@bwa5818]

Thanks for sharing this great DIY science. You solved several problems on the way to solving the colour mystery. Those answers help others better understand how to do microwave plasma research on a tight budget. Understanding hot spots, protecting the oven, recording observations. Physicists have spent trillions of dollars researching plasma and trying to contain it. Perhaps if they had been given a micro budget and a few microwaves they would be much closer to understanding sustainable plasma containment than they currently are. The next step could be to modify the oven cavity to obtain a stable standing wave with a small volume experiencing intense constructive interference. I am sure that would be very dangerous and don't recommend anyone doing it outside a shielded safe space. I have seen that there are some research papers on computer modelling microwave cavities for the purpose of chemistry and CVD, so hopefully we might see mini microwave fusion reactors which actually produce useful power even before giant fusion reactors work. Or perhaps, someone can explain what the challenges would be to produce a mini microwave plasma based nuclear reactor? And finally you showed how useful it is to collaborate with others when you thought you couldn't find the source of the sodium ions: It forced you to share ideas with others and their insights helped you to complete the investigation. Therefore, you demonstrated *the importance of collaborative problem solving*.

[@wultna]

@NeilRed: the weired "electric" sound comes as the magnetron itself is pumped by the flank occuring every half-wave from your 60 Herz sinusoidal mains. The effect can be also heared in the transformer hum. The same effect appears everytime when you are making electrical arcs directly driven by a transformer from the mains. In many electric-arc videos on youtube the arc is driven by A high frequency flyback converter what you then clearly can hear in the weird high frequency PWM sound what also can be heared directly in the characteristic coil whine of switched mode power supplies.