Engineering News Blog

Engineering News

Latest news of interest to engineers. Sourced from GlobalSpec's Engineering News

Previous in Blog: Birth Control Pill for Men Being Developed   Next in Blog: GE to Build First Hybrid Natural Gas-Wind-Sun Power Plant
Close
Close
Close
7 comments
Rate Comments: Nested

Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

Posted June 09, 2011 12:06 PM

From Gizmodo:

There are six alkali metals: Lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs) and francium (Fr). You're probably familiar with lithium, since it's inside the batteries of all your electronic devices. But did you know that you could cut a block of it with a simple knife and that it floats on water while it hisses hydrogen out? And that caesium just explodes when you throw it into water? I didn't, probably because I skipped that chemistry class. Or maybe I didn't skip it but I forgot about that school year entirely. In any case, I'm a sucker for demonstration videos in which things explode while being explained by British narrators.

Read the whole article

Reply

Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.
Guru

Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: "Dancing over the abyss."
Posts: 4884
Good Answers: 243
#1

Re: Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

06/09/2011 10:04 PM

Yes. That's what we did in the summer after band practice with chemicals "liberated" from the Chem Lab.

Milo

__________________
People say between two opposed opinions the truth lies in the middle. Not at all! Between them lies the problem, what is unseeable,eternally active life, contemplated in repose. Goethe
Reply
Guru
Hobbies - Musician - New Member Hobbies - Car Customizing - New Member Hobbies - Target Shooting - New Member Engineering Fields - Power Engineering - New Member

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: FL Space Coast
Posts: 536
Good Answers: 14
#2
In reply to #1

Re: Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

06/09/2011 10:43 PM

Those damn band nerds were always such trouble makers!

Oh wait, I was a drummer. So, I was usually the ring leader

Reply Off Topic (Score 5)
Guru
Engineering Fields - Optical Engineering - Member Engineering Fields - Engineering Physics - Member Engineering Fields - Systems Engineering - Member

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Trantor
Posts: 5363
Good Answers: 647
#3

Re: Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

06/10/2011 7:38 AM

Another Gizmodo article. Gizmodo... technology articles written by people clueless about technology, for people clueless about technology.

__________________
Whiskey, women -- and astrophysics. Because sometimes a problem can't be solved with just whiskey and women.
Reply
Guru

Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 519
Good Answers: 11
#4
In reply to #3

Re: Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

06/10/2011 8:35 AM

Sodium is a metal?

Lol did you read some of the posts for this article? It's all about eating chunks of potassium.

Reply Off Topic (Score 5)
Anonymous Poster #1
#5
In reply to #4

Re: Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

06/10/2011 11:48 AM

I hear a large chunk of sodium can be quite entertaining when dropped into a river or lake from a bridge of sufficient height (read safe distance).

Reply
Guru

Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: "Dancing over the abyss."
Posts: 4884
Good Answers: 243
#7
In reply to #5

Re: Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

06/10/2011 6:10 PM

It certainly was when we filled a buddies toilet with clear mineral oil and removed all the water (including a towel dry). Then dumped a few pieces of the sodium in and waited for unsuspecting daddy to show up (on time as usual) and use the facilities...

Thats all I'll Say.

Life was quite exciting when we were still kids...

milo

__________________
People say between two opposed opinions the truth lies in the middle. Not at all! Between them lies the problem, what is unseeable,eternally active life, contemplated in repose. Goethe
Reply
Guru

Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 42355
Good Answers: 1693
#6

Re: Did You Know that There Are Metals that Float and Explode On Water?

06/10/2011 12:19 PM

I remember this from high school science class. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the teacher was sane so we only got to see a little expolsion.

Reply
Reply to Blog Entry 7 comments
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

Anonymous Poster (1); cingold (1); IanR (1); lyn (1); Milo (2); Usbport (1)

Previous in Blog: Birth Control Pill for Men Being Developed   Next in Blog: GE to Build First Hybrid Natural Gas-Wind-Sun Power Plant

Advertisement