Hot Science Experiments How-Tos
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.
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: Make fire 4 ways without matches by using chemistry
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make fire 4 ways without matches by using chemistry, without matches or lighters.
How To: Make your own nylon
In this tutorial, we learn how to make your own nylon. You will need: pipettes, pipette filler, forceps, beaker, stir rod, sebacoyl chloride and hexanediame solution. Now, pour some of the hexanediame solution into the small beaker. Add in a food coloring if you want to make this a specific color. After this, add in 4 cc's of sebacoyl chloride and carefully drip into the side of the beaker. You should see a layer of where the two liquids are after this. Now, take your tweezers and reach into ...
How To: Make a Soda Can Stirling Engine
Ever wonder how to make an engine out of soda cans? Not even sure if it's possible? These videos will show you how to build a working Stirling engine out of cans and other general materials. Here it is in action:
How To: Make DIY Nitrogen Triiodide from ammonia & water purification iodine crystals
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.
How To: Make chlorine gas with pool chlorine and hydrochloric acid
Chlorine gas is a very useful oxidant, which was first introduced as a toxic weapon by the German Army. Even today, it's still used as a weapon, most recently in the Iraq War by insurgents. But chlorine gas has more useful (and less lethal) applications, and if you want to learn how to make some at home, NurdRage has the answers.
How To: Make hydrochloric acid from salt
In this tutorial, we learn how to make hydrochloric acid from salt. First, you will pour some salt into a distil flask. After this, you will add in some concentrated sulfuric acid to the salt. Next, you will let these react with each other. You will start to see gasses bubble up and the excess hydrogen chloride gas come out through the top of the tube. To create a stronger reaction, you can add heat underneath the reaction. Then, test this by exposing it to ammonium chloride. If it's the righ...
How To: Explore Density, Viscosity & Miscibility with a Colorful Layered Liquid Science Experiment
Ever wonder why Jupiter has those colored bands across its surface? Jupiter's enormous mass is made from an array of different liquids, and those fluids do not play well together because of their different makeup. All of the hydrogen- and helium-based fluids are thought not to be miscible, which means that they aren't homogeneous in nature, resulting in strikingly beautiful bands across the planet's surface. But what about viscosity and how that correlates to the development of planets? What ...
How To: Turn pennies into silver and gold coins with zinc
One of the most famous and repeated chemistry experiments involves money. Some would say this is more of a trick than an experiment, but you can be the judge of that. No one can just turn pennies into silver or gold coins, but someone with a few chemicals can. So, if you want to cooler cents in your pocket, try out this chemistry trick yourself. Nurd Rage (Dr. Lithium) shows you how to turn pennies into silver and gold coins using zinc.
How To: Draw the Lewis structure for ammonia
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...
How To: Test manganese dioxide for purity (and sand)
This video speaks to everyone who has ever bought anything online, or in fact, anyone who has ever bought anything period. How do you know what you're getting is genuine? Is it a fake product? Is it stolen goods? Is it impure?
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 a Peltier module to create free electricity from heat
A Peltier module allows you to turn heat into electricity. Because you can place it in areas that are normally warm anyway, the electricity created is "free" in a sense, though it does work best when one side of the module is cold and the other is hot. In other words, all you'll need for this project is the Peltier module and a cooler surface such as soil or water, and a warm area such as a well lit window or warm pan.
How To: Observe the Full Moons in 2011 (Lunar Calendar)
When's the next full moon? Every time I've looked at the moon, I've wondered if it was full. Sometimes it looked like it was, but it's really hard to tell for sure unless you know the exact date of the full moon. Seriously, there's at a couple days before and after the full moon that could easily pass as full. At least, to someone like me who isn't naturally in tune with the moon's cycle (and doesn't have perfect vision).
How To: Weld plastic bottle caps together to make your own water vortex
Forget a message in a bottle, how about your own water vortex!? This simple, step-by-step video shows you how to 'weld' two plastic bottle caps together so you have a tight, dry seal for your very own home water vortex. You'll need a heating element, a non-stick pan, some 2 liter plastic bottles and several extra plastic bottle caps. Now you can hold a vortex in your very own hand.
How To: Create a small explosion with calcium carbide
In order to create an explosion, using Calcium Carbide, you'll need the following: calcium carbide, water, a dropper, and a lighter.
How To: Use a protractor to measure the height of any object
In this video, we learn how to use a protractor to measure the height of any object. First, attach a level to the protractor, followed by a straw at the 45 degree angle. Next, walk back form the object while looking through the straw. Keep walking back until you spot the top of the object through the straw, then measure to the base of the object. After this, you will have an isosceles triangle that has two equal sides. Use these sides to help find what the size of the object is. After this, a...
How To: Make iodine from hydrochloric acid and H2O2
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make iodine from an alkali metal iodide, hydrochloric acid (HCI), and hydroxide peroxide (H2O2).
How To: Make freaky cornstarch monsters dance on speakers
How to make a cornstarch monster in your own home. This non Newtonian fluid will dance on a speaker, creating wild little monsters. The goopy liquid should then be dumped into the speaker head. The wave form you need is a pure Sin wave at 120 hertz.
How To: Use a Volumetric Flask in the Chemistry Lab
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.
How To: Perform Separation by Decantation in the Chemistry Lab
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.
How To: Make nitrogen triiodide
Learn how to make nitrogen triiodide (NI3), the main ingredient of the small, paper-covered parcels that you throw at the ground to make a snapping noise, with household chemicals and items. This chemical is very unstable, so please exercise caution.
How To: Calculate electrical power
This video introduces the formulae for watts in an electric circuit, P=IxE, P=I^R, and P=E^/R. It also explains how P=I^R and P=E^/R are algebraically derived from P=IxE and Ohm's Law.
How To: The 5 Best Dry Ice Party Tricks & Pranks
There's no reason to wait for Halloween to play with dry ice. It definitely creates a creepy fog-like effect when you add a little water to it, but there are some other really cool things you can do wit dry ice. Here are just 5 non-Halloween ways to use dry ice for tricks or pranks.
How To: Instantly Ice Soda into a Frozen Slushy
In this Quick Clip, I'll be showing you how a supercooled soda is transformed into a slushy "slurpee" in under 4 seconds. I was inspired to do this little soda trick by The Super Effect's video on YouTube from a few years ago.
How To: Instant Ice! How to Waterbend in Real Life
In one of my previous articles, I showed off how to make water freeze into ice instantaneously. In this article, I'd like to elaborate on this, and show how a glass of water can turn to ice instantly on command. What exactly is this supernatural power? Discover the secrets to ice-bending—in real life.
How To: Make Water Freeze into Ice Instantaneously
Have you ever seen water freeze instantly? This "Quick Clip" shows some of my personal experiences with making instant ice using a bottle of water supercooled in a freezer.
How To: Make Your Own Glowing Green Fluorescein (Fluorescent Dye)
Fluorescent dye can be a great addition for decorating around the house for Halloween, especially for a haunted one. Creating your own fluorescent dye is a simple experiment, as long as you've got the proper chemicals and safety gear. Nurd Rage details the chemical process of creating your own fluorescein below.
How To: DIY Ninja Turtle Ooze! Make Your Own Radioactive Canister of Glowing Green Slime at Home
There's a broken canister of mutant ooze leaking down into the sewers! But don't worry because this sticky slime is non-toxic, and it's so easy to make, a three-year-old can do it!
How To: The Trick to Stabbing a Balloon Without Popping It
A balloon's worst fear is a sharp object, so usually when you puncture a balloon, it pops in your face. Not with this science trick! To puncture a fully blown up latex balloon without popping it, you'll need a pointed metal or wooden skewer and some plain old dish soap. That's it.
How To: Make a battery at home out of table salt and aluminum
For this tutorial, you will need some water, table salt, a few square feet of aluminum foil, a needle, some steel wool, a pair of wired alligator clips, a thick paper towel and a voltmeter to test out your new battery.
How To: Lift fingerprints from a bottle of water with super glue
Does someone keep drinking part of water bottle and leaving them around your house or office, taunting you with their wastefulness? Thanks to forensic technology, it is possible to catch the culprit with easy household materials. This video will show you how to use super glue to lift fingerprints off of a water bottle where normal fingerprint-lifting technology would not be sufficient. Plus, you get to use a heat gun! Always fun.
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: Create a plankton science model
In this tutorial, we learn how to create a plankton science model. You will first need a clear bucket with water, modeling clay, toothpicks, sponge, beads, buttons, pipe cleaners, Styrofoam peanuts, and more. To make the plankton, you will first take the peanut and stick a toothpick into it. Then, add a paperclip on top of that to give it some weight. Drop it into the water and see if it floats or sinks. Add some more weight to it to see how much weight it takes to sink it to the bottom. Have...
How To: Make ammonium chloride from hydrochloric acid and ammonia
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.
How To: Prove that water molecules are polar with a home-science experiment
This free video science lesson from Jefferson Lab demonstrates a simple technique for demonstrating the polarity of the water molecules. 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.
How To: Balance chemical equations the right way
In this tutorial, we learn how to balance chemical equations. The first thing you want to do is to draw a graph and label one side reactants and the other side products. Go through each of the atoms that are in your equation on both sides. Write out how many atoms are in each chemical. Then, find a common multiple that will give you and equal amount on each side of the equation. Continue to do this same for all the chemicals in your equation, then when you are finished write it out. Now you w...
How To: Make elemental sulfur (sulphur)
This video tutorial is in the Education category which will show you how to make elemental sulfur (sulphur). The chemicals you need are nitric acid and sodium thiosulphate. The reaction produces toxic SO2 gas so keep it coved with a watch glass. Put 12.9 grams of sodium thiosulphate in a beaker and dissolve it in minimum amount of water. Pour about 15ml of nitric acid in to the beaker. Let it sit in a warm place for a couple of hours and the sulphur will settle at the bottom of the beaker. Th...
How To: Make lightning with a spoon and a balloon
In this video, we learn how to make lightning with a spoon and a balloon. First, you will need to gather a spoon and a balloon. Once you have these, blow up the balloon then tie it on the end so it's sealed. After this, rub the balloon on your hair and then slowly move the spoon towards the balloon. Turn the lights out and watch what happens. You will see sparks of electricity start to appear between the balloon and the spoon! This is great to do with children or as a quick experiment to show...