The drunken history of theatrical fog effects

I'm guessing very few of you will have even heard of the vintage sal ammoniac haze pots. They weren't all heater cones with exposed elements - there were "safe" fully enclosed ones too.
One fog effect I missed from the list was the oil burning foggers. That was deliberate. They tend to be used on outdoor film sets, but are not suitable for indoor use.
With reference to glycol hazing of hospitals, you can still get a "glycolized air sanitizer" called Ozium which lists its ingredients as 4.4% triethylene glycol, 4.4% propylene glycol, 3.5% essential oils, 44.3% isopropyl alcohol and 43.4% inert ingredients - possibly the propellant? My brother uses it in morgues. It ain't cheap.
I properly hazed my house with the ammonium chloride. It didn't actually take much to do it. But the haze is literally tiny crystals of the chemical and does cause the sort of eye and nose effects you'd get from breathing dust. I doubt it would be allowed these days, but it does produce a surprisingly good effect that used to be common in night clubs before the glycol fog machines became popular.
Oil hazers are considered a specialist piece of equipment and are only suited to some venues. They produce a very fine haze of oil in the air, and as such might not be considered the healthiest haze generating device. Especially for continuous exposure in a themed environment.
Glycol fog machines and hazers tend to use fluids based on combinations of glycols or glycerin and water. The higher the concentration of glycol the denser the fog up to a point. Typically fog fluid is in the region of 30% glycol in distilled water. (Pure water reduces the risk of precipitate build up that can clog the heater tube.)
Glycol haze and fog goes back many decades with the only known hazards being irritation of the mucous membranes caused by the very hygroscopic (moisture absorbing)nature of the fog when overused.
An oft-quoted bit of research from the past involved groups of rats and monkeys living in closed environments that were hazed with glycol continuously for over a year. The only point they experienced issues was when the glycol saturation was so high that it caused skin drying problems. Subsequent analysis showed no lung or other organ anomalies.
One other fog effect used in some attractions at Disney theme parks is the liquid nitrogen fogger. It sprays liquid nitrogen into a spray of hot water or steam to create instant thick fog with short duration and no residue. It's only suited to specific attractions though as the initial cost and ongoing supply of liquid nitrogen to dedicated thermally insulated towers is huge. They also require integrated air monitors to avoid excessive oxygen displacement. The nearest similar effect found in the event industry is simple carbon dioxide jets for very short bursts of fog that disappear almost instantly.
The melted smoke machine video is here:-
• eBay smoke machine MEL...
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
This also keeps the channel independent of KZbin's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.

[@procactus9109]

When someone can talk more fluently drunk than sober, I trust them more

[@markfergerson2145]

His spelling didn't actually get worse, either.

[@overweightactor]

You just gotta bring politics into it, don't ya? Party foul.

[@BalmoraBabe]

@@overweightactor cheeto

[@luisgeniole369]

Scottish super powers

[@therealjammit]

It's a thing we Scot's can do.

[@b3nosborne]

A "shit ton" - Nice to see a KZbin channel using proper SI Units!

[@NuclearTopSpot]

How many butt loads are in a shit ton again? Is an ass load more than a fuck ton? I swear I've seen a reddit thread somewhere explaining this exactly...

[@lumpyfishgravy]

You missed sheds, but I understand why.

[@jaighter]

@@NuclearTopSpot +1 upvote reddit brothaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

[@dr.zarkhov9753]

Is there a conversion to Pirate Ninja's?

[@b3nosborne]

@@dr.zarkhov9753 Are "Pirate Ninjas! based on the Plank length?

[@juststeve5542]

A second camera angle? Now you know Clive is bored of being stuck inside!

[@alpcns]

"Harmful if inhaled" the package says. BigClive, well-lubricated with wine, proceeds to happily create the harmful fog. Dear bearded gentle giant, is this a wise move? Be safe and stay healthy, Clive! Your channel is one of the few to keep us peasants sane.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

It's a bit much, yes technically he should be using goggles, mask or a fume hood but it's more irritant than harmful. It's the left over ammonia he's breathing, it's highly corrosive. In high concentrations, yeah, you're blind and then an agonizing death as it eats your lungs. This is extremely low, just an eyes, nose, throat and lungs irritant.

[@thomas316]

I'd imagine the safety label could be harmful if you attempted to inhaled it but what kind of moron would make that mistake? 🤔

[@Alacritous]

As an electrician, he has likely inhaled vast quantities of burnt insulation and assorted other combustion byproducts. This is probably the least of his worries.

[@Micko350]

I think the Lithium fumes he seems to generate on a semi regular basis would be more toxic! Just sayin'! 🤭

[@markfergerson2145]

@@Alacritous Someone needs to ask him if any of his work clothes smell like fireworks. If not, his lungs have nothing on those of professional welders.

[@MrTridac]

Eating - enjoying - delicious salmiak liquorice right now. 1.8% ammonium chloride, apparently.

[@LarixusSnydes]

In Sweden I once ate an ice cream that had a licorice core covered in vanilla ice and that ice was covered in deliciously salty salmiak. It was called Sotaren, which translates to chimney sweep. The best licorice flavoured ice cream I ever ate...

[@MT-ll3tu]

The nordic ones avg 7.5% ammonium chloride, Could be why the sweets are not for everyone and so salty.

[@mumiemonstret]

Djungelvrål ftw!

[@markfergerson2145]

Can't remember the name of the product so often featured on the Hydraulic Press Channel but it's full of the stuff too. One of these days I'll have to try some.

[@woodrabbitworkshop]

@@mumiemonstret problematic licorice!

[@bouchert]

I remember a show at my high school in the 90's where a glycol fog machine used in a talent show caused a lot of respiratory problems in the audience. It was later found that the machine was not properly cleaned and was likely aerosolizing mold or mildew spores and causing allergic reactions.

[@xenonram]

That's weird. PG (and ethylene glycol) is destructive to molds and microbes. I wonder how it started growing in the first place. I'd be willing to bet that the mold story was a coverup for someone using the wrong fluid in the fog machine.

[@wooferhound7571]

I worked at a nightclub where one of the DJs peed into the empty fog juice bottle, and the next DJ used it to fog the room and ran everybody out of the building.

[@blahblahblahblah2837]

@@wooferhound7571 That would stink so so bad

[@frab88]

@@xenonram "Glycole" fog machines use Propylene glycol not Ethylene glycol since the latter is extremely toxic for humans (a dose of 30ml could be lethal) (see wikipedia - fog/haze machines) - also, I've read that glicerine based machines are safer than glycol based machines since the latter might produce formaldeide while heated.

[@theMekanik]

EBay ..... China’s Dumpster 😂

[@Okusar]

If eBay is China's dumpster then that must make Wish China's landfill.

[@thomas316]

If that's your theory then AliExpress must be a superfund site.

[@lawrencegenereux8567]

The World: China's petri dish.

[@MoultrieGeek]

@@thomas316 Amazon as well

[@thomas316]

@@MoultrieGeek Americas problem.

[@SuperBoobaloo]

The powerless feeling of watching Clive slide into lockdown alcoholism.

[@hempbear]

Clive's a Scot, it's okay!

[@sadiqmohamed681]

​@@hempbear And a Glaswegian! At one time, I think 1979, I had a colleague who had also grown up in Glasgow, and we worked in a video tape facility in Soho. It was Christmas time and we challenged all the other video tape departments in London to a competition, to see how drunk we could get and still make broadcastable copies of a ad. This was in the days when broadcast video was on 2" reel-to-reel tape! We got no takers! One of the guys at the BBC told his team that he had been out drinking with us, and woke up in the morning at home with no memory of any of the previous day. Billy Connolly does the best impression of a drunk Glaswegian who gets more lucid and clear speaking, but can no longer move his feet! Clive did an impressive job.

[@waynecampbell7609]

He sounds so sober when sober that he still sounds sober when drunk.

[@jamesgallagher1992]

@@hempbear 🤣🤣🤣

[@drummingriffin]

@@sadiqmohamed681 'The one foot walk' if I recall correctly as Billy put it. lol

[@Chrisamic]

15:55 Clive draws a diode symbol for a "one way" physical air valve. Big Clive Gold (TM).

[@jonaldjohnston2609]

we've all heard of the fluid examples for electricity, but electrical examples for fluid?

[@Miata822]

Many years ago I used to haze the interior of small spaces with a variety of imported resinous herbs. Typically they were carefully wrapped in a thin rice paper just before use, The paper was then heated at one end and the resulting vapor then drawn manually through its length. Depending on the combinations of materials used the effect could vary from a very mild haze to one that was quite profound. Long ago so it is hard to remember clearly but everyone seemed pleased with the effect. I wonder if anyone still uses that method today.

[@louisturner8842]

Bill Kerr LMAO 😂 killing me

[@brianborell4469]

Today we have domestic. No need to import your resinous herbs. 😁

[@SeanBZA]

@@brianborell4469 Well, your import is our domestic, because it is a much more profitable cash crop than almost anything else, and here it grows really well, even without irrigation.

[@PsiQ]

Clive made some of those burning sugar-cented smokepapers some time ago. but did not add menthol or similar. smoking of chicken coops and other largeanimal housings was and still is done in some places to get rid of pests. if it doesnt only kill stuff but smells better afterwards even better. also somehow feels better to me using some old known stuff (smoke) than spraying down your shed with chemicals from BASF that have longer names than your entire family history.

[@milesparris4045]

@@PsiQ Way to miss the joke.

[@martink9785]

I installed a laser in a west end theatre. Had a call some time later that it was very dim. Upon inspection, I noticed someone had placed a DF50 next to the laser. Every component, optical and electronic was dripping with oil.

[@d1rcwill]

Smoke fluid is absolutely awful stuff to clean out of a light

[@d1rcwill]

@Dave Micolichek luckily the department at work that deals with lasers also deals with the smoke machines, so I don't have to 😂

[@ElementalMaker]

Beautiful shot of the vapor area before the ammonium chloride recrystallized in the air!

[@thomas316]

Ralphy wine review: Touraine sauvignon, drawn from a wide area of vineyards across the central Loire, is undoubtedly among the best value white wines around right now, with tonic-bringing, bright, zesty own-label expressions... Big Clive wine review: Cheap white supermarket wine. Now let me show you this LED...

[@frogz]

......yea, i think i will go with clive's review, ralphy knows too much about liqour! hey clive, try some winking owl from aldi!! $3 for a 750 ml bottle of amazingly decent white wine of various types

[@robertcartier5088]

@@frogz Ok, what the hell is an Aldi, and why isn't there one across the street from me?! ;-]

[@lfowkes11]

I remember back in my middle school days (early 70's) we used big soldering irons heated in a gas flame to solder tin work in our metal shop class. There were big solid Sal Ammoniac blocks on the bench to clean the soldering irons on.

[@jsnsk101]

"Ebay..basicly chinas dumpster" Yep, thats about right, its either seconds, rejects from the trash and on odd occasions, regular ones stuffed in a workers pocket.

[@MichaelMantion]

Hold on a second I sell a lot of us junk on ebay. its my dumpster too... China can't have all the credit.

[@TheNiteNinja19]

I bought a junk PSP from Japan for 8 bucks, and fixed it. So one mans trash...

[@lumpyfishgravy]

Same applies to French plonk. It's actually drinkable if you schlepp over to Carrefour.

[@schwartzenheimer1]

My Lionel o-gauge locomotive used pellets of ammonium chloride dropped down the stack to produce puffs of smoke, as it tooled around my bedroom...great stuff.

[@chris_stacey]

Cheers Clive. I'm a magician (lol) and used to use ammonia and dilute hydrochloric acid in two containers, mixed my pushing air through both, to create this effect. I didn't realise the "smoke" would crystallize in the tubing. The pushing of the air was done by pumping a plastic bottle under my arm. When it became blocked I attempted to pump my arm and cracked a rib. Not good.

[@funnlivinit]

Hi Clive, I always enjoy your videos. Please keep up the good work. I've been working in the Special Effects industry for about 24 years now (IATSE Local 44) and had never even heard mention of ammonium chloride as a fogging chemical before. Not even from some of the old timers who worked on shows like "Bonanza", "The Big Valley" or others from the 1960s. Very interesting! Today, in the U.S. we use only Glycol based fog fluids. (except for "lawnmower" -oil- foggers used outdoors for background only fog.) The talent is never exposed to oil fogs anymore. DF-50s are used still, but with Glycol solutions instead of oil. There are even measuring standards in place. The studio is responsible for measuring and keeping records of concentrations. I believe that the standard is no more than 50 ppm in the air. Even on sets with seemingly high levels, like "Teen Wolf" I've never seen above 6-7 ppm. Usually I see measurements at 1 ppm. Yet, we still get constant complaints of excessive levels from other crew members and occasionally cast members. Though the D.P. usually is asking us to increase the level! The fluids used are identical to those used in vaping, but without the added chemicals for things like taste, smell and Nicotine. Just thought I'd add my 2 cents. Thanks again!

[@OldskoolK31]

Upvoted the second you mentioned having drank a bottle of wine while researching. This is the gold standard in research.

[@databang]

You’re a good guy, Clive. Thanks for sharing what you know.

[@acooper080106]

That needs to be a damn t-shirt " eBay China's dumpster" lol

[@b3j8]

I'd buy one!😄

[@MorgoUK]

There’s a place in China that will print them for you!

[@acooper080106]

@@MorgoUK lol that's be hilarious to have them make it

[@mrsansen8619]

This is the BEST drunken explanation of something I have ever heard.

[@markiangooley]

I recall a documentary about staging Wagnerian operas, and they had trouble with some singers near the floor passing out from dry ice fog... had to increase ventilation...

[@altaego2748]

We used to poison people on set with a bee smoker for haze effects.

[@gantmj]

I've had the futile gig of manning 4 DF-50s with added external booster fans for an outdoor tour. I had a whole case just for fog, fans, and fluid. Partly because of the names of what was in it, but mostly because of my attitude towards the whole endeavor, I labelled it the "F!" box. The LD eventually added a F-100 with DMX control because the haze would mostly blow away, yet he still wanted the DF-50s to keep pumping away. I'd refill the hazer fluid bottles from a 55 gallon drum at the shop when we were back at home base. We went through so much fluid, and the fans were always just dripping with it.

[@cue1gonow]

Add on: the MDG ATM hazers, which use CO2 or Nitrogen to create flow instead of a pump (the tank is a pressure vessel and the fluid is forced up a dip tube), as well as acting as the gas to carry the fluid particles into the heater blocks. Only noise is the fans at the front to disperse the haze as it exits the nozzle, and the haze is very fine and even. I've spent a decent amount of time troubleshooting these units, but with no "real" moving parts besides a couple solenoid valves, their reliability is outstanding.

[@SteveSummers]

You made me laugh this morning Clive. Thanks for sharing friend.

[@kommander9638]

In model craft are two fog machines common, one that works with a wick and a heater like an vaping device, the other one uses a tiny tank (sometimes as small as 1cm³) that heats up an special oil until it turns into a fog like slowed down, thick steam.

[@chriscrossan8034]

It reminds me of "The Devil's Foot" when Clive's combusting the chemical on the heater!

[@jimi-w]

Clive, I think you'd enjoy a device I got to use around 20 years ago at one of the big theatres in Perth (Western Australia). It was a fog machine called the "three-phase vat of doom". It was a 44-gallon drum (maybe slightly smaller?) partially filled with a fearsome-looking liquid that may have once contained water with a heater coil in the bottom. At the top was a hatch, with a wire basket (think a KFC/etc deep frying basket) and a metal plunger. Emerging from the drum was a flexible ~150mm diameter air-conditioning-like length of hose. To use, simply connect the three-phase plug from the heater coil, wait for heating to complete, fill the basket with dry ice and twist & depress the plunger. The dry ice rapidly sublimates and you have a nice blanket of fog for when the house curtain is raised. Optional: At the end of the show's run when there's way too much dry ice left, fill the stage to waist height. Try not to murder the orchestra when a shitload of carbon dioxide drops in to the orchestra pit after the curtain goes up.

[@actualgiraffe375]

Have been binge watching your videos during this quarenteen and couldn't shake the feeling that you seemed so familiar, today it dawned on me, you're like the Scott Manley of electronics

[@phils4634]

Pretty nifty effects there BC! I remember doing this ammonium chloride thing during A-level Chemistry (deep in the last century when OH&S was a great deal less of an impediment to doing the "fun stuff"!), as a fun example of sublimation.

[@cougar02000]

That name you couldn't remember for light being scattered in the air is Rayleigh scattering.

[@GigsVT]

I thought he was looking for the reason a clear liquid can look white. Ie why are clouds white. Isn't that more accurately Mie scattering?

[@davidbergmann8948]

I think he meant diffraction hahahahah 🍄

[@frogz]

....i thought he was looking for the word for vaporization or uhh.... i dunno when the chemicals are decomposed??? into different elements when heated

[@paulsirens7259]

could it be refraction ? :)

[@paulsirens7259]

diffusion perhaps, anyway Clive knows what he means lol

[@dogwalker666]

The oil fog machine we had the same effect when a mains air feed line 8" burst in the pit under one of the machines, because the machine leaks hydraulic oil this meant the air line was under 3 foot of hydraulic (H38) oil the whole factory was full of smoke it was a bit noisy too.

[@Visiorary]

I once operated a fog machine on stage at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas USA when they did their annual Bob Hope Gala. I got to guide him on stage with my Pizza Delivery Spotlight! The fog machine was an oil drum with a heating element from a water heater and a mesh basket hanging on the lid with a pole to drop it in. The basket was full of Dry Ice and there was a fan on the lid with a hose like dryer exhaust. On Cue I would drop the ice down and switch on the fan. I flooded the stage with an awesome cloud for "When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".

[@grahamuk2597]

Thanks Big Clive, a very interesting video. As are all your videos, please keep them coming as and when you can. Stay safe fella.

[@andytipping70]

WAITER! a glass of whatever Big Clive has been drinking my good man

[@brucegoatly]

I used to make ammonium chloride clouds when I was bored in chemistry lessons at school by putting concentrated hydrochloric acid alongside 880 ammonia and blowing across. Are chemicals still ranged in bottles on a shelf above kids' benches these days? Probably not...

[@KarryKarryKarry]

Bruce Goatly They are locked in a separate room. School kids don’t even get to experiment with any of the good stuff either. It’s all done by demonstration.

[@kennethryan2]

I was lucky enough to get a backstage tour at Phantom Of The Opera in New York (circa 1990). They had six 55gal drums with dry ice and heaters. Chosen because of the speed at which they could generate fog - they could fill the entire huge stage with thick fog in about 3 seconds.

[@vsevkrawczeniuk8019]

Nice mention of the DF-50. Those are the best hazers I've ever seen. No warmup time, you can hook them straight up to a relay or dimmer set to full and you've got haze immediately. No need for another DMX line, no warmup times. Amazing units. They do get oil everywhere though. Putting a fan in front of it's a bad idea, it'll get super gummed up.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Using a fan with them can also cause enough air turbulence to cause much higher oil droplets to come out than normal. It's a delicate air balance inside.

[@Savagetechie]

The service manuals for df50s and unique 2.1 have now both been compressed to a single page in Clive's notebook. Excellent.

[@DanielleWhite]

Salammoniac is a name I hadn't expected to see again. In high school I elected to take metal shop. The text was old, even mentioning soldering coppers, and discussed cleaning the iron/copper with salammoniac.

[@railgap]

I'm old enough and was interested in early theater enough to know these. There was an early pyrotechnic mixture which also used sal ammoniac. It was safe when burned unconfined but every so often some kid finds it in the old Chemical Formulary in the library and tries to use it for smoke bombs. There was mad debate among talent unions over the safety of various fog juices - both oil atomizers and glycol foggers. Even the glycol fog can be very drying to the throat if you're exposed to it repeatedly. Back when I did stage lighting (and SFX, and pyro) professionally, the younger set never wanted any fog or smoke, the old guard hippies on reunion tours were all, "more smoke! more smoke! In-a-gadda-da-vida, babee!"

[@seanwhite7532]

Clive, when I was a stage tech for a Miss Montana pageant many moons ago, one of the guys wheeled out a behemouth dry ice fog machine consisting or a 55 gallon drum, some washing machine parts, and large blower. The effect was ridiculously overkill, filling the stage with a wall of fog, and immediately condensing onto the dance floor, causing dancers to fall down and sprain ankles. I was amazed at how effective it was.

[@ablemagawitch]

That is a basic DRY ICE homemade or theater-made DRY ICE Fogger. Basically a Water Heater with the top cut off with hole to lower a basket of the dry ice ( so you can control the timing and volume) which you raise and lower in the water. The hotter the water the more dry ice it can turn into low laying fog, the heater elements are to recover the water temperature heat lost to ice's cold temperature. Hot water produces faster and higher volume sublime rates. Most of the home made with fans on the water tank to push the fog down the hose are often over powered by the DRY Ice Subliming and they spin the running fan back wards and the pressure comes out through the fans intake. Lots of scary pressure levels happening, the upside the supply of DRY ICE is great Fire Fighting weapon. Just through the blocks and/or pellets at the fire source and let them sublime turning into gas, which robbs the fire of oxygen supply helping to suppress the fire without wetting surfaces. The other Big DANGER is that the dry ice can fill the air with carbon dioxide which is deadly and invisible to the people. So enclosed spaces can become deadly, especially if you are breaking the blocks up into smaller chunks to have more surface are for the hot water to contact to help it sublime faster and producing more fog. The room temperature air is also subliming the DRYICE since it way warmer than the ice. That not all you need to know but good primer about some of the risks and how they work.

[@BladeScraper]

When you touched the bulb at 3:55 and screamed "oaw" I briefly lost it

[@benjamincrall8065]

I was waiting for that from the moment he plugged it in

[@jbuchana]

Back in the '80s I worked for Curtis Dyna Products (Dyna Fog). We built a fogger for theater use that was similar to the melted one Clive showed. I just tried to Google for the model number and failed, but was surprised to find the company still in business making pesticide foggers, which was our cash cow back in the '80s. Some of these use a pulse-jet (or two) engine to heat the fog fluid, in this case, usually oil with pesticides mixed in. I got a visit from a state trooper once for shutting down Indiana Rt 31 through Westfield Indiana with a fog machine. The big ones made that much fog. It was a "Silver Cloud" model, which, looking at their web page is still made today, it looks identical to the ones from 35 years ago. Talk about getting your money's worth from a design, it was old back then. I couldn't find a current theatrical model, I suppose China put them out of that business. Back then the cheap overseas competition was India, they made a lot of units that were nearly identical to ours. Another product that we were famous for was the Dyna-Jet redhead impulse jet for model builders. It set speed records for models back then, close to 200mph. It looks like that is not made anymore either, sad. They were so loud that a local university was using them in an attempt to sonically sterilize soil.

[@bigclivedotcom]

You can still hire smoke fog units in the UK from a company called Artem.

[@myarchus1]

The term you were searching for to describe what happens when this salt is heated is decomposition, because the compound decomposes into ammonia and hydrogen chloride (before recombining). Sublimation is the phase change from a solid to a gas without going through a liquid state, like dry ice or even water ice, if the air around it is dry enough.

[@samanthafox8273]

"Instead of solid liquid, it blows bubbles of liquid through." - Drunk Clive, est. 2020

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

... no, actual year 2020

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

That's actually a correct description. In the tube is a mixture of the oil and air--air being the greater proportion. That's the point he was making here.

[@samanthafox8273]

@@thedevilinthecircuit1414 Oh yeah, I know, it just sounded particularly funny to me. :D

[@77thTrombone]

Samantha Fox I agree with you. "Solid liquid" & "liquid bubbles" are keeper expressions!

[@davidprice2861]

I would not breath any of that stuff and if I saw it being used in a disco or whatever, I'd be out of there in a flash.. Thanks for the info Clive...

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

Thanks, I always enjoy your videos!

[@LesNewell]

If you heat cellulose nitrate(celluloid) to just below the point where it bursts into flame it starts a chain reaction that produces an amazing amount of smoke. At one point in my childhood I acquired a big roll of celluloid sheet. After a few small test runs I got a large paint can, filled it up and punched a hole in the lid. I used a piece of celluloid as a fuse, lit it and stood well back. A few seconds later it emitted a pretty spectacular cloud of smoke. This rapidly increased until the thing was hissing like a boiler about to explode. The resultant fog bank completely engulfed a nearby row of houses.

[@dozer5069]

The scattering of light via tiny water droplets in air is the Rayleigh effect or Rayleighapproximation.

[@Scrawlerism]

Scrolled way too far for one of these. >.

[@lostboytnt1]

another method that's sometimes used are fine misters, that uses either a piezo element, (similar to a humidifier) or highly compressed water through a nozzle (similar to the outdoor cooling fans) to create a very fine fog, that uses nothing except water vapor. Generally used in outdoor settings, where excess water won't matter.

[@eak125]

I, for one, would love to see more videos that are researched with a bottle of something. Can we start a "Drunken History of" playlist please?

[@srowley85]

I didn’t wade through all the comments to see, but in case it wasn’t mentioned earlier the words you were looking for are the Tyndall effect fir light scattering. We do a lab where students sublime sal ammoniac from other components of a mixture. Given that said compound is a mild irritant, as you found, that step is carried out in a fume hood.

[@ianjames9970]

What Clive, no Pea souper...absolutely love that beastie, especially for outdoor ground effect on a cold November 5th and Halloween

[@bigclivedotcom]

It got a mention at the end.

[@jonathanwilliamson8480]

Rayleigh scattering is the process I think you were hunting for!

[@PsiQ]

how does that fog react when starting at the negative ion gen and having the positive plate nearby ? edit: so you could build a gas/fog operated lavalamp if using this in a closed pipe ??

[@silicah]

I work in a haunted house laser shooty ride and I've become very interested in smoke / haze. Absolutely love this video!

[@AndrewDawsonBrown]

I am commenting on this in 2022 and I'm pleased to say that despite his best efforts Clive is still with us

[@turpialito]

"eBay is China's dumpster". Thumbs up for that!

[@BoB4jjjjs]

Very interesting Clive. Even when you are drunk, though you didn't sound it.

[@remty516]

His voice is noticeably different than normal

[@thomas316]

He'd only had one bottle of plonk. The full Scottish breakfast of you like...

[@BoB4jjjjs]

@@thomas316 As long as he has a tattie scone with the Dark and Stormy.

[@timb7085]

Interesting concept at the end - night club is open ONLY to smokers/vapors! I enjoy the loose videos - great content Clive! :)

[@swytchblayd]

I remember making a homemade smoker using a bucket, heating wire from a broken toaster, a pair of small car battery alligator clips, and a foot pump. Used baby oil for the evaporate. Good times.

[@Antony_Jenner]

Clive is right, in my shed right now is a solid block of sal ammoniac that I clean and tin my old school very large sheet metal soldering iron. Most of the time heated by a Primus kero blow torch.

[@BRUXXUS]

Also, the aluminum chloride smoke is super interesting! Isn't that the same exact effect used in smoke bombs? The only difference is that the heat source is from electric coils instead of a chemical reaction. If so, I would imagine you could add dye and make colored haze! What a glorious mess that'd be.

[@SomeMorganSomewhere]

Pretty common in military smoke compositions, and you are correct buy adding dye you can get coloured smoke, not terribly recommended though (not all of it recombines and inhaling HCl and Ammonia is not great for your lungs ;) )

[@thedjresident]

The scattering is Mie scattering due to the large particle size. Rayleigh scattering describes scattering where the molecular distance is smaller than the wavelength of the incident light

[@Waves0815]

Recently fogged my place up rather well. Was standing next to an ultrasonic humidifier...and held a bottle of glycerol in my hand. Temptation and curiosity took overhand and I dumped it into the tank. It worked simply wonderfully

[@bigclivedotcom]

That does work very well. It makes a good emergency hazer.

[@kommander9638]

Ultrasonic water-mist fog-machines are used in terrariums, they are usually in the size of an fist. You sometimes get them at pet stores.

[@KOZMOuvBORG]

3:30 it's called Dissociation, when heated the ammonium chloride (solid) splits into ammonia & hydrogen chloride (both gases). Upon getting away from the heat, recombine into fine particles. NH4Cl ⇌ NH3 + HCl

[@HakanKoseoglu]

25-odd years ago, probably closer to 30 these days, I used to be involved in the Music Club in the university, where we allowed various bands to have gigs in the Uni places. Once I had the control of the fog machine, and the end result was no one could see the band playing, nor the band members could see each other, and it was quite a lot of fun (for me)...

[@korishan]

20:45 The fog keeping cross contamination in a club. Nice theory. If only it could work. Problem is, ppl in the clubs tend to get so close together their tongues get tangled. I doubt any concentration of fog could keep cross contamination from occurring in that kind of environment 😉😜

[@lwilton]

That's why they also serve disinfectant drinks in various flavors.

[@sandua51]

My all time favorite was used by BB King at the Circus Krone. One crew member with a hot plate, frying pan, and jug of fluid. Another waving a hotel towel. Actually worked well.

[@Fifury161]

15:50 - that made me laugh! Swiftly followed by "Instead of solid liquid, it blows bubbles of liquid through."

[@PsiQ]

Soo, that was the "i have to do things" at the end of the livestream ;-)

[@dasy2k1]

I like the glycol fogger that blows the fog over a tray of ice (or dry ice) So it rolls out hugging the floor (or spills off the front of stage and fogs up the orchestra pit when you don't aim it far enough backwards)

[@kyle-rq6og]

9:30 nice to hear the classic scientific measurements being used

[@ottersdangerden]

It sounds like you have been listening to the history guy.... theatrical fog effects, a history that deserves to be remembered.

[@ianmelzer]

My Industrial Electrical shop class at my high school was very cold some mornings. We found one for those Edison screw heating cones in original box and asked the professor if we could use it, he laughed and said absolutely not. So we just used a cheap hair drier we also found as a space heater, but the resettable thermal fuse would trip very easily.

[@Mediamarked]

Hello Clive, interesting project! I've come up with an idea and am not sure it can be done.. You have used/ reviewed the little 5v soldering iron, which seems to heat up in seconds. Combining that with a small pump found in electric water guns (my old wltoys f959 quadcopter water gun comes to mind), powering it off of 2 18650's, using a 2ml bottle (eliquid?) as the tank. Putting that inside of the (empty) bottle of a smoke grenade, using the mousetrap fuse as a switch. Not as a substitute for smoke, more of a jokey-prop type project. Fuze as switch works well, have made a few.. Timed circuit with a relay to have some throwable-delayed-highpower led fun...

[@matthewbeddow3278]

Thanks, Clive, so vaping may help reduce pathogens in the air I didn't know that but when you think about it I guess it makes sense. Your videos always help me through the anxiety we are all feeling, I see a big Clive video and for that time my mind is averted from thinking how dark things are at the moment. Stay safe and healthy Clive we all need you!

[@pifflebunk]

Showing my age here but when I was working in a nightclub we had a fog machine that had to be pressurised with a hand pump. It was nicknamed Sydney for some unknown reason. I love the smell of fog juice.

[@mikegere66]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but for thick theatrical fog I use a propane powered insect fogger with mineral oil. Same concept as the mains powered fogger, but portable and great for field use. I tried a 40/60 mix of glycerin/water but the result was pretty thin. Mineral oil produced a very thick cloud with great hang time.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Used outdoor on film sets, but not in theatres.

[@avejst]

Great video as always Good walk through I don't know of the fog in the hospitals. Thanks for sharing 👍😁

[@AMStationEngineer]

I was involved in EMS near West Chester, PA; where MTV's "Jackass" was shot, [largely]. Bam Margera drank an entire bottle of milk of magnesia, then visited a physician's office, while attempting to hold "it". The next week, they were going to do something with a smoke training device used in fire department training, but that got shut down by the production company and the Borough. Cheers...

[@MadScientist267]

Drunk or not, another great video Clive.

[@quantummandavid]

Dude, I love your videos. lol I didn't know you were drinking when you make some of them. lol

[@frankroberts9320]

'China's Dumpster'. What a great name for a band. It could also be a descriptor for Harbor Freight Tools, here in the US.

[@JackSassyPants]

I think it's fascinating how all of these work for indoor performance spaces but for short bursts of quickly dissipating fog Clive did a video on the ENORMOUS compressed CO2 foggers that Disney uses for its outdoor stage shows and the like where they can't risk glycol or oil building up on surfaces. The raw power it takes to run one of those things, the COST as well

[@bigclivedotcom]

Those ones use liquid nitrogen sprayed into a cloud of steam.

[@JackSassyPants]

bigclivedotcom oh beans I got it wrong, my bad

[@zh84]

Wouldn't a cloud of finely divided oil droplets be flammable? You can make flour burn explosively under the same conditions.

[@BoHolbo]

No. It’s a non-flammable oil.

[@louisturner8842]

Oil is combustible with enough heat, but it would all have to be heated at the same time to flash.

[@AraoftheFunk]

Hey Clive, is it Rayleigh scattering that you were trying to remember? It’s “the scattering of light by particles in a medium, without change in wavelength.” Sounds right.

[@kevgermany]

Terrarium heaters putting out too much heat.... Hmmm wonder if Big Pissed Clive used 110V elements at 240V? These hazers seem darned dangerous.

[@bigclivedotcom]

They're marked for the correct supply voltage. I did wonder if they were mislabelled.

[@tin2001]

Chinaman 1: "This bloke in the UK just bought 3 of them heater things, but we're out of the 240v ones..." Chinaman 2: "Just stick a 110v one in. He probably won't notice"

[@mduvigneaud]

An interesting (and important) thing about CO2 is that you gotta weigh the bottle rather than check the pressure. A bottle will maintain (IIRC) about 600PSI until the bottle is nearly empty. That's *VERY* different than nitrogen where you get like 2000PSI. I could be remembering these wrong, but... yeah.

[@drteeth7054]

You are 100% correct. Vapour above a liquid, *any* quantity of liquid, is always at the same pressure. It is called the Saturated Vapour Pressure. The same applies to NO2 cylinders in operating theatres for the same reason. Full pressure until all the liquid has gone, then it drops like a stone.

[@gryzman]

amazing, I've yet to play with these things in photography studio - but I wonder if the dry-ice is the way to go for me.

[@BloodAsp]

"The history of theatrical hazes, while under a theatrical haze (of alcohol.)"

[@doubleducks814]

Love to see you with a Smoke Cloak Burglar alarm system. Could do with a laugh.

[@kareno8634]

If no known Truth to 'deterring' or 'wiping away' of Infection or even Viruses, i see no harm in trying now. *All the Best to Boris! Stay healthy Clive!*

[@BaronSamedi1959]

White phosphorus creates quite a dense white smoke. It will also burn down the theatre as an added side-effect (some may call it an added bonus).

[@lyfandeth]

In the early 60's you could still buy sal amoniak in US drug stores. If you perforated the case of a used D cell and soaked some up, you could "recharge" it.

[@flecom5309]

I still love my DF-50, that thing can haze a giant room and the haze hangs out for a while

[@PaulHoch]

Keep on keeping on. These are strange times.