sodium metal

Do I think it's a good idea to put more sodium in your diet? No, not at all. (JK, that's sodium chloride). The sodium was obtained from unitednuclear.com. In this video, I show the reaction of sodium metal, which is a group 1 alkali metal, with air, I oxidize it rapidly in air (burning), I throw several chunks into a pot of water, and also throw sodium peroxide into a pot of water. Molten pieces of sodium can fly over 15 feet, sometimes on fire. If you try to wash them off of your skin, they catch on fire, produce Drano, and may explode. At the end of the video, the reddish substance produced in the pot is iron oxide because the lid was oxidized by the oxygen from the reaction. At one point during the video, I say that sodium has one electron, I meant to say that it has one valence electron. By far my most dangerous and explosive video yet. Very entertaining.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• sodium
• alkali
• metal
• chemical
• reaction
• chemistry
• water
• fire
• burning
• exploding
• explosion
• explosive
• science
• ExplosiveScience
• Collin
• Hickmann
• metallic

[zefem]

cool vid, makes seince revision a little less boring -_-

[ExplosiveScience]

@zefem Thanks, glad you liked it.

[ars3n]

LOL, u did it in the kitchen!

[ExplosiveScience]

Yes, kind of stupid, but that's what happens when you don't have a lab or even a bunsen burner. Funny story, I first tried burning it over several layers of aluminum foil (like 10) and it got so hot it melted through all of the layers and right onto the stove. And dumping water on it was not exactly an option, lol. But the large chunks which I threw into boiling water I did outside for obvious reasons: a. I don't want to die. b. I like my house the way it is... not on fire. Thanks for watching

[neddy17]

what is it that causes the sodium to detonate rather than just keep burning and reacting in the water?

[ExplosiveScience]

Second, a bubble of hydrogen is rapidly formed in the place where the sodium contacts the water, directly under it. This hydrogen is rapidly expanding due to the increase in temperature from the previous reaction. This expansion throws the blanket of molten sodium into the air allowing the hydrogen to come into contact with oxygen. It instantly combusts (if you have seen tis reaction it often makes a loud bang). The further expansion of the now water vapor generates a loud pressure wave.

[Chaoschemiker]

Wow damned :D

Do all users of this kitchen a favour, buy a bunsen burner and move out in the garden...

The problem of the sputtering reactions is not setting the house on fire. More to have funny spots on all surfaces due to reactions of you chemicals with them.

e.g. the smoke of burning sodium. Its pure Sodium Oxide. And in the kitchen fume hood is moisture and aluminium for sure. You know which problem i mean?

[KEngel1021]

In the case of the Halogens at the other end of the periodic table it is the other way around. The reactivity decreases going down the Halogen series. The outermost shell has 7 electrons and really wants to fill that shell with the 1 remaining electron to achieve equilibrium. Fluorine is the most reactive because its atomic size is the smallest of the Halogens and the nucleus has the greatest pull on the outer shell to attract that one remaining electron.

[KEngel1021]

As you go down the Alkali metal series from Lithium to Francium, the size of the individual atoms will increase.

As the atomic size increases, the distance from that outer electron to the nucleus increases, as the distance increases, the nucleus is less able to hold onto that electron in the outer shell. This is why the alkali metals become more reactive going down the series.

[KEngel1021]

The main byproducts of Sodium reacting with water is Sodium Hydroxide(Lye) and hydrogen. The Sodium metal tears apart the water molecule liberating the hydrogen and combining to form Sodium Hydroxide and possibly Sodium Peroxide. The exothermic reaction generates enough heat the ignite the hydrogen and melt the sodium metal into a little ball as it reacts with the water.

[vitorix24]

school's sodium

[ThePizzahero1]

Well, now imagine a sodium factory would catch fire and fire fighters would try to extinguisch it with water...

[m1tanker78]

Nice video, kiddo. I wish I had the opportunity to mess around with Na when I was a kid. I make my own Na at home now so I can catch up :)

I'll bet your neighbors see you wearing the goggles and they say, "s**t, NOW what's he up to?" LOL Keep 'em coming! Thumbs up

[mazima666]

How did you get a very reactive metal in your hands?

[15kwakmatthew]

it looks kind of like silver butter.