Nitrogen Triiodide (touch powder) - Periodic Table of Videos

Warning, this is a hazardous compound. Extra footage at: • Nitrogen Triiodide (ex...
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Featuring Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff, with Neil Barnes and Sam Tang working in the lab.
Michael Faraday (Objectivity): • The Making of Michael ...
Old Labs: • Old and New Labs - Per...
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From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: bit.ly/NottChem
Periodic Videos films are by video journalist Brady Haran: www.bradyharan....
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Music by Alan Stewart
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[@periodicvideos]

What happened next? --- kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5eYZaCiZ6yJeac

[@DonaldSleightholme]

Periodic Videos i had another idea, microphones convert sound into electrical energy by magnetic induction and bees make noise in a hive 🐝 +🎤’s = 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@justusfelix2441]

Nice Video! Can the professor some nice synthesis for example Acetyl salicylic acid or other nice stuff?

[@redmohawkguy1]

Has anybody ever made Nitrogen Trifluoride?

[@luisalbertopereznajera6275]

Don't you dare to harm Lego again.

[@josephstalin6549]

@PeriodicVideos is human ejaculate a viable option for sunscreen? It is non-poplar, contains Zinc oxides, full of organic compounds and is a yellowish white which means that it will reflect heat and absorbs every colour but white

[@louisbradburn265]

Loved the professor on a stick compared with the Prof

[@louisbradburn265]

Aww, he dropped one of his conical flasks, poor guy.

[@cda32]

And the slow-motion of his arm coming off

[@WireMosasaur]

I hope Professor Onna Stick makes a repeat appearance :D

[@pluransart1795]

I was gonna correct your spelling, but then I got it

[@remanjecarter2787]

does stop motion with small-scale reactions

[@Christopher-N]

I didn't think Professor-on-a-stick had any sort of name other than Professor. I like your suggestion of naming it "Onna Stick," and I think that's what it should be called going forward: *Professor Onna Stick*

[@marciaosullivan3200]

@@pluransart1795 why correct spelling anything

[@pluransart1795]

@@marciaosullivan3200 hey, don't judge my fetishes, O'Sullivan

[@calyodelphi124]

One of my friends experimented with touch powder once. And one of the things they did was they got one of their friends who had some uranium glass marbles, and they tried rolling those marbles down a track past a dried sample of the touch powder. The powder exploded only when the uranium marbles rolled past, indicating to them that even alpha particles (which are the primary decay particles ejected by uranium) have enough energy to set off even a relatively large sample of touch powder.

[@TheToric]

Calyo Delphi thats pretty cool. What sort of velocities do the helium nuclei come out at with alpha radiation? Also, did you try it with normal marbles, to male sure it wasn't the vibration of the track?

[@calyodelphi124]

I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you. I don't know enough of the fine details of nuclear physics to be able to figure it out or look it up. And this friend did try it with normal marbles, yes. Only the uranium glass marbles triggered a detonation when they rolled past, which indicated to them that it was very likely the alpha particle emissions from the uranium that could set it off.

[@lajoswinkler]

Yes, this is reportedly the only compound being able to explode when an alpha ray strikes it.

[@AlexM1983DHUN]

I don't know their speed but I know that their energy in the case of uranium is around 4 MeV.

[@fourteencrows1244]

That's crazy

[@Sean_Coyne]

Loved the Professor's stories. Being of a certain age and destined to be a science teacher I, like countless others back then, got up to mischief with touch powder. Liberally applied under the table legs and chairs in the school library to dry out, it made one school parents' meeting particularly lively. Loud bangs, screams, and doors bursting open, as people made a dash for safety.

[@00BillyTorontoBill]

"opened his locker and it went off".....and his hair hasnt been the same since...lol (love ya professor)

[@alextaunton3099]

The man looks like he IS science. Not that he is a scientist, or someone who practices science, he IS science

[@HomemadeChemistry]

I really need a professor on the stick for my lab! How could I even work without one all the time???

[@drussell_]

LEGO calls that minifig "Crazy Scientist" It is available individually and in various sets.

[@comment514]

@@drussell_ for sure he didn't know that

[@talkingdot]

need more professor on a stick experiments Brady

[@Christopher-N]

(Falsetto voice) Not Professor Sluggo, he's going to be mean to me. Ohhhh noooooooooooooo!

[@JakeTheBear1]

Lego Professor at 1:57 "Am I missing an eyebrow!?"

[@EPgeek]

Yes, and half of your hair, too!

[@DerekWitt]

Professor wants big boom!

[@alexlubbers1589]

He rejects your reality and substitutes his own!

[@MmeHyraelle]

He lost a flask instead.

[@DorianStretton]

At some point in the late 1970s a person, or persons, unknown may have painted nitrogen triiodide on to a toilet seat in an educational establishment somewhere in England. Fortunately there were no injuries, but a certain degree of embarrassment was caused to the victim as he came flying in terror out of the toilet stall accompanied by a massive cloud of purple smoke. Remember kids, don't try this at home.

[@KairuHakubi]

no injuries.. why not try it then? I'm actually seeing some contradiction here about whether or not it hurts skin. That said, anyone who willingly sits on a crusty black toilet seat might keep their brains down there, so it might be a bigger risk.

[@DorianStretton]

Kairu Hakubi it was a very thin layer and the lighting in the toilet was pretty awful. Also, they had other concerns at the time. So the victim didn't notice. It burns so rapidly I doubt it would cause serious injury unless one used a large amount. Having said that it's probably best not to encourage experimentation with any form of explosive in uncontrolled conditions.

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Would have looked hilarious 😂 giant purple fart

[@SteelSkin667]

3:26 Before the invention of safety goggles.

[@SteelSkin667]

Jacob Zondag I've done a sneaky typo edit

[@omg_look_behind_you]

premature detonation can be rather embarrassing. handle with care, boyos.

[@josephvinod7157]

Always a pleasure listening to Dr.Poliokoff😊

[@jamdc2000]

That is one tough professor

[@xquonorbrop]

Well that explains what happened to professor poliakoff’s hair

[@electronicsNmore]

That's cool stuff!

[@Fanaprimo]

Ha, it can explode by the vibrations of a passing truck at 20 meter distance. The dryer it is , the more sensitive it becomes.

[@jhunkubabu]

Nice to see Prof. Sam Tang after so long!!!

[@psygn0sis]

LOL! I loved the story the professor told about igniting an explosive in his school locker. I want to know how much trouble he got in.

[@somethingsinlife5600]

Professor on a stick should be an official Merch for Periodic Table of Videos! MAKE IT HAPPEN! !!

[@jessephillips1233]

My father told me story of painting wet nitrogen triiodide on the front of a keyhole of the professors office door. When the professor went to open the door the key shot back out and away from the keyhole. Fortunately nobody was hurt.

[@KairuHakubi]

You'd think the 2nd and 3rd guy messing with the nitrogen trichloride would have taken some care, put on some period equivalent of safety glasses or something.

[@Darwinpasta]

Where did you think the glass in their eyes came from?

[@aletoledo1]

We used to call this the "chemists flypaper". I would demonstrate this to school kids to encourage them to go into chemistry and the sciences. after I had an explosion, small crystals would scatter everywhere and the kids would walk over them to set the remaining bits off. One time I had a very wet batch and the iodine leeched through the filter paper onto a nice wooden gymnasium floor. There was this small purple stain left over and I told the administrator that it would evaporate over time. Not sure if that was true or if it ever did though!

[@techobsessed1]

When I was in HS, some genius made up a big batch of nitrogen triiodide and then left the wet mass in the chemistry stockroom to dry. My hypothesis is that it dried unevenly, part of it dried out and then got triggered by stresses caused by warping drying paper. This detonation spattered wet mixture all over the stock room. However it happened, visits to the stockroom were a bit hair-raising for a week following.

[@KafshakTashtak]

And now we have Professor Ona Stick as a new super hero.

[@corryunedited8154]

The little Professor was awesome! I hope we get to see him in more videos!

[@RaExpIn]

I have often heard, that NI3 sometimes even explodes when wet. One person told me that he had exactly this happening to him, while he was a few metres away from it. When you're using a glas funnel to filter it, this can become very dangerous. Luckily, I have never seen this happening by myself... Nice video!

[@Richardincancale]

Random Experiments Int. - Experiments and syntheses I think what happens is that the outer layer dries over a damp interior. Had this happen 45 years ago when I was at school. Got my school uniform covered in NI3 that gradually dried out. In my religious education lesson that followed chemistry I was crackling every time I moved! Teacher kindly gave me leave to go and wash it off!

[@merubindono]

Me: that seems dangerous Inner me: touch it

[@Eralen00]

We need to raise more money so all schools can have a professor on a stick.

[@Enjoymentboy]

I made this for my grade 8 science fair project. This along with black powder. My class thought it was great. The teachers? not so much. :)

[@redtobertshateshandles]

This is the stuff my older brothers made when I was a kid. Thanks for the memories.

[@auroraourania7161]

I made this compound in high school chemistry. Great experiment for demonstrating what makes things unstable as it has multiple things causing it to be so incredibly unstable, plus it's very enjoyable since it makes a nice explosion that's fun but not incredibly dangerous to do in a classroom (half the groups' samples went off at once by mistake as they were too close and the shockwave of one set off all the others in the fume hood, it was loud but, with reasonable precautions, safe)

[@renehollan7695]

NI3.NH3 has reportedly been known to go off even when wet. In my own mis-spent youth I once experimented with a small relatively fresh, damp, amount stirred up in a large quantity of very warm water, and indeed, the heat appeared to make it decompose, the explosions dampened by the liquid. I've often theorized that's it's more the presence of ammonia that prevents the explosive decomposition than dampness but I can't find any research regarding that conjecture. I do remember trying to store very small quantities under concentrated NH4OH solutions with success in that they did not explode prematurely and remained potent when removed and allowed to dry in the usual fashion, though some decomposition was observed as the solution became red with triiodide ion.

[@teddybetts3254]

My high school chemistry teacher (Macdonall) used to make nitrogen triiodide. He made little bunches of it just like in this video and then used to hit it with the end of a meter stick. He said that on one occasion he had a larger than normal amount of it and hit it with the stick and blew the end of it off. This was over 25 years ago, I don't think you could do this now.

[@litigioussociety4249]

5:50 Beaker gets blown out of his hand.

[@gastonbell108]

Chemistry can be a rough business.

[@petersimmons7833]

The Professor-on-a-Stick is awesome!

[@karhukivi]

As a schoolboy "chemist" I tattooed my face and had ringing in my ears for hours after leaning close to see if it was drying OK. A UV laser will set it off too, which is more dramatic than tapping it with a feather or a little lego figure.

[@edepillim]

Back in the late 50s, my friend’s boffin elder brother made nitrogen triiodide and put small amounts on door locks to give folks a surprise when they inserted the keys.

[@noumenalbeacon4373]

Thank you for posting the chemical reaction in the video. Do so more often.

[@DeepCZero3]

I am so glad you posted this video. I was reading about NI3 last night and found it amusing how this video appears the following morning. I enjoyed watching it. Could you do a video on Sapphire Glass?

[@macboi7601]

Love that new tool!

[@nickjung7394]

When painted on school blazer buttons the result is hilarious!

[@Christopher-N]

(1:33) Now Professor-on-a-stick looks like a proper one, having survived a lab accident charred but none worse for the wear (like a stereotypical student scientist). Save that figure for future reference.

[@ZomBeeNature]

I made a little bit a long time ago and set it off. It seemed dangerous. And it exploded so loudly that I was worried I had caused ear damage. I haven't made any since then...

[@tuscanred]

Laughing out loud on the train, love the professor on a stick

[@shakesmctremens178]

Something of a criminal lack of Dr Sam on camera this go round.

[@weezyfidelis787]

I love you guys. It's hard to explain, but you speak to me. I love chemistry. Professor on a stick, an emotion I can not explain

[@tomh2628]

I love how it starts playing peacefully music while showing violent detonations.

[@jamesroseii]

Ok. The Prof needs to get with Lego and make an official Prof Sir Martin Polyokoff (no idea if I'm spelling that right...) mini fig!

[@mariarahelvarnhagen2729]

It's a very specific medication when added to water that should be on the market and known about

[@gaius_enceladus]

I can just imagine the young Professor-to-be Poliakoff being told off by the Headmaster for having this stuff in his locker! "Ah yes..... young Poliakoff. Come in, Poliakoff. Now then..... six of the best for you and no blubbering young man. Assume the position..... "

[@ultradude5410]

You should do a video about azidoazide azide Now that is an interesting compound!

[@Simbosan]

The incident at the debate was the inspiration for Jimi Hendrix's famous hit, Purple Haze. Trufax people!

[@ReevansElectro]

In high school in the mid 1970's, I mixed up a batch and sprinkled the damp precipitate in tiny little rice sized globs all over the hallway floors while the students were out for lunch. When they returned from lunch, the pandemonium that arose convinced the vice-principal to pull the fire alarm and evacuate the school. The fire department arrived with sirens and great commotion but finally they left and the janitor was tasked with 'mopping up' with an actual mop and water to 'clean up' the mess. As he mopped, the nitrogen tri-iodide kept popping and banging as he swiped with his mop. Unfortunately, the water and the iodine mixed and formed stains on the floor. I had been observed sprinkling the chemical on the floor by a young student and was nearly expelled and had to clean up the stains off the floor.

[@MrWizzardx3]

Yes, PPE and a fume hood. Always enjoy your videos!

[@Lurker1979]

Love the purple smoke.

[@dtiydr]

3:10 I have exactly the same typ of heated stirrer. :)

[@karenmakesthings4880]

I wholeheartedly approve of the Professor on a Stick! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@LaGuerre19]

Another nitrogen salt, sodium azide (NaN3), is used to inflate airbags in an auto collision. Somewhat more stable, it needs to be heated to "go off."

[@gatti5002]

its getting better and better , chapeau !

[@thisnicklldo]

We used to make it in the 60's - a friend made a whole paper bag full - maybe 250g? It was in his satchel and I was standing next to him when he absent mindedly swung the bag at some kid. I couldn't hear for about 30 minutes afterwards, and every page of all my friends school books in the satchel was dyed purple - denial was not an option. The kid hit by the satchel was unharmed but very surprised.

[@knate44]

Appearently my first year Chemistry prof was also a prankster then, he used to put NI3 on the staircase leading to the lecture hall, supposedly for demonstratiomal purposes... He isn't allowed to do that anymore.

[@jetpiston2161]

Professor on a stick is wonderful!

[@jcortese3300]

Davey and Faraday are some of the smartest guys of their time. They hear about an experiment that blew off a guy's fingers and took one of his eyes, and their reaction is: "Cool! I wanna try!" Um, guys ...

[@dusterdude238]

LOL!

[@derKarl_stp]

well... that new tool is pretty amazing :D

[@aparks1437]

2:15 the lego guy's hair is so perfect there

[@aussiebloke609]

I've seen this explosive set off before - I think it may have been at the Royal Institution - and they set it off by brushing it with a feather. It's hard to imagine just how sensitive this compound is. :-)

[@AlexM1983DHUN]

When my dad was a chemistry student at the university he made Ag2C2 which he and his friends scattered around the hallway while it was wet. Next day when the janitors came to do their regular cleaning the tiny pieces exploded with a sharp crackling sound.

[@rushabhchoudhary1359]

Brady u doing a wonderful job Heartiest congratulations to u

[@periodicvideos]

Thanks for watching

[@233kosta]

I believe the phrase you're looking for is "It'll go off if you look at it funny!"... bit like flash powder :D

[@mothman.industries]

Professor Onna Stick should be standard equipment in every lab, tbh.

[@ender7966]

How dangerous is the explosion exactly? Like if a child would step on a small amount of it would it hurt?

[@advanceringnewholder]

3:44 i like how he casually says Michael Faraday

[@IvorMektin1701]

My dad used to make this for me, good memories.

[@lajoswinkler]

Nitrogen triiodide is far more sensitive and explodes with greater force than nitrogen trichloride, but the latter is easier to collect in a larger amount. NI3, when dry, can't even hold its own weight if the pile is more than few milimetres high. Of course, one can make a damp larger pile, but that won't dry to completion to show the total explosive power. NCl3 is tricky and sneaky. It allows one to pile it in a greater amount and then explodes. It should never be trusted and stored.

[@Дмитрий_1981]

Are nitrogen fluoride and bromide just as dangerous, or worse? Maybe they are more stable and have some interesting properties?

[@9nine11eleven]

Does anyone knows about N3 ( Trinitrogen ) molecules? It may exist due to the three unpaired electrons in N. Maybe extreme pressure helps to vavor N3 instead of N2 gerneration out of unbound nascating N Atoms.

[@AliHSyed]

Sir Martyn Poliakoff!

[@emilyhurley2822]

Very informative.

[@Acidtrip138]

what leggo kit do u need to buy to make a professor?

[@corryunedited8154]

If you haven't already, could you do a video on C2N14? (Azodiazde azide)

[@subductionzone]

Way back in high school the class that was in the lab prior to mine got to make this (sadly we never got to do so). I put my lab book down on a lab counter and heard a small pop. There was an iodine stain on my lab book from one teeny tiny crystal that was missed in clean up.

[@naphackDT]

"missed"

[@eddepet2013]

Does nitrogentriflouride exist or is it too unstabIe? I imagine it's even worse than nitrogentrichloride....

[@alexpotts6520]

Nitrogen trifluoride exists. It was used to create what was once the world's most powerful laser, among other things. (Can't remember what the laser was called, though.) By the way, they're completely wrong about NCl3 being more unstable than NI3. NI3 is more reactive because the N-I bonds are longer and weaker than N-Cl bonds. Also, the iodine atom is so much larger than nitrogen that it is difficult to fit three of them (plus a lone pair of electrons) round a nitrogen atom, so they push against each other, further destabilising the compound. NCl3 is still explosive, but not crazily so like NI3. And NF3 isn't explosive at all.

[@dannyd02]

So very interesting!

[@williamarmstrong7199]

Ahh the memories.. I was made to buy the cleaners at Wolverhampton Uni new brooms because the Nitrogen Triiodide I traditionally left on the Lab floor had blown all the bristles off the old ones. :)

[@Kit_Bear]

What I would do to be in the same class as those mischievous students, must have been great. What a bunch of Hooray Henrys.

[@catfission]

Can nitrogen triiodide be ignited using an alpha source?

[@rbmk__1000]

I love the prophesor on a stick

[@Kalekemo]

In highschool chemistry, we spent an entire day shooting rubber bands at hanging targets covered in nitrogen triiodide. It was a blast!

[@johnweighell7725]

We used to spread it on blotting paper scatter sugar on it and wait for flies to blow themselves to bits

[@kwazhims3lf]

my physics teacher did this one.. except im pretty dam sure he used way to much... it was more like a gunshot/exlosive loud boom... he used (i dont know why) a metal file attached to a meter stick to set it off... the result was the boom, and then a curious clanging sound through the smoke.... after a few seconds and clearing smoke cloud we realized the clanging sound had been the file blown to bits.... he told no one before doing this either, he just had the paper with the substance on it, a curious meter stick with a file tied to it... wtf

[@vargohoat9950]

wow i know this stuff, when i was in high school 30 years ago we used to beg our chem teacher to make contact explosive, and it was definitely this stuff, we would take off our shoes and he would put some on the soles of the shoes to dry, at the end of class you could walk around making little explosions. chemistry was always the most fun class

[@derekwall200]

people refer to this stuff as touch powder. and that stuff probably is several times more sensitive than nitroglycerin blasting jelly

[@spicy4868]

I'd be proud to say if he was my chemistry professor in school.

[@Valdagast]

Could you set it off with a flash of light?

[@BritishBeachcomber]

Whenever I make Nitrogen Triiodide it explodes spontaneously as soon as it gets dry enough. What am I doing wrong?

[@fallenasleep7247]

You almost ‘sploded the hello internet sneakers!

[@markellis5008]

I had some pop on me during a class lecture. It was drying in the fume hood. It's quite fussy.

[@ericdame7404]

great video very informative

[@theedrstrangelove]

So, this is a fulminate?

[@koukos55693]

my question was always how is it made? Is it with I2 and NH3 or is it something else? :/ :/ :/