Enother interesting information: specially for you.
Discussion
- What do you think about this? see, and tell us now.
- Well, professor, you can add a third element that will out-spark even cerium when struck. I had a plate of pure U238, and could create a brilliant shower of white sparks by scraping a hacksaw blade over the edge. It was very clearly the uranium that was pyrophoric, not the steel in the hacksaw blade.
- What would happen if Cerium was combined with Dysprosium?
- If that's like most fire steels, it's got a coating on it you need to scrape off before you try striking it.
- thats a preaty useful element
- this series is awesome!
- Finally an updated element, not just answering questions, lighting H2 ballons on fire and so on.. (Not that it isn't entertaining..!) But I would like to see more updated element videos... Many of them are too short and contain too litle information... Anyway, keep on with the extremely good work!
- yeah a knife works much better
- I see in 0:53 the Table it's FULL by the DOCuMENTS!!! Cu = Copper O = Oxygen S = Sulfur CuSO4 is Copper Sulfate!!
- I have one of these sparkers. Interesting video!
- Titanium makes sparks too.
- @Zed1967: You know, I think he would!
- when you say "wwhen toy strike it the pieces or cerium burst into flames in the are does this mean it oxidises?
- I think that is a tree behind him lol.
- Keep the spark away from that hair Professor.
- Fe- Iron
- *professor*
- cool.
- @doddleman90 AAAAAAASSSSSSHHHHOOOOLLLLEEE
- it's actually not the flint that sparks--its the steel (or iron) that the flint is struck against. remember the beginning of the video, when iron is said to be one of the sparking elements?
- @Zachdudeio2 uh huh...right. Go watch Iron Man 2 and you'll know what I mean.
- dear professor the reason that the sparker was not working at first was that you have to scrape the paint of first !!!
- Ceriumoxide is also used in hydrogengas production, by a mechanism called the "cerium(IV) oxide-cerium(III) oxide cycle" :)
- ur using the sparker wrong, push down hard on the rod with the blade the push forward, dont hit, u can make it fire sparks about a meter is u do it well enough.
- Doesn't zirconium also produce sparks when hit? At least it's well known that zirconium dust self-ignites in the air.
- would you ever so kindly put it in some water for me?
- The trick is to push the metal piece against the base of the rod, then slide it down the rod relatively fast! It's a lot easier to use the fire striker like that. :o
- If you have one of those cerium rods, what I find most effective is to carefully scrape the rod over tissue paper or silver birch bark WITHOUT making it spark. After collecting a small pile of cerium dust scrape it again WITH sparks. Hey presto! Fire! If you scrape it with sparks you end up burning up all the dust before you manage to collect enough to ignite your paper/bark. I used to use one all the time and it wasn't much more effort than using matches.
- love all these, cant get enough.
- @doddleman90 Don't hate on the professor
- I use one of those fire sticks! tell the Prof he'll find that if he scratches off the outer coating first, using the striker, so there's a polished looking surface left. then with heavy pressure on the serrated edge of the striker plate onto the stick drag it down from the root of the handle to the tip in a slowish firm smooth movement. that'll give some good sized chunks that'll continue to spark and roll around when they hit the floor, good for survival and interesting desk patterns! :P
- Years ago in my late teens and early 20's, I took several chemistry classes. Some were great fun and very interesting. Some just made me want to bang my head on the desk. (Surprisingly enough, I do remember being quite pleased with the textbooks.) A few months ago, a friend who has gone back to school took chemistry and needed homework help. I had so much fun helping her! And, I adore these videos. If I were rich, I'd go back and get a chem degree just for the fun!
- Hi! There wasn't any paint on the "sparker". however, the metal may have had a coating of metal oxide that needed to be scraped off.
- seriously with your enthusiasm and knowledge you should be allowed your own TV show.
- I could, yes. Let's say you are camping and you have a pack of matches in your pocket. while hiking around you "accidentally or on purpose it doesn't really matter" fall into a creek or lake or river or pond or other body of water. In this scenario, you will no longer have the option of starting a fire using your matches because they have been ruined by immersion... immersion in water. This could be avoided by using a caesium fire starter.