Help a noob out - experimenting without understanding

[Avarice]

Hey guys. I've never been into chemistry much, I failed it in Highschool and even dropped out of it in college. That's changed now however as I am getting older, I want to understand what everything is made of, and what I can do to experiment at home with chemistry. I don't have time any more for college classes, but I am studying on my own and reading online.

 

Anyways, last night I was experimenting with electro-chemistry. I took normal salt-water, a DC current and put the wires in the solution. I read somewhere that the bubbling wire is positive, but what chemically is happening when the wire is bubbling?

 

Also, I hooked a nail up to the bubbling wire and let it sit a while, I got a bluish liquid. When I hooked it up to the negative wire, I got a dark blacking liquid (which seperated itself equally on the top and bottom after sitting.

 

When I put a nail on BOTH wires, and kept the wire itself out of the solution, I got a brownish-black liquid. I don't know chemically what is going on here.

 

Also, I tried AC current through the solution (DANGEROUS- Dont try) .. one of the submerged wires sparked violently, and the liquid bubbled and turned green almost immediately.

 

Any help appreciated, thanks.

[Jay-qu]

well for a start any experimentation without understanding can be dangerous - especially with electricity.:eek2:

 

When you saw bubbles you where witnessing the H2O(water) getting broken up and producing oxygen and/or hydrogen gas, depending on the voltage you used (I think...)

The colours where most likely a result of the metals corroding.

[Avarice]

Well I was prepared for an explosion/steam/toxic gas, juust wasn't prepared for the cord melting inside of the terminal. I won't be doing that experiment again without something to tone down the voltage. Thanks for the info, I'll probably do some more tonight and I'll remember the voltage and what-not.

[TheBigDog]

Try doing the experiments using batteries at first instead of wiring to your house. You can get into trouble quick with that much juice!

 

Bill

[infamous]

 

When I put a nail on BOTH wires, and kept the wire itself out of the solution, I got a brownish-black liquid. I don't know chemically what is going on here.

 

 

 

Any help appreciated, thanks.

Electrolysis resulting in a Ferric cloride and sodium hydroxide solution. Please be very careful, we at Hypography will be extremely disappointed if your electrocution renders your presence here as only a temporary visitation.

[Avarice]

"Ferric cloride and sodium hydroxide "

 

That's interesting. I filtered the solution and let the remaining substance dry on a piece of paper, it became a reddish brown (looks just like rust) and I scraped it off into a container. Thanks for the info, what are these substances used for, and can I make anything interesting using electrolysis?

[arkain101]

Electricity is the movement of very small amounts of mass. From atom to atom. These small amounts of mass are electrons, and we say they have a - negetive charge. The bigger part of the mass OF THE ATOM is the positive charge the +. The protons .

 

When you hook up a DC current into the water the electrons flow from the negetive side of the battery through the material .. kind of like air pressure, they are waiting to get to a place that has less - charge, more + charge, because + and - attract, where as ++ and -- repell. So when you hook it up in the water with the salt.. The water molecules which is a big oxygen atom with two hydrogen atoms conformed to it, or in other words the atomic mass of these two elements. hence H2O. Now the salt allows Sodium Chloried molecules (if i remember right this is salt) to become ions in the water. The water 'steals" some of the charge. So the water becomes filled with positvly charged little little bits of salt. The electrons from the negetive wire flow out and take a path to THE most positively charged place.. they are attracted to it. so they spray out of the negetive wire, hop rides along the atoms in the water, while the postive wire sucks up these electrons and the difference in pressure makes a direct flow of electric current. The thing is, the metals from the wires can transfer into the water.. then onto the other wire. This is electrolysis..and it plates conductive materials with other conductive materials.

AC does this all the same but instead of a flow..it takes the electrons and just shoves the balance of atraction back and forth, back and forth.. alternating current. Becuase of this, the change in charge in the water will not be consistance and the ability to seperate the hydrogen and oxygen bonds in the water molecule will be lessened with a shaking motion of AC compared to the more tearing apart motion of DC.

 

thats a quick explnation... and I may have mixed up some details.. thanks for corrections. but i think this may give you some more understanding

[Avarice]

arkain, thank you for the explanation.

you said the H2O steals pieces of salt - are the bubbles caused from oxygen or hydrogen breaking free of the H2O to make way for an atom of Na or Cl?

Is the NaCl broken down at all during electrolysis? or are the bubbles formed from a reaction between the Cu wire in the H2O+NaCl solution?

I heard the + wire bubbles.. when I hooked up to a car battery, the terminal labeled - bubbled..

any ideas?

thx

[Turtle]

___It's always a good idea to use the Search Forums functio here to see if the topic is discussed elsewhere. I get several dozen 'hits' here for electrolysis, & here's a couple recent ones along your lines of experimentation.

 

http://hypography.com/forums/chemistry/5332-ac-electrolysis.html?highlight=electrolysis

 

BRB I lost a link.:)

 

Here it is:

http://hypography.com/forums/chemistry/4784-electrolysis.html?highlight=electrolysis