2011-01-23 Sodium Acetate Freezing.avi

A home-made supersaturated solution of sodium acetate in a mason jar freezing after a small grain of seed crystal is dropped in. The seed quickly grows into omni-directional needles that start shedding after a critical mass is achieved, and those needles fall to the bottom and start crystallizing the bottom while the top continues to freeze.

Ten minutes in the microwave and a few hours in the fridge, and this solution is ready to go again! Keeping it in a mason jar is particularly convenient, since it is a sturdy clear container that is cheap and microwaveable.

Recorded with a Canon PowerShot A620. One unfortunate feature of video recording with this camera is that the focus is fixed, so when you move the camera, everything is a little out of focus. Sorry you can't see the fine details of the seed crystal initially growing :(. It's really quite pretty!

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• sodium
• acetate
• freezing
• hot
• ice
• seed
• crystal