In the mood for a little mad science? In this home-science how-to from Steve Spangler, we learn how to prepare a bubbly, color-changing concoction using water, ammonia, a universal indicator (cabbage juice will do fine), dry ice, gloves and two plastic cups. Now, repeat the process, this time adding a teaspoon of ammonia when you add your universal pH indicator.
Nitrogen Triiodide is a very powerful contact explosive, but like most fun chemicals is not readily available to the general public cheaply. If you want some and have some chemistry skills, watch this video to learn how to make Nitrogen Triiodide at home out of household ammonia and water purification iodine crystals.
In this how-to video, you will learn how to make the Lewis structure for Ammonia. The formula for Ammonia is NH3. Now, write down H, N, and H in a horizontal line. Place an H under the N. Place two dots in between the spaces found in the H's and the N. Also place two dots above the N. Since the valance electrons are balanced, draw a line between the two dots connecting the H to the N. Leave the two dots above the N alone. This video shows just how easy it is to create a Lewis structure for Am...
This free video science lesson from the Home Scientist demonstrates a simple technique for creating ammonium chloride from hydrochloric acid and ammonia. For all of the relevant details and detailed, step-by-step instructions, as well as to get started trying this experiment yourself, watch this home-science how-to.
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to test if a fertilizer has nitrates rather than urea or ammonia as its nitrogen source.
In this Autos, Motorcycles & Planes video tutorial you are going to learn how to clean your car windows so they are streak free. You will need ammonia solution and a mixing bottle. Mix one part ammonia with ten parts of water in the mixing bottle. Make sure you take sufficient quantity of ammonia. Then get a spray bottle and pour the solution into it. Get a piece of rag and a micro fiber towel. Spray the window liberally with the solution and wipe with the rag. Now wipe with the micro fiber t...
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make a mirror silvering solution from silver nitrate, ammonia, sugar, and sodium hydroxide.
Hydrazine sulfate has many uses, but most notably, it's been used under the trade name of Sehydrin, a treatment for anorexia, cachexia and some even think cancer. But for we DIY chemists, it's useful for something entirely different— as a substitute for the more dangerous pure liquid hydrazine in chemical reactions. NurdRage shows you how to make it via some hypochlorite and the Ketazine process.
Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.
This is a timelapse of a salt crystal garden growing on a toilet paper roll. You need salt, water, food coloring, ammonia and a dish with a pourous stiff object.
Though you may scrub every inch of your kitchen, there are plenty of trouble areas that are nearly impossible to get clean: gunked-up tile grout, rust in the sink, and caked-on burners and grates on the stove. As far as burners and grates go, you're in luck, because there's a simple solution to returning even the grossest ones back to their original shine. The Key Is Ammonia
Home chemistry is great, but what happens when you forget to label your chemicals? How do you know if you turned a clear glass of ammonia into a clear glass of unobtainium? Chemists have a tool for just that.
What Is Ferrofluid? Ferrofluid is a black, solvent-based liquid, that, in the presence of a magnetic field, becomes strongly magnetized. The fluid is made up of nanomagnetic particles coated with an "anti-stick" or surfactant compound, suspended in a "carrier", commonly an organic solvent. For mechanical applications, it is used in hard drives and speakers as a lubricant. However, it also has been implemented in artwork, as seen in the video below.
Here are three different methods you can use to make a stink bomb prank from things you can find around the house—just a pack of matches, an empty plastic soda bottle, and some household ammonia. Mix the tips of the matches with the ammonia and let it sit for three or four days, then stink it up!
You can easily copy the aged look on old brass jewelry and hardware. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, oxides naturally. But you can encourage the process to go faster by using vinegar and salt water, or a rag soaked in ammonia. Use these techniques to mimic an antique patina.
Getting a fish? The first thing you'll need to learn in order to keep it alive, is how to prepare your aquarium and its water. Ensure a healthy, balanced environment in your aquarium by following this simple process.
Don't let ants ruin your next outdoor outing. Picnics are a wonderful way to share yummy food in the great outdoors. Ants think so too! You can keep pesky ants away with just a few simple actions.
Dust is everywhere. Here are some novel ways to remove it. You Will Need
It’s easy to make those telltale sweat spots disappear if you know what to use on them. Don't throw away those white shirts, learn how to get rid of sweat stains instead.
Clean your basement like a champ. The hardest part of cleaning a basement is working around all that stuff you’ve stuck down there. This game plan will help. Check out this Howcast video tutorial on how to clean your basement.
Wash your window blinds with a minimum of mess. Howcast presents you with tips on how to effectively clean your window blinds. Blinds can be tricky to clean, so pay attention.
This free video science lesson from the Home Scientist demonstrates a simple technique for creating ammonium chloride from hydrochloric acid and ammonia. For all of the relevant details and detailed, step-by-step instructions, as well as to get started trying this experiment yourself, watch this home-science how-to.
Exposed to hormones, pharmaceuticals, and other chemicals, the beautiful wild fish in Canada's Grand River have taken on some pretty odd characteristics—they're turning into females. A long-term study suggests using bacteria to manage polluted water could turn the tide for feminized fish.
In this video, we learn how to add a zipper to a latex garment. First, apply glue to the zipper, using an ammonia based adhesive in one coat. Next, take a small paint brush from any store and apply a thin layer of adhesive to the zipper. The top will take about 45 minutes to dry, then turn it over and apply another layer of glue to the back. After this, cut two 1/2" strips of latex a little bit longer than the zippers. Also cut a 1/4" wide and 1" long piece of latex as well. Now, apply these ...
Johnathan E. Stewart shows us how to remove blood stains from fabric in this tutorial. Your first step right after blood gets on your clothes is to rinse it with warm water and pat a wash cloth with soap and water on it. If the stain is more set in, grab hydrogen peroxide, soap, and water, then mix together and pat onto the stain. If all else fails, you can use ammonia with water on the stain. When you're finished cleaning the stain, throw it into the washer immediately, with stain remover mi...
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to clean a Hummel figurine. The materials required for this task are: light fluid or ammonia, warm water soft cloth and a toothbrush. Begin by mixing the fluid into some warm water and dipping the cloth into the water. With the wet cloth, apply it onto the figurines and rub it gently. If you can't remove the stubborn spot, use the toothbrush and clean in a back-and-forth or circular motion. This video will benefit those viewers who collect Hummel figu...
Depending on what state you are in will have different laws on the amount of tint that is legal to have on your car window. If your tint is too dark for the state you are in there is a way that is not too difficult for you to remove the tint yourself. You will have to heat up the car but having it in the sun and running it with the heat and defrost on until the window is hot. Then you will simply have to catch the edge of the tint with a new razor blade and start to peal. It should come off i...
This video is a tutorial on how to remove blood stains on the carpet. The first step is to mix 1 teaspoon of dish detergent with a cup of water in a spray bottle. Spray your mixture on the stain and blot gently with a rag. Be careful not to soak the stain so it doesn't go through to the other side of the carpet. The second step is to mix 1 teaspoon of ammonia with a cup of water in a spray bottle. Once again, spray onto the stain and blot gently until the stain is gone. The third step is to u...
To grow beautiful flowers and plants in an outdoor garden, you need to feed your soil the right plant food – a fertilizer that will help your plants thrive. Watch this video to learn how to choose plant fertilizer.
There are few things peskier in the summer than an unexpected mosquito bite swelling up on your arms and legs. Fortunately, there are many ways to heal your body of its annoying itch, ranging from fruit (lemon slices and banana peels) to common household items (baking soda and apple cider vinegar).
If your diamond ring has lost some its sparkle, it might time to clean it. Diamonds might be expensive, but you can easily clean them with simple household products. Follow the steps in this video and that rock will be shining again in no time!
Cheese is one of the most loved foods in the world, and there are hundreds of different types. Some prefer super expensive gourmet cheeses, others are fine with the cheaper processed stuff.
Cleanliness is next to godliness. My interpretation of that age-old adage means that keeping your house clean is just as un-fun and boring as being a goody two shoes. That's why they call things like laundry and doing dishes "chores," I assume. Yuck.
As you get barbecuing this summer, you're likely to encounter a few grills that aren't exactly the cleanest. At parks or campgrounds and even on your friends' grills (or, um, your own), no one wants to place food on gunked-up grill grates.
It's nearly impossible to keep a stovetop clean when cooking, at least, in my experience. No matter what I do, liquid and solid food bits fall to the surface and around the burners every single time, creating a hard-to-clean mess.
A lot of people have problems with their cats urinating inside the house, leaving behind the retched odor of cat pee. Others get frustrated when feral or stray cats pee on their porch, patio, or anywhere else outside of their house, as it's not the most welcoming odor when guests arrive.
Some bacteria can already do it—generate electric current, that is—and those microbes are called "electrogenic." Now, thanks to the work of a research group from the University of California, Santa Barbara, we know how to easily turn non-electrogenic bacteria into electricity producers.
One thousand feet under the ground, extremophile microbes that have not seen the light of day for four million years are giving up some fascinating facts to scientists who go the distance.
Whites are the hardest color to keep looking bright and new after just a few months' time. Your sweat and oils quickly become stains, and colors from other clothes will eventually bleed into the fabric, discoloring your bright whites into something merely whitish. But before you reach for the bleach, the ultimate chemical cleaner, try some a few of these safer, less-toxic DIY solutions out instead.
There are many, many home remedies out there for relieving itchy mosquito bites. Everything from mud to banana peels and basil leaves to Alka-Seltzer tablets can help curb the itch. But before you even have to resort to any of those methods, you should be thinking about prevention. Wearing white clothing can help to keep mosquitoes aways from your skin, and there are many plants that will help mask your mosquito-attracting smell. But there's even more ways to keep those bloodsucking bugs away.
