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How To: Make nitric acid

Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make nitric acid. They show three ways to make nitric acid based on two different chemical approaches, both of which can be done using easily accessible materials.

How to Be Your Own SpaceX: Design, Build & Test Liquid-Fueled Rocket Engines

Move over NASA— SpaceX is taking over. Well, not really. But today, the privately funded spacecraft company broke all expectations when their Dragon capsule fell to a soft landing in the Pacific Ocean, completing an undoubtedly successful demo flight of nearly two full trips around Earth. It was the first re-entry of a commercial spacecraft ever, bringing commercial space transportation closer to reality.

How To: Make Your Own Homemade Glow Sticks

Glow sticks, a popular favor at parties and outdoor events, and a must-have on Halloween, can be traced back to the United States Navy in the mid-1960s. The military desired improved visibility during night operations, and glow sticks, with their small-size portability and lack of batteries, were a perfect tactical solution.

Classic Chemistry: Colorize Colorless Liquids with "Black" Magic, AKA the Iodine Clock Reaction

Want to make boring old colorless water brighten up on command? Well, you can control the color of water with this little magic trick. Actually, it's not really magic, but a classic science experiment known commonly as the iodine clock reaction, which uses the reactions between water and chemicals to instantly colorize water, seemingly by command. You can use different colorless chemicals to produce different colors, and you can even make the color vanish to make the water clear again.

How To: Build a real lava lamp

This is how to make a near professional grade lava lamp. We did this as a chemistry project. We perfected it in a week. This took many hours to do, as we had to get the density just right. We remade it three times, also. At the very end, we combined all of the wax into a huge flask. And then it blew up.

News: Zooming Into Sand

Incredible. There's a type of sand (found only on the small Okinawan island of Iriomote) in which each grain resembles a tiny star. And I never would have known, if it hadn't been for blogger Jason Kottke's pal Mouser. Mouser collects sand from all around the world, and then documents each sample with a macro lens:

How To: Make a light bulb from a pickle

In this Education video tutorial you will learn how to make a light bulb from a pickle. Pickles are high in ions in the form of acids and salts. These are electrolytes and they will transfer energy through the pickle. Place a pickle on a glass plate and hook it up with an AC power cord with a nail on each end as shown in the video. You must have protective gloves on. Poke the nails on each end of the pickle and hook up the cord to the power source. The pickle will start emitting light which i...

How To: Make boric acid from borax

This is a video tutorial in the Education category where you are going to learn how to make boric acid from borax. For this experiment you will need borax (disodium tetra borate) and conc. hydrochloric acid. Take 25 ml of hydrochloric acid and dilute it with 75 ml of water. Next take 6 - 7 gms of borax and dissolve it in boiling water. Now add equal amount of hydrochloric acid. Crystals of boric acid will start forming. They are completely insoluble in cold water. After about half an hour, fi...

How To: Measure the volume of a balloon

Here we will demonstrate how to measure the volume of a balloon. A balloon is not a straight edged polygon shape, usually, so the mathematical equations get that much harder, on the flip side, it may be a spherical or ovalish shape, but measurements with math alone are detrimental due to the uneven sizes of the balloon. Here is how to do it properly. You will need a bucket, preferably, to hold water, a larger container than your original bucket, and a measuring container. Place the bucket ins...

How To: Use baby powder to reveal latent fingerprints

This short video shows us how to reveal latent fingerprints on a glass surface by dusting. Anyone interested in forensic science would enjoy trying it as it shows simple steps in dusting and lifting fingerprints. It does not require any chemicals and we can do it with baby powder. The steps involved are so simple and easy to follow that even kids can try it out for fun. This gives a clear idea about fingerprints on different objects like porous, non porous and metals. Enjoy viewing and detect...

How To: Construct a vinegar battery and power a calculator

Using only vinegar and a few simple materials, it is possible to construct a working battery. This science video tutorial explains how to construct and use a battery like this to power a calculator. A good science project as part of an introductory electricity course. This project can be used as a science fair project or merely for fun. If you've ever wanted to make your own battery, know is the time, this science experiment will show you how.

How To: There's Metal Hiding in Your Pepto-Bismol and Here's How You Extract It

Got an upset stomach or a little heartburn? America's favorite pink pill will cure it right up. But did you know that there's actually metal hiding in those chewable Pepto-Bismol tablets? Yes, metal. Technically, it's a poor metal, but metal's metal, right? Well, we do tend to eat a lot of iron in our diets, because it carries oxygen throughout our bodies, so consuming metallic minerals isn't anything abnormal. But you'd never think that Pepto-Bismol is actually made up of metal.

How To: Extract DNA from wheat germ

This science video tutorial includes step-by-step instructions for extracting DNA from wheat germ, the embryonic plant attached to the wheat seed. Individual wheat seeds, or kernels, separate readily from the plant. This kernels have a tough outer coating called bran. If you want to know more, just watch this science experiment.

News: Metal Isn't Flammable... Right?

Theo Gray of Gray Matter explains the principle behind sending steel up in flames- as long as it's steel wool, of course. The process is beyond simple. Spend 2 bucks and 2 minutes: purchase a steel wool pad, hold in pliers, light with a match. But the question is, why is steel wool flammable, while other forms of metal are not? Explanation below the video. Theo says:

How To: Make a never ending foam snake

In this video the author shows how to make a never ending foam snake. He starts by speaking about how hydrogen peroxide can be fun. He starts with the requirements first which are a dish soap, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, some dry yeast, and a red fruit color. Now he fills up a cup with hydrogen peroxide, adds the color and two table spoons of dish soap. Now he shows how to use yeast which is used to remove the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide. And finally he demonstrates the never ending ...

How To: Use superglue to reveal latent fingerprints

Do you need to check a scene for prints, or are maybe just curious about the techniques of forensic science? In this video, Robert Bruce Thompson from the Home Scientist unravels the mysterious of forensic fingerprinting using common materials that you may already have sitting around in your home right now. Explains and demonstrates the process of superglue fuming step-by-step to reveal latent fingerprints. Includes great tips on how to improve and speed up the process using household products.

How To: Do a yeast experiment to see how much C02 it produces

In this Education video tutorial you will learn how to do a yeast experiment to see how much C02 it produces with different types of food. Yeast is a fungus and it has to eat. After it eats, it produces CO2 gas. The bubbles in bread are produced by the CO2 gas from the yeast. Take five different types of food items and measure out the same quantity for each item. In the video it is 8gms of cookie, oil, flour, salt and sugar. Take six glasses of water and mix one packet of yeast in each glass....

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