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Using Hydrogen Balloons To Display Metal Ion Spectra

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James H. Maynard

Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706

Wayne Wolsey

Department of Chemistry, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN 55105

J. Chem. Educ., 2008, 85 (4), p 519

DOI: 10.1021/ed085p519

Publication Date (Web): April 1, 2008

Abstract

We have optimized a procedure for igniting hydrogen-filled balloons containing metal salts to obtain the brightest possible flash while minimizing the quantity of airborne combustion products. We report air quality measurements in a lecture hall immediately after the demonstration. While we recommend that this demonstration be done outdoors or in a hood, the results show that contaminants do not exceed maximum allowable concentrations in a well-ventilated, large lecture hall.

Keywords (Audience):

First-Year Undergraduate / General

Keywords (Domain):

Demonstrations

Keywords (Feature):

JCE DigiDemos: Tested Demonstrations

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives

Keywords (Subject):

Atomic Properties / Structure

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This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

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