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There was a chap here in the UK who used to go around giving STEM demonstrations, and in particular would do some wonderful lights, smells, and bangs with simpl
by ColinWright 6y ago
There was a chap here in the UK who used to go around giving STEM demonstrations, and in particular would do some wonderful lights, smells, and bangs with simple chemistry.
Then the company supplying him with lox found out what he was doing and deemed it too dangerous, so they stopped selling it to him.
So he bought liquid nitrogen and distilled his own lox instead. He said it was a great demonstration, and cheaper to boot. He just made sure the supplier never found out.
But with this rig he could have done the lot for himself ... I wonder why he never did ...
- MaxBarraclough 6y agoI think I saw one of these demonstrations! I recall him mentioning the tiny temperature difference being enough, as liquid nitrogen is a few degrees colder than liquid oxygen. Wasn't sure at the time if he was kidding about his supplier refusing to sell him oxygen; now I know he wasn't. Assuming I have my memories straight, I must have been about 12 at the time. I had the honour of being handed some candy from his stash [0]. Seemed like a nice gesture. Of course, his next demonstration was some kind of sugar-fuelled pyrotechnics. Evidently, he made a lasting impression. It seems unfair that chemistry has fire and explosions as such a universal and compelling demonstration. I suppose computer science has graphics. [0] Of course, this being in England, I was in truth handed sweets, but one makes accommodations for our American cousins.
- michaelmcdonald 6y agoFear not! I am a ~heathen~ American cousin and would have perfectly understood the reference to sweets. Though I can't speak for all my brethren, I would think most could at least infer what you were talking about.
- MaxBarraclough 6y agoAlmost the Queen's English, too. Purists discourage the ending of a sentence with a preposition.
- rootusrootus 6y ago> Of course, this being in England, I was in truth handed sweets, but one makes accommodations for our American cousins. FWIW, even in America, 'sweets' is a pretty common description for candy and other treats made predominantly from sugar (donuts, etc).
- whatshisface 6y agoI've never heard "sweets," so you might want to qualify that with a US region.
- qserasera 6y agoI've heard it pretty much everywhere in the US
- mattkrause 6y agoI think it's more of a category in the US: "I got fat because I ate too many sweets" sounds reasonably American, but "I have two sweets left" sounds more British.