Trying to make a giant synthetic dog turd

Hi NileRed, Have you ever dived into the interesting compound class of sodium tungsten bronzes ? ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_tungsten_bronze ) These are non-stoichiometric semiconductors (and superconductors) with a formula of Na_x WO3 showing bright colours ranging from red or golden to violet or deep blue, based on the amount of x in the formula due to trapped electrons which couple phononically. They can easily be made in a furnace (even without inert gas) from NaWO4 + WO3 + a reducing agent (e.g. tungsten powder). And even as an undergrad student I was able to create a cubic crystal with about 0.7cm side length this way in my first try. Also there is a microwave synthesis in which you might be interested, but which I did not try ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022459604005511?via%3Dihub ; In case you can't get the paper, try Scihub which this URL, they have it. ) If you'd like to, I can also send you a PhD thesis (not mine, though) dealing with the synthesis and characterization of tungsten bronzes besides sodium based ones. I think, those pretty compounds could yield a very interesting video.

Dominik Wondrousch

Loving the music choice! It’s that one by Elon Musk, right?

Yeah, I want to try that at some point

Nile Red

i dont think he's really interested in doing that

Nile Red

Has your brother considered making his own related channel?

"You cant fail if you never have an objective" I need that as a sticker really badly...

Clifton Ballad

You should try to had an oxidizer to the powder like potassium nitrate (KNO3)

Is the other guy Nile Blue? :)

John Ioannidis

As a kid, I had a book called "The Book Of Experiments", by Leonard de Vries; I just checked, and it's still available on Amazon. Unfortunately, most of the ingredients it calls for would get you on the no-fly list if you try to get them now, but still... his recipe for a snake involved KNO3, K2Cr2O7 (yikes!), and sugar. It wasn't very impressive, but maybe that was my poor technique. Also, it's been almost 50 years and I still don't have lung cancer, so maybe I didn't breathe the fumes :)

John Ioannidis

At first I thought this was a Nile Red video and I was going to come back with criticism, but after noticing it's a Nile Blue video, all I can say is I think more casual videos like this would be really refreshing for your Blue channel. It humanizes you more, in a way. It felt more like we were hanging out with you in the lab as friends and not with the primary expectation of learning something like we know and love from you. I'd say give more videos for Nile Blue like this a shot. It was fun.

Hunter Coffin deKieffer

Heating with an external source will never be optimal because the foamy "ash" will form on the side of the material facing the heat, causing the unreacted material to move away from the heat source. The mercury compound was generating its own heat, so the heat source naturally remained at the interface between the material and the ash. You need something that can combust on its own.

Kevin Martin

80 percent Main Ing, 10 percent wood chips, 10 percent Potassium Nitrate. There one example and for fun you could add a small amount of sulfur.

Daniel Blake Shoemaker

Well, when I watched the video maybe you need another carbon source (sugar, ground woodchip, mixed with a powerful solid fuel (KNO3???) In small amounts. I mean Main ing 85-90 percent and the rest could be a nitrate-wood chip mix. If you used a liquid sugar nitrate it may not compact that well so you may need charcoal, woodchip dust, Nitrate salt and the other salt (Calcium gluconate) to be used efficiently. Keep trying i know you will find the correct fuel for this mix.

Daniel Blake Shoemaker

I have been repeatedly laughing every time I see the title of this video. I am somewhat disappointed the goal was not to actually make a literal giant synthetic dog turd, though. It'd probably get views.

Jeremiah Senkpiel

I like the new feel. I think it lets viewers get a better sense of who you are and makes everything more natural. I do think it needs a bit of refinement, though. The rapid shot switching was rather jarring, and the pacing needs adjustment. I think these are things that will come with time. Overall, props for trying to mix it up a bit!

p4rtridg3

I love the upbeat feel to the video.

At first, I was not sure what to make of it. It sounds like a good idea.

Daniel Blake Shoemaker

This seems like a great idea

Maybe try mixing in just enough potassium nitrate and powdered sugar (pressed into a tablet or rod) to keep it burning on it's own.

Impatient Ape

Hmm, the process seems to be reliant on external heating, can you mix something to the powder that generates heat while it is going? Some oxidiser for the carbon that is produced, preferably something with a solid product?

TOM

It's kind of like watching a making of a NileRed video.

Michael Aichlmayr

Nile Red: "Ew, that's kind of gross." Also Nile Red: "Hm. How can I make it grosser?"

jason black

I think it fits "Nile Blue" (or whatever it is to be named, though I see no need for a rename either) more than "Nile Red 1". I also wonder if the gluconate would add an interesting effect to the classic dehydration of sugar by sulfuric acid.

Jerrad Pierce

Cool! My goal is to try and make some projects a bit more fun.

Nile Red

I totally understand what you mean and it's not at all going to replace the main channel stuff. This was mostly to have fun. However, in terms of lab coat, I didn't wear one because it just wasn't needed here. And for safety glasses, I had my regular glasses which were okay in this case. This definitely isn't the case for all preps/projects though and in future videos, when it's needed, I will absolutely be wearing a labcoat and proper safety glasses.

Nile Red

Neat! This definitely has more of a 'fun with Science' type of feel to it

From a chemistry teacher point of view, I do have to say that your classical style is far more educative than the new one. I even could recommend the classical style as an orientation for students that start a chemistry project. This style does transport more positive emotions though, which is nice. One thing: it would be exemplary if you wore safety glasses ... and maybe even a lab coat.

Dustin Hof

It’s definitely a different type of video. Nice to see you actually happy/laughing tho. Definitely not as fact-heavy as some of your other videos, but it’s entertaining to watch.