Copper sulfate has a bright and saturated blue color. Crystals are especially beautiful. They can be an original gift for friends and relatives or become a very interesting activity to create it. Copper sulfate crystals will become an original decor for the room. So how do you grow them yourself? The basic manufacturing principles are described in this article.

This tool is sold in stores for agricultural products. But when using it at home, it is worth remembering that copper sulfate is a toxic drug. It is used to kill pests in the fields. Therefore, when working with it, observe safety precautions: work only with rubber gloves, do not inhale the vapors of the solution with it, avoid contact with mucous membranes and eyes. Be sure to wash your hands after each work with the product and only under running water.

Important! Do not use tap water for the procedure. It contains chlorine, which will react with the agent and reduce the quality of the finished crystal. If you don't have distilled water, then use boiled water.

Advice. Since the crystal will be transparent in color, use a thin but strong thread to grow it. It will not be visible in the finished product, but it will hold the weight of the decor.

When you install the thread in the container, make sure that it does not touch the walls of the dish, as well as the bottom. This will destroy the structure of the crystal.
Since the glass will have to be heated, use it with a thick base or use heat-resistant dishes.

Today, there are two ways to grow crystals from copper sulfate. Although the principle is the same: the gradual formation of growths, the result is crystals with different structures. It also takes a different amount of time to grow.
The fast method involves the formation of a crystal in a short time. It is suitable for those who do not like to wait and need a quick result. The whole process will take about a week. You will grow an elongated crystal with many small branches.
If you want to grow a large crystal, then you will need a longer period of time and patience for this. But in the end, you will create an item that looks like a large gem.

Prepare a container with a volume of half a liter. Pour 200 g of powder into it and pour 300 ml of warm water. It should be on the sand oven. Stir the mixture well until the grains are completely dissolved.

Remove the container from the sand and place it on the table. Let the mixture cool down. Tie a piece of vitriol to the thread - this will be the seed. Dip it in liquid.

Make sure that the seed with the thread does not touch the walls and bottom of the dish. When the mixture cools, the released salts will settle on the prepared base. For convenience, fasten the thread to a pencil, which you place on the surface of the container. It will hold the thread in the vertical direction.

After a day, remove the base, heat the container again. In this case, the powder that has settled to the bottom should completely melt. Cool the mixture and put the thread back inside the container. Cover and leave for 12 hours. In a day you will grow a brush of crystals on a thread. Repeat the procedure until the desired size of the decoration is formed.

For a specific crystal shape, use a wire instead of a base. Bend it into any shape, for example, in the form of a drop and dip it into the mixture. But it also should not touch the walls and bottom of the container. In a week you will grow such a bright crystal.

Advice. To form the edges of the crystal, grease them with oil if their growth in a certain place is not needed.

You will get large crystals with a smooth surface when growing it with a long method. But for this you will need not only a lot of time, but also attention. With this method, seeding is important and small crystals will have to be removed.

Mix 110 g of powder with 200 g of warm water. Stir the solution well, set aside. Then periodically stir it until the powder grains are completely dissolved. Filter the resulting mixture. Use a cotton pad or paper filter for this.

Wash the container and pour the filtered solution into it.
Among the powder crystals, find the largest and with even edges. Tie it to a thread and lower it into a container. It should be located strictly vertically inside, without touching the inner surface. Use a cloth to prevent dusty debris from entering the solution.

In this method, you do not need to get the thread and heat the mixture. After 10 days, the crystal will increase by 2 times. Continue to grow it until you reach the desired volume.

As you can see, it is not difficult to grow a crystal from copper sulfate, the main thing is patience and compliance with safety rules.

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A selection of simple experiments with copper sulfate at home

In the last article, I talked about copper sulphate, what it is, where it is used and even how some of them are treated (I just don’t know if they are cured?), And today I propose to do experiments with copper sulphate at home.

I have already talked about all these experiments in the “Chemistry” section, so now, in fact, I just collect them all together, since they are scattered under different articles.

In the beginning, as usual, I warn you about the observance of safety regulations!

I remind you that we will do almost all experiments (except one) with a solution of copper sulfate. To get it, dissolve half a teaspoon in a glass of water - this is quite enough for all today's experiments. I propose to start with the simplest and cheat with a nail.

Everything is very simple - put a clean (meaning without rust and oil) iron nail into the vitriol solution and wait. The chemical reaction will take place by itself, without your further participation. The first results will be visible in a few minutes. Well, I advise the most patient to “forget” about what is happening for a couple of weeks. It will be very interesting.

We drop a little ammonia into the light blue solution. Voila! A bright purple solution of copper ammonia is ready. Don't bother with the name, just enjoy the beautiful sight.

Add some sodium hydroxide. A beautiful blue precipitate of copper hydroxide is obtained. Do not pour it out, we will need it in the next experiment.

You will need a pharmacy solution of pure glucose. We add it to the sediment obtained in the previous experiment, and gently heat it. The bright blue precipitate will gradually turn first into a yellow solution, then into red.

You need to do everything carefully and carefully, so look how I did it.

Denaturation (destruction) of a protein

Take a raw egg and separate the white from the yolk. We put the protein in a glass, add a little water, mix and divide into two parts, that is, into two experiments. To the first part we add a little copper sulfate. After mixing, we get this unintelligible mass:

To the second part of the protein we add a little sodium hydroxide, and then a few drops of vitriol. We get a bright purple color of the solution.

Dilute a little ordinary table salt in a glass of water and mix with a solution of copper sulfate. We admire the emerald green color of the resulting solution.

It will require some preparations from you (about five minutes), but it's worth it. All you need is an old frying pan and crystalline (not a solution!) Copper sulfate. We will use water to turn white matter into blue. Detailed instructions here.

Although it is summer now, you can easily create real frosty patterns on glass.

Another very simple experience. The only thing that is required of you is, as in the case of a nail, patience. Well, some ordinary clerical silicate glue. Details in the article "Chemical algae".

Well, in the end, a spectacular experience in obtaining foam. It can be done in two versions - with copper sulfate or with potassium permanganate. In fact, the processes are the same and the result is also almost the same. True, you will have to run around pharmacies in search of hydroperite. If luck smiles at you and you buy it, then carefully read this article and use it for your own pleasure!

That's all for today. I hope this collection of home experiments with copper sulphate is useful to you. Do you have any ideas what else can be done? Write in the comments, share your experience.

Good mood to you all!

P.S. I completely forgot about the most common experience - growing beautiful blue crystals. I promise to improve and show it to you soon

Svetlana Kalashnikova - chemistry teacher

Natalia, I came to the site by chance, for research work I collect information about table salt and sugar. I went in and stayed for a long time, just do not come off, such exactly as you need everything, everything is interesting. I need to start a conversation, my email address is:

Nice to meet you, colleague!

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Entertaining experiences

Why fruit knives turn black?!

Why fruit knives turn black

If you add a solution of iron salt to some fruit juice (an iron salt solution can be easily obtained at home, if you lower a nail or several buttons, paper clips into blue vitriol for half an hour), then the liquid will immediately darken. We will get a weak ink solution. Fruits contain tannic acid, which forms ink with iron salt. In order to get a solution of iron salt at home, dip a nail into a solution of copper sulfate and wait ten minutes. Then pour off the greenish solution. The resulting solution of iron sulfate (FeSO 4) can be used in reactions.

Tea also contains tannic acid. An iron salt solution added to a weak tea solution will change the color of the tea to black. That is why it is not recommended to brew tea in a metal teapot!

Chemical reactions with table salt

Sometimes table salt is specially iodized, that is, sodium or potassium iodides are added to it. This is done because iodine is part of various enzymes in the body, and with its deficiency, the functioning of the thyroid gland worsens.

Solutions of copper sulphate with table salt (green)

Finding the supplement is pretty easy. It is necessary to cook starch paste: dilute a quarter of a teaspoon of starch in a glass of cold water, heat to a boil, boil for five minutes and cool. The paste is much more sensitive to iodine than dry starch. Next, a third of a teaspoon of salt is dissolved in a teaspoon of water, a few drops of vinegar essence (or half a teaspoon of vinegar), half a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide, and after two to three minutes, a few drops of paste are added to the resulting solution. If the salt has been iodized, then the hydrogen peroxide will displace the free iodine:

which turns starch blue. (The experiment will not work if KClO 3 was used instead of KI for salt iodination). Can be held experience with copper sulphate and common salt. None of the above reactions will occur here. But the reaction is beautiful. When mixing vitriol and salt, observe the formation of a beautiful green solution of sodium tetrachlorocuprate Na 2

Entertaining experiments with potassium permanganate:

Dissolve a few crystals of potassium permanganate in water and wait a while. You will notice that the crimson color of the solution (explained by the presence of permanganate ions in the solution) will gradually become paler, and then completely disappear, while a brown coating of manganese oxide (IV) forms on the walls of the vessel:

The dishes in which you conducted the experiment can be easily cleaned of plaque with a solution of citric or oxalic acid. These substances reduce manganese to the +2 oxidation state and convert it into water-soluble complex compounds. In dark bottles, solutions of potassium permanganate can be stored for years. Many people believe that potassium permanganate is highly soluble in water. In fact, the solubility of this salt at room temperature (20°C) is only 6.4 g per 100 g of water. However, the solution has such an intense color that it seems concentrated.

If potassium permanganate is heated to 200 0 C, then potassium permanganate will turn into dark green potassium manganate (K 2 MnO 4). This releases a large amount of pure oxygen, which can be collected and used for other chemical reactions. The solution of potassium permanganate deteriorates (decomposes) especially quickly in the presence of reducing agents. For example, the reducing agent is ethyl alcohol C 2 H 5 OH. The reaction of potassium permanganate with alcohol proceeds as follows:

Detergent from potassium permanganate:

In order to get a homemade "detergent", you need to mix potassium permanganate with acid. Of course, not with everyone. Some acids can oxidize themselves; in particular, if you take hydrochloric acid, poisonous chlorine will be released from it:

So it is often obtained in the laboratory. Therefore, for our purposes, it is better to use dilute (about 5 percent) sulfuric acid. In extreme cases, it can be replaced with dilute acetic acid - table vinegar. Take about 50 ml (a quarter cup) of an acid solution, add 1-2 g of potassium permanganate (at the tip of a knife) and mix thoroughly with a wooden stick. Then rinse it under running water and tie a piece of foam sponge to the end. With this “brush”, quickly but gently smear the oxidizing mixture over the contaminated area of \u200b\u200bthe sink. Soon the liquid will begin to change color to dark cherry, and then to brown. This means that the oxidation reaction is in full swing. Here it is necessary to make several remarks. You must work very carefully so that the mixture does not get on your hands and clothes; It would be nice to wear an oilcloth apron. And you should not hesitate, since the oxidizing mixture is very caustic and even “eats” foam rubber over time. After use, the foam "brush" must be immersed in a pre-prepared jar of water, rinsed and discarded. During such cleaning of the sink, an unpleasant odor may appear, emitted by products of incomplete oxidation of organic contaminants on faience and acetic acid itself, so the room must be ventilated. After 15-20 minutes, wash off the browned mixture with a stream of water. And although the sink will appear in a terrible form - all in brown spots, you should not worry: the product of the reduction of potassium permanganate - manganese dioxide MnO 2 is easy to remove by restoring insoluble manganese (IV) to a well-soluble manganese salt in water.

But when potassium permanganate interacts with concentrated sulfuric acid, manganese oxide (VII) Mn 2 O 7 is formed - an oily dark green liquid. This is the only liquid metal oxide under normal conditions (tmelt = 5.9°C). It is very unstable and easily explodes on slight heating (tdec=55°C) or on shaking. Mn 2 O 7 is an even stronger oxidizing agent than KMnO 4 . On contact with it, many organic substances, such as ethyl alcohol, ignite. This, by the way, is one of the ways to light a spirit lamp without matches!

Interesting experiments with hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide can be both an oxidizing agent (this property is widely known) and a reducing agent! In the latter case, it reacts with oxidizing substances:

H 2 O 2 -2e → 2H + + O 2. Manganese dioxide is just such a substance. Chemists call such reactions "reductive decomposition of hydrogen peroxide". Instead of pharmaceutical peroxide, you can use tablets of hydroperite - a compound of hydrogen peroxide with urea of the composition CO (NH 2) 2 H 2 O 2. It is not a chemical compound, since there are no chemical bonds between the urea and hydrogen peroxide molecules; H 2 O 2 molecules are, as it were, included in long narrow channels in urea crystals and cannot leave until the substance is dissolved in water. Therefore, such connections are called channel inclusion connections. One tablet of hydroperite corresponds to 15 ml (tablespoon) of a 3% solution of H 2 O 2 . To obtain a 1% solution of H 2 O 2, take two tablets of hydroperite and 100 ml of water. Using manganese dioxide as an oxidizing agent for hydrogen peroxide, you need to know one subtlety. MnO 2 is a good catalyst for the decomposition of H 2 O 2 into water and oxygen:

And if you simply treat the sink with a solution of H 2 O 2, then it will instantly “boil”, releasing oxygen, and the brown coating will remain, because the catalyst should not be consumed during the reaction. To avoid catalytic decomposition of H 2 O 2, an acidic environment is needed. This is where vinegar comes in handy too. We strongly dilute the pharmacy peroxide with water, add a little vinegar and wipe the sink with this mixture. A real miracle will happen: the dirty-brown surface will sparkle with whiteness and become like new. And the miracle happened in full accordance with the reaction

It remains only to wash off the highly soluble manganese salt with a stream of water. In the same way, you can try to clean a contaminated aluminum pan: in the presence of strong oxidizing agents, a strong protective oxide film forms on the surface of this metal, which will prevent it from dissolving in acid. But it is not worth cleaning enameled products (pots, bathtubs) with this method: the acidic environment slowly destroys the enamel. To remove MnO 2 plaque, you can also use aqueous solutions of organic acids: oxalic, citric, tartaric, etc. Moreover, you do not need to specially acidify them - the acids themselves create a rather acidic environment in an aqueous solution.

Chemical reaction between potassium iodide and acetic acid in lead

Of course, the gold is not real, but the experience is beautiful! For a chemical reaction, we need a soluble lead salt (blue acetate (CH 3 COO) 2 Pb is suitable - a salt formed by dissolving lead in acetic acid) and an iodine salt (for example, potassium iodide KI). Acetic lead can also be obtained at home by lowering a piece of lead into acetic acid. Potassium iodide is sometimes used to etch electronic circuit boards.

Potassium iodide and lead acetate are two clear liquids that do not differ in appearance from water.

Let's start the reaction: add a solution of lead acetate to a solution of potassium iodide. Combining two transparent liquids, we observe the formation of a golden-yellow precipitate - lead iodide PbI 2 - spectacular! The reaction proceeds as follows:

Entertaining experiments with clerical glue

Stationery glue is nothing more than liquid with glass or its chemical name “sodium silicate” Na 2 SiO 3 You can also say that it is a sodium salt of silicic acid. If you add a solution of acetic acid to the silicate glue, insoluble silicic acid, hydrated silicon oxide, will precipitate:

The resulting H 2 SiO 3 precipitate can be dried in an oven and diluted with a dilute solution of water-soluble ink. As a result, the ink will settle on the surface of the silicon oxide, and it will not be possible to wash it off. This phenomenon is called adsorption (from Latin ad - “on” and sorbeo - “I absorb”)

Another beautiful entertaining experience with liquid glass. We need copper sulfate CuSO 4, nickel sulfate NiS0 4, iron chloride FeCl 3. Let's make a chemical aquarium. In a tall glass jar with silicate glue diluted in half with water, dilute aqueous solutions of nickel sulfate and ferric chloride are poured simultaneously from two glasses. Silicate “algae” of yellow-green color gradually grow in the jar, which, intertwining, descend from top to bottom. Now let's add a solution of copper sulphate to the jar drop by drop, populate the aquarium with starfish. Algae growth is the result of crystallization of hydroxides and silicates of iron, copper and nickel, which are formed as a result of exchange reactions.

Entertaining experiments with iodine

Add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide H 2 O 2 to the iodine tincture and mix. After a while, a black gleaming precipitate will separate from the solution. This crystalline iodine- a substance that is poorly soluble in water. Iodine precipitates faster if the solution is slightly heated with hot water. Peroxide is needed in order to oxidize the potassium iodide KI contained in the tincture (it is added to increase the solubility of iodine). The poor solubility of iodine in water is also associated with its other ability - to be extracted from water by liquids consisting of non-polar molecules (oil, gasoline, etc.). Add a few drops of sunflower oil to a teaspoon of water. Stir and see that the oil does not mix with water. If now two or three drops of iodine tincture are dropped there and shaken vigorously, the oil layer will turn dark brown, and the water layer will become pale yellow, i.e. most of the iodine will pass into the oil.

Iodine is a highly corrosive substance. To verify this, place a few drops of iodine tincture on a metal surface. After a while, the liquid will discolor, and a stain will remain on the metal surface. The metal reacted with iodine to form a salt - iodide. This property of iodine is the basis of one of the methods for applying inscriptions to metal.

Colored fun experience with ammonia

By the substance "ammonia" we mean an aqueous solution of ammonia (ammonia). In fact, ammonia is a gas that, when dissolved in water, forms a new class of chemical compounds - “bases”. It is with the base that we will experiment. A spectacular experience can be done with a solution of ammonia (ammonia). Ammonia forms a colored compound with copper ions. Take a bronze or copper coin with a dark coating and fill it with ammonia. Immediately or after a few minutes, the solution will turn blue. It was under the action of atmospheric oxygen that copper formed a complex compound - ammonia:

Entertaining experiments: lime slaking

Lime slaking is a chemical reaction between calcium oxide (CaO - quicklime) and water. It proceeds as follows:

Calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH) 2) is also called milk of lime. If carbon dioxide is passed through a solution of calcium hydroxide (or breathed into a tube through the solution), a white insoluble precipitate of calcium carbonate will form:

This reaction is also a qualitative reaction to calcium ions Ca + in solution. The resulting substance - calcium carbonate - is the well-known chalk (lime, colored crayons)

Ignition temperature in air of some complex substances, 0 С:

The beginning of the reaction between magnesium and iodine. Emission of iodine vapor

Vapors of iodine and intensive oxidation of magnesium

The last stage of the reaction is the formation of magnesium iodide

Crystal… From this word it really blows with magic. I don’t know about the magical properties of crystals, but they definitely have a variety of useful physical properties. Crystals are widely used in modern electronics, optics, and other fields of technology. And, of course, the crystals are simply beautiful. They attract the eye with their regular shape and natural symmetry. And this applies not only to precious crystals, but also to crystals grown from improvised means.

We already know something about the crystalline state of matter from the article on. It's time to move on to practical exercises 🙂

The crystal growth experiment has a number of features. One of these features is the duration of the experiment. The thing is that a good and beautiful, and, most importantly, a large crystal cannot be grown quickly. This takes time. That is why the experience of growing crystals for nine days developed in the rubric, where you could observe the progress of the process and, perhaps, even conduct your own experiment in parallel. This article is a summary of the information obtained during the experience. So, instructions for those who want to grow a crystal themselves.

For this we need:

The container in which the crystal will grow. It is best if the container is transparent, such as a glass jar. In this case, it will be convenient to monitor the progress of the process.
A small piece of cardboard to cut out the container lid
Funnel
Filter paper or any material with which it will be possible to filter the solution. You can use a napkin.
Thread. It is better to take a thinner and smoother thread, for example, silk.
And, of course, the substance from which we will grow the crystal. Copper sulphate is used in the experiment. The crystal from it should turn out to be a beautiful blue color. In addition, getting blue vitriol is quite simple - it is usually sold in any gardening store. If you could not find blue vitriol or are just too lazy to go to the store, then you can use any crystalline substance, for example, ordinary table salt or sugar.

Before starting the experiment, I must warn you, in case you want to repeat it, about personal safety measures. You will be working with chemicals that can harm you. Do not use food containers for your experiment, use protective equipment (gloves, glasses), wash your laboratory glassware thoroughly. If chemicals come into contact with skin or eyes, rinse thoroughly with water. If swallowed, seek medical attention.

Well, with the formalities over, let's get started.

Day 1.

As I said, growing crystals is a procedure that has some peculiarities. Another feature of this experiment, in addition to the duration, is the need to grow the so-called seed, i.e. a small crystal, on the basis of which a large crystal will grow. You can do without a seed, but in this case it is difficult to grow a beautiful single crystal. Therefore, it is better to grow a seed after all, especially since there is nothing complicated in this.

Prepare a saturated solution.

Let's pour some copper sulphate into a glass container (hereinafter I will talk about copper sulphate, since it is he who is involved in the experiment, but you use the substance that you managed to find).

Pour salt (and copper sulfate is sulfur-copper salt) with a small amount of hot water. The use of hot water is mandatory, because. at elevated temperatures, the solubility of salts increases.

It is better to place the container in a water bath so that the solution does not cool prematurely.

Stir the salt until dissolved, and then add more salt and stir again. We repeat this until the salt ceases to dissolve in water.

Thus, we have obtained a saturated salt solution.

Now the resulting solution must be filtered. This must be done so that no foreign particles, such as dust or impurities, remain in the solution. Foreign particles can serve as additional centers of crystallization, i.e. other crystals will begin to form around them, but we do not need this. At this stage of the experiment, this is not very critical, but later the purity of the solution will be very important.

After filtering, you need to throw a few salt crystals into the solution - seeds will begin to form on them.

Now the container needs to be placed in a place where a more or less constant temperature regime will be ensured (the windowsill is great for this), and covered with something to prevent foreign impurities from entering.

The solution will begin to cool and supersaturate, i.e. salt will begin to become more in solution than it can dissolve at a given temperature. The salt will begin to crystallize, and the grains of salt that we added to the saturated solution will become the centers of crystallization. You will have to wait 2-3 days. After that, we proceed to the next stage of the experiment.

Day 2

It can be seen that crystals began to form at the bottom of the vessel.

Day 3

The crystals have grown. In principle, they are large enough to be used as a seed, but I will try to keep them for another day.

Day 4

Well, enough time has passed, and we have formed a good seed material. It remains to choose the right candidate.

Pretty pretty already, isn't it? But we will not stop there and will continue our experiment.

It seems that the resulting mass of crystals is a monolith, but in fact it is not difficult to separate the crystals.

Try to choose a crystal of the most correct shape. I chose far from the largest available, but I liked its shape the most. The more correct the shape of the seed, the more correct the shape of the crystal will be in the future. To make the dimensions of the seed more clear, I put a match next to it.

Now you need to tie a thread to the seed. As I wrote at the beginning of the article, it is better to take a less fuzzy thread so that side crystals do not form on its protruding fibers. Do not use wire as a hanger.

Now the thread with the seed must be passed through the lid of the container and fixed on the reverse side. You need to fix it so that at any time it is possible to adjust the height of the suspension. For example, you can wind the excess thread on the match from the back or secure the thread with a paper clip.

Now we need to prepare a fresh salt solution. It is done in the same way as for the seed: dissolving salt in hot water until it stops dissolving, filtering the solution. In this fresh solution we place our seed. Make sure that the seed does not touch the bottom and walls of the container, otherwise the crystal will begin to grow in an irregular shape.

And now we have two ways. The first one is more complex. It requires more attention and effort. The fact is that the most beautiful and regular crystals are obtained when the crystallization process is slow. Therefore, we need to ensure smooth cooling of the salt solution. To do this, we need to place our seed container in thermo-vessels, constantly monitor the temperature of the solution. In simple terms, there is quite a lot of fuss. But the reward for such efforts is worthwhile - the crystal will turn out to be as clean and regular as possible.

The second way is much easier. You have placed the seed in a hot solution and you can forget about it for a while, leaving the crystallization process to chance. With this method, the growing crystal may not be an ideal shape, but the growth process will be faster.

I chose the second way. In the end, after going down the easier path and gaining some experience, I can always do a more complex version of the experiment. In addition, you need to keep in mind that the quick version of the experience does not mean at all that it can be done in a couple of hours. Even with an accelerated experience, the crystal will grow for several days. In the case of a long-term option, the experiment can stretch for 1-2 months.

But in both cases it is necessary to monitor the growth of the crystal. Once again, you don’t need to take out the crystal and touch it - this may affect its shape. If side crystals begin to form on a crystal or thread, they must be carefully removed so that they also do not spoil the shape of the main crystal.

And one moment. If you lowered the seed into the solution, but it did not increase, but quite the opposite, it dissolves, then this means that you have prepared an unsaturated solution. The procedure for preparing the solution will have to be repeated.

So we continue to monitor the growth of the crystal. If you have any questions, you can contact me in the comments or through the form.

Day 5

During the day, the crystal grew significantly. In the photo, the crystal is compared with a match and a crystal - an understudy of the seed, which I left yesterday just in case.

However, as you can see, the shape of the crystal is not ideal, there are many defects. This is the result of the rapid growth of the crystal. But I still like it 🙂

I updated the solution as I did before, and lowered the crystal back into it. Since the crystal size increased significantly compared to the previous day, an adjustment in the height of the seed suspension was required. The experiment continues.

Day 6

Crystal has grown. Again updated the copper sulphate solution.

Day 7

The crystal barely fits into my glass! Do not forget to clean the thread from growing small crystals.

Day 8

Day 9

Well, here comes, I think, the last day of the experiment. The latter is not because the crystal will not be able to grow further, but because it has become too crowded in my laboratory glassware. We take out the crystal, cut the thread to the very root and blot it with napkins. We are one step away from admiring our work of art. The fact is that if you leave the crystal as it is, it will collapse pretty soon. To prevent this from happening, it must be "dressed" in a protective shell. The best option is to cover it with clear varnish. You can also place it in a hermetically sealed container, for example, in a jar. But it seems to me that the best option is to cover it with varnish. This will give it additional brilliance, and it will be possible to observe it, as they say, live, and not through glass.

And now you can take a good look at the crystal. Of course, his form was not perfect. But I deliberately chose the fast way of crystal growth instead of the qualitative one. In any case, I was pleased with the result. In nine days, the crystal grew more than seven centimeters in length - a pretty good result!

I even wanted to give it a name. Names are given to large and unique gemstones. For example, how the famous diamond was given the name "Count Orlov". My crystal, of course, is far from a diamond, but it is dear to me in its own way 🙂 Therefore, not without a share of humor, I decided to call the resulting seven-centimeter pebble the Kid.

Good luck with your experiments!

Several interesting experiments can be made with copper, so we will devote a special page to it.

From a piece of copper wire, make a small spiral and fix it in a wooden holder (you can leave a free end of sufficient length and wind it around a regular pencil). Ignite the spiral in a flame. Its surface will be covered with a black coating of copper oxide CuO. If the blackened wire is immersed in dilute hydrochloric acid, the liquid will turn blue, and the surface of the metal will again become red and shiny. The acid, if it is not heated, does not act on copper, but dissolves its oxide, turning it into a CuCl 2 salt.

But here's the question: if copper oxide is black, why are antique copper and bronze objects covered not with black, but with a green coating, and what kind of coating is this?

Try to find an old copper object, say a candlestick. Scrape some of the green residue off of it and place it in a test tube. Close the neck of the test tube with a cork with a gas outlet tube, the end of which is lowered into lime water (you already know how to prepare it). Heat the contents of the test tube. Drops of water will collect on its walls, and gas bubbles will be released from the gas outlet pipe, from which the lime water becomes cloudy. So it's carbon dioxide. A black powder will remain in the test tube, which, when dissolved in acid, gives a blue solution. This powder, as you might guess, is copper oxide.

So, we learned what components the green plaque decomposes into. Its formula is written as follows: CuCO 3 * Сu (OH) 2 (basic copper carbonate). It forms on copper objects, since there is always both carbon dioxide and water vapor in the air. Green plaque is called patina . The same salt is found in nature - it is nothing more than the famous mineral malachite .

Let's turn our attention back to the blackened copper wire. Is it possible to restore its original shine without the help of acid?

Pour pharmacy ammonia into a test tube, heat the copper wire red-hot and lower it into the vial. The spiral will hiss and become red and shiny again. In an instant, a reaction will occur, as a result of which copper, water and nitrogen are formed. If the experiment is repeated several times, then the ammonia in the test tube will turn blue. Simultaneously with this reaction, another so-called complexation reaction takes place - the very complex copper compound is formed, which previously allowed us to accurately determine ammonia by the blue color of the reaction mixture.

By the way, the ability of copper compounds to react with ammonia has been used since very ancient times (since the time when the science of chemistry was not in sight). Ammonia solution, i.e., ammonia, cleaned copper and brass objects to a shine. So, by the way, experienced housewives are doing now; for greater effect, ammonia is mixed with chalk, which mechanically wipes off dirt and adsorbs impurities from the solution.

next experience. Pour a little ammonia-ammonium chloride NH 4 Cl, which is used for soldering, into a test tube (do not confuse it with ammonia NH 4 OH, which is an aqueous solution of ammonia). With a red-hot copper spiral, touch the layer of substance covering the bottom of the test tube. There will be a hiss again, and white smoke will rise up - this is particles of ammonia escaping. And the spiral will again sparkle with its original copper sheen. A reaction took place, as a result of which the same products were formed as in the previous experiment, and in addition copper chloride CuCl 2 .

It is because of this ability - to restore metallic copper from oxide - that ammonia is used for soldering. The soldering iron is usually made of copper, which conducts heat well; when its “sting” oxidizes, copper loses its ability to hold tin solder on its surface. A little ammonia - and the oxide is gone.

And the last experiment with a copper spiral. Pour a little eau de cologne (even better, pure alcohol) into the test tube and add the red-hot copper wire again. In all likelihood, you can already imagine the result of the experiment: the wire has again been cleared of the oxide film. This time, a complex organic reaction took place: the copper was reduced, and the ethyl alcohol contained in the cologne was oxidized to acetaldehyde. This reaction is not used in everyday life, but sometimes it is used in the laboratory when an aldehyde is to be obtained from alcohol.

O. Olgin. "Experiments without explosions"
M., "Chemistry", 1986

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We take care of our children every day - we cook porridge for them in the morning and iron their clothes. But in 20 years, they will remember not our household chores, but the moments spent together.

website collected 16 experiments that will tear adults away from business and captivate children. They do not need a lot of time and some special preparation, and there will be a lot of pleasure. And then you can cook porridge. Together.

solid liquid

You will need:

starch
Plastic container
food coloring, board, hammer and nails for more experiments

Mix water and starch in a container until creamy. You get a "non-Newtonian" fluid. You can easily dip your fingers into it, but if you hit the surface with your fist, you will feel that it is hard. Place a board on the surface of the liquid and you will easily drive in a nail, but it is worth drowning one corner of it in the liquid, and the board will easily sink to the bottom. If desired, the "solid liquid" can be colored with food coloring.

DIY kinetic sand

You will need:

4 tsp boric alcohol
2 tsp stationery glue
1 tsp dye
100 g sand for chinchillas
glass bowl

Pour all liquid ingredients into a bowl, add sand and mix thoroughly. Done, you can create!

pharaoh snake

You will need:

sand
alcohol
sugar
matches
plate for "snake"

Pour sand into a plate in a slide, soak it in alcohol, and put a mixture of sugar and soda on top. Set it on fire. "Snake" grows instantly!

Electric train made of wire and batteries

You will need:

a coil of thick copper wire (the more wire, the longer the "tunnel")
1 AA battery
2 round neodymium magnets suitable for the battery in diameter
ordinary pen

Wind the wire around the handle to make a long spring. Attach magnets to both ends of the battery. Start the train. He will drive himself!

Burning candle swing

You will need:

candle
thick needle
lighter
two glasses
pliers

Cut off the bottom end of the candle an inch and a half to free the wick. Clamp the needle in pliers and heat it with a lighter, and then pierce the candle in the middle. Put it on the edges of two cups and light it on both sides. Slightly swing, and then the candle will begin to rotate itself.

paper towel rainbow

You will need:

food colorings
paper towels
5 glasses

Place the cups in a row and pour water into the 1st, 3rd and 5th. In the 1st and 5th drop red food coloring, in the 3rd - yellow, in the 5th - blue. Fold 4 paper towels 4 times to make strips and then fold them in half. Insert the ends into different glasses - one between the 1st and 2nd glass, the second between the 2nd and 3rd, etc. After a couple of hours, you can admire the rainbow!

Elephant Toothpaste

You will need:

3/4 cup water
1 tsp potassium permanganate
1 st. l. liquid soap
hydrogen peroxide
glass flask
disposable gloves

Dissolve potassium permanganate in water, add liquid soap and pour the mixture into a glass flask. Carefully but quickly pour in the peroxide. Stormy foam will splash up from the flask - a real toothpaste for an elephant!

very slow ball

You will need:

steel ball
transparent plastic ball-container of two halves
liquid honey

Put the steel ball into the container, pour in the honey and start the whole structure down the slide. Hmm, what if you try it with shower gel?

smoke rings

You will need:

plastic bottle (0.5 l)
balloon
incense stick
lighter
scissors

Cut off the bottom of the plastic bottle and half of the balloon. Put the wide part of the balloon on the cut of the bottle. Insert the wand into the bottle, cover its opening with your hand and wait until it fills with smoke. Start the smoky rings by sharply tapping your finger on the stretched ball.

Self-inflating balloons

You will need:

4 plastic bottles
table vinegar
3 art. l. soda
3 balloons
liquid food coloring

Cut off the top of the plastic bottle, pull all the balls one by one onto the hole and pour a spoonful of soda into each ball through the resulting funnel. Pour the vinegar on the bottoms of the bottles, drop the food coloring there and carefully, so that the soda does not spill into the bottle, pull the balls over the holes. It remains to raise them - the soda will pour out, react with vinegar, and the balls will inflate themselves.

Acetic Soda Rocket

You will need:

plastic bottle (2 l)
3 simple pencils
2 tbsp. l. soda
200 ml vinegar 9%
wide tape
wine cork
paper towel

Make sure that the cork fits snugly on the neck of the bottle. Tape the pencils to the top of the bottle so that it can stand up. Pour the vinegar into the bottle. Wrap the baking soda tightly in a paper towel and twist the ends tightly. Go outside, dip a package of soda into a bottle and plug it with a cork, pressing one end of the package to the neck. Flip the rocket, put it on the ground and run! Takeoff should be observed from 15–20 meters, no less.

Hello everyone, young chemists and those who are older, and this day has come! Blog "Chemistry" opens perhaps the simplest, but requiring a lot of patience experience, but the patience is worth it. Today I will tell you how you can grow crystals and copper sulfate.

Copper sulfate is a substance that, due to its beautiful bright blue color, is ideal for growing crystals. They can be given to your loved ones or used as a decorative element. In any case, they will not leave anyone indifferent, and the manufacturing process can become truly exciting. So, how to grow a crystal from copper sulfate?
Preparatory activities
Copper sulphate can be purchased at almost any hardware store. It is actively used in agriculture for pest control. However, one should not forget that this substance is toxic. When working with blue vitriol at home, be sure to use rubber gloves and do not allow it to enter the esophagus and mucous membranes. Wash your hands thoroughly in running water after finishing work.

You can grow a real miracle from copper sulfate, but do not forget about safety in the manufacturing process
In order to make a crystal, you will need:
water - if possible, use distilled or boiled as a last resort. Raw tap water is categorically not suitable due to the content of chlorides in it, which will react with the solution and degrade its quality;
copper sulfate;
cup;
wire;
wool thread - make sure it is thin. You can use long hair. Copper sulfate crystals are transparent and the thread should not be visible through them.
When placing the seed in a container with a solution, make sure that it does not come into contact with the walls or bottom of the vessel. This can disrupt the crystal growth process and its structure.
Instructions for growing a crystal
There are two technologies for growing crystals from copper sulfate.
1.If you do not want to wait a long time, you can use the fast way. This will take about a week in time, and as a result you will get many small crystals, fixed one on top of the other, like a colony of mussel shells.
2. The second method is longer. It will help you grow a large solid crystal that looks like a gem.
But both of them are based on working with a saturated solution of a substance.
Note! The higher the temperature of the water, the faster the copper sulfate dissolves in it. But when the liquid reaches + 80 ° C, subsequent heating does not affect the solubility of salts.
Fast way
1. Take a glass or jar with a volume of 500 ml, add 200 g of copper sulfate and fill them with 300 ml of water. Place the container on the sand bath and start heating, stirring constantly. The copper sulfate crystals should completely dissolve.

Thoroughly dissolve copper sulfate in warm water
2.Remove the dishes from the sand bath, put them on a flat surface with a cool surface, such as ceramic tiles. The solution should cool slightly. Now you need to place a seed in it. It will serve as a crystal of copper sulfate, which must be selected in advance - the largest and most even.

Place the seed in the solution
3. Make sure that the seed does not come into contact with the inner surfaces of the glass. Even if the crystal dissolves, don't worry, it doesn't matter. Cooling, the saturated solution gives off salts that are deposited on the thread. The largest amount of vitriol will concentrate at the bottom of the dish, since it is in this place that the glass contacts the cool surface.

A saturated solution of vitriol will begin to form crystals on surfaces
4. Remove the thread with the formed crystals from the container with the solution. Repeat the procedure: place the beaker in a sand bath and heat until the precipitate dissolves. Turn off the heat. Without removing the dishes from the bath, cover it with a suitable lid (for example, a petri dish) and let the solution cool slightly.

Thread with the first crystals
5. Place the thread with crystals in the solution, fix it so that it does not come into contact with the bottom and walls. Cover the container and leave overnight. In the morning you will find in a glass a large bunch of beautiful crystals of an unusual shape.

You can get such a crystal in a day
6. You can try to give the cluster of crystals a certain shape. To do this, you need to use a wire instead of a thread. Bend it into a square, circle, heart or star. The wire will become a strong stable frame for the future curly crystal. If at the same time you need to limit the growth of some faces, lubricate them with petroleum jelly or grease. By growing copper sulfate crystals in a fast way, you do not have to worry about seeding: you can do without it at all. The sediment will easily be fixed on the thread.
Second way
In this case, you can grow a large crystal of copper sulfate, but it will take much longer. In addition, unlike the first method, the choice of the seed is fundamentally important. In addition, you will have to make sure that small crystals do not stick to it. The larger and smoother the copper sulfate crystal selected from the total mass, the more beautiful the final product will turn out.
You will need 200 g of warm water and about 110 g of copper sulfate.
Manufacturing instructions:
1. mix vitriol and water in a suitable container (glass or jar), leave for a day. Stir occasionally: the active substance must be completely dissolved. After that, filter the solution through cotton wool or special filter paper. The sediment remaining on the filter surface can be dried and reused if necessary;
2. pour the resulting solution into a clean container;
3.Select a seed crystal, tie it to a thread (hair). Fasten the second end of the thread on a stick, put it horizontally on the container. The seed must descend into the solution in a strictly vertical position. Cover the dishes with a piece of cloth so that dust does not get inside;

A suitable seed size crystal of copper sulphate
4.After a few days, you will notice that the crystal is growing. In a week it will reach 1 cm, and over time it will increase even more;

Be sure to cover the container with the solution and seed with a piece of cloth
While working, you may encounter some difficulties. They are easy to overcome by adhering to simple rules.
1. If during the growth process additional small crystals form inside the container, the solution must be poured into a clean container and the main crystal transferred there.
2. On the thread holding the seed, small crystals may form over time. To avoid this, raise the main crystal a little higher: the smaller piece of thread will be in contact with the solution.
3. You can experiment and use nylon instead of cotton or wool thread. Thin copper wire will also work. But in this case, the seed will grow worse and the growth process will take longer.
4. If the temperature rises in the room in which you are conducting the experiment, the seed may dissolve. Add a few tablespoons of copper sulfate to the solution and let it brew for 5-7 hours, stirring regularly. Drain the solution so that there is no sediment left in it, and repeat the experiment.

Large crystal obtained by long-term growth
When exposed to air, a crystal of copper sulphate loses some of its moisture, weathers and eventually collapses. To avoid this, store it in a tightly closed container in a cool place. Experts advise covering it with a colorless varnish - this will create a reliable protective film.
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