Barium

2 Responses to Barium

1. alfy says:

   August 15, 2012 at 9:02 am

   Another medal-winning performance from N U. A lead, or barium medal. A sample of a barium mineral, but he doesn’t know for sure. Maybe it was a dinosaur turd? Why didn’t he pop along to the geology department and ask them to identify it for him?
   Lots of exciting footage of a girl struggling to open a metal can, with lots of camera shake. In the end she reacts the metallic barium with water and “thinks it might be barium hydroxide”. But you are a university chemist for Pete’s sake. don’t you KNOW?
   This was a standard experiment in O Level chemistry where the student tested the pH to show it was alkaline. May be this is no longer taught as it is such a hazardous undertaking.

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2. Steve B says:

   August 16, 2012 at 6:23 pm

   Hold on Alfy you have missed a mistake right at the beginning of this magnum opus. “Barium is at the bottom of Group 2, known as the Alkali Metals” she says. No, it is not! It is in Group 2 and but they are called the Alkali Earth Metals. She obviously is nervous of the camera pointing at her!

   Does she really call herself a chemist if she is also not sure that Barium Hydroxide is made from the reaction of Barium and Water? Basic schoolboy chemistry, I think I am getting as curmudgeonly as you!!!

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