# Why Science Is Awesome **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620 "2006-03-30T23:22:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/1 "2006-03-30T23:22:59Z")
I was watching the new episode of House, and my curiosity was piqued by the gold compound that caused the patient’s symptoms. Looking around on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_regia), I found this: > [@](#): > > History > > Hydrochloric acid was first discovered around the year 800 by the Islamic alchemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Gaber), by mixing common salt with vitriol (sulfuric acid). Jabir’s invention of gold-dissolving aqua regia, consisting of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, contributed to the effort of alchemists to find the philosopher’s stone. OK, so that’s sort of cool, but this is even better: > [@](#): > > When Germany invaded Denmark in World War II, the Hungarian chemist George de Hevesy dissolved the gold Nobel Prizes of Max von Laue and James Franck into aqua regia to prevent the Nazis from stealing them. He placed the resulting solution on a shelf in his laboratory at the Niels Bohr Institute. After the war, he returned to find the solution undisturbed and precipitated the gold out of the acid. The gold was returned to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Nobel Foundation presented new medals to Laue and Franck. In other words, de Hevesy turned two gold medals into liquid form and hid them in plain sight, and had them restored later. How awesome is that? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/2 "2006-03-30T23:36:52Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I was watching the new episode of House, and my curiosity was piqued by the gold compound that caused the patient’s symptoms. Looking around on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_regia), I found this: > OK, so that’s sort of cool, but this is even better: > > In other words, de Hevesy turned two gold medals into liquid form and hid them in plain sight, and had them restored later. How awesome is that? That is indeed cool. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/3 "2006-03-30T23:52:05Z")
Ok, I just tried that with some valuable old family photos, a watch, and some ancient coins. They dissolved beautifully and won’t get stolen now. How to I turn them back when I need to? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/4 "2006-03-30T23:55:32Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/5 "2006-03-31T01:10:50Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Ok, I just tried that with some valuable old family photos, a watch, and some ancient coins. They dissolved beautifully and won’t get stolen now. How to I turn them back when I need to? Electrolyze the solution. You’ll get most of the component metals back. You can use a 9V battery and pencil lead for electrodes, but prepare to sit around for a while. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/6 "2006-03-31T01:15:57Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Ok, I just tried that with some valuable old family photos, a watch, and some ancient coins. They dissolved beautifully and won’t get stolen now. How to I turn them back when I need to? You need to throw them into a blast furnace. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/7 "2006-03-31T03:46:43Z")
I love the ad at the bottom: **Buy sulfuric acid online**. :eek: Science? Way cool. I grew up listening to a ton of it, Dad was a professional science writer for a large metropolitan newspaper. Hands down, the coolest science gag of my childhood? Being on the upper floors at the Frankling Institute for science classes on a Saturday morning and watching the instructor hold a pinkie ball in a flask of liquid nitrogen. Then dropping it on the ground, where of course it shattered like glass. Second coolest? A moment later, when he did the same thing with a huge red rose. 🙂 Oh, and that whole walking on the surface of our Moon? That was neato too. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/8 "2006-03-31T05:23:08Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Oh, and that whole walking on the surface of our Moon? That was neato too. You can always tell the science types, because they refer to it as “our Moon” rather than “the Moon.” Wouldn’t want to confuse people about which moon you’re talking about! “We were walking on Io? Did I miss something?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/9 "2006-03-31T05:25:46Z")
I saw this once in ST: TNG. But it wasn’t acid, it was a transporter. And it wasn’t gold, it was Scotty… ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/10 "2006-03-31T05:37:53Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I love the ad at the bottom: > > **Buy sulfuric acid online**. :eek: I get: Goodbye Yeast Infections The More Effective Candida Cure. A Treatment that Works from Day One > **[New Life Vitamins](https://newlifevitamins.com/)** > > Nutrition for the body, mind, and spirit since 1998. Goodbye indeed :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/11 "2006-03-31T06:06:05Z")
Presidential Hat Company 2008 Hats, Bush, Reagan & Kennedy As seen in Washington, D.C. [www.presidentialhatcompany.com](http://www.presidentialhatcompany.com) …well don’t that just beat all. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/12 "2006-03-31T15:45:58Z")
Oh man. Yay for science! I had some of the _coolest_ demos in my high school chemistry class. There was the one where the teacher took one of those water cooler drums, empty, and coated the inside with some hydrocarbon or other, and set it upright. Then he taped a candle to a double yardstick, lit the candle, and put the flame near the opening of the container. The resulting fire geyser knocked loose ceiling tiles. And then, my favorite was when he took methane out of the gas nozzle and turned it to a liquid. We went out into the hallway, where he set it on FIRE and sent flaming balls of liquid methane scooting down the hall. Holy BLAP that was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/13 "2006-04-01T02:11:07Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > “We were walking on Io? Did I miss something?” 🙂 Yes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Heller\_Highwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@Heller\_Highwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heller_Highwater)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/14 "2006-04-01T06:57:03Z")
> [@Spatial Rift 47](#): > > Oh man. Yay for science! I had some of the coolest demos in my high school chemistry class. There was the one where the teacher took one of those water cooler drums, empty, and coated the inside with some hydrocarbon or other, and set it upright. Then he taped a candle to a double yardstick, lit the candle, and put the flame near the opening of the container. The resulting fire geyser knocked loose ceiling tiles. It was probably methanol, since it becomes a vapor so easily. I’ve actually done that demo before, and it’s really cool. The huge _WHOOSH_ when it first catches always makes me jump, and I already know what’s going to happen. 🙂 There’s just something fascinating about a good science demo. My favorite that I’ve ever done is a pressure demo involving lying down on a bed of nails (1000, to be precise), getting covered with a “blanket” of 1000 nails, and then getting a concrete cinder block placed on top. (And then subsequently broken.) The smashee gets up unharmed, of course. (Kids, don’t try this at home!) ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/15 "2006-04-01T16:14:29Z")
Damn, all we ever did was burn hydrogen in test tubes. I always wanted make up for this by synthesising some nitrogen triiodide, but I keep getting scared I’ll drop a decimal somewhere and blow up the house. Calculations were always my weakest point in chemistry. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/16 "2006-04-02T11:11:18Z")
My chemistry teacher did a demo of the violent reaction between a chunk of sodium and a flask of water. He set up a clear plastic shield between the flask and the students and dropped the sodium in with a long pair of tongs. There was a loud bang and little sodium bits flying everywhere, it was cool. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/17 "2006-04-02T15:12:20Z")
My two favourites from my childhood are pouring concentrated sulfuric acid on sugar (nifty black carbon sort of foams out of the container), and dissolving phosphorus in (I think) carbon disulphide, soaking a piece of filter paper in it, setting it on top of a tall graduated cylinder and waiting - nifty “whump!” when the carbon disulphide evaporates and the phosphorus ignites. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/18 "2006-04-02T17:02:25Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > You can always tell the science types, because they refer to it as “our Moon” rather than “the Moon.” Wouldn’t want to confuse people about which moon you’re talking about! > > “We were walking on Io? Did I miss something?” 🙂 We are all just passengers on this glorious starship Earth… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/19 "2006-04-02T22:28:48Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > My two favourites from my childhood are pouring concentrated sulfuric acid on sugar (nifty black carbon sort of foams out of the container), and dissolving phosphorus in (I think) carbon disulphide, soaking a piece of filter paper in it, setting it on top of a tall graduated cylinder and waiting - nifty “whump!” when the carbon disulphide evaporates and the phosphorus ignites. It’s amazing the stuff you can do with table sugar. If you can get a hold of a good oxidizer (I’m thinking potassium perchlorate, but any strong oxidizer should work) mix some oxidizer in with the sugar, and touch it off with that sulfuric acid. Makes a nice purple flame. If you feel really adventurous, drop a gummy bear in molten potassium perchlorate in a test tube- flames will shoot a foot or so out of the tube. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-science-is-awesome/350620/20 "2006-04-02T23:29:56Z")
> [@Heller Highwater](#): > > It was probably methanol, since it becomes a vapor so easily. I’ve actually done that demo before, and it’s really cool. The huge _WHOOSH_ when it first catches always makes me jump, and I already know what’s going to happen. 🙂 > > There’s just something fascinating about a good science demo. As opposed to a bad one. [http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/13706380.htm](http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/13706380.htm) Only provided this because it was on my front page a few weeks/months ago.