Wired Science

We need to know WHY we should not touch this solution,
and what harms could result from it. SOMEONE will goof up,
we humans know. So MORE SAFETY, please! What to do with a spill, how to dispose of it, how long it glows, and what the radiation does......But it DID start to satisfy my curiosity about these things, which one sees lots of in tourist-laden border Mexican towns and where lots of uninformed people roam around blissfully waving these. THANKS!

I agree- this article left a lot of questions unanswered... how to dispose of this mixture. what happens if it gets on your skin, etc. shocking to be so cavelier about this.

As a retired college chemistry professor who was also the department SAFETY OFFICER I was very frustrated that Mr. Hardwick was not wearing safety goggles as he mixed his chemicals. When I was teaching that was an offense which sent the student out of the lab for that session! In addition, he apparently did not mix the hydrogen peroxide and water before using the solution. That could be an added factor in the very short lifetime of the glow.
Like the previous posters I would strongly suggest that this either be prefaced by "DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME" or by much more detailed disposal and protective gear instructions. Many municipal sewer systems have very strict limits on disposal of soluble chemical wastes, especially metals which can disrupt sewage treatment systems.

With a pH of 11.8 the solution is VERRY alkaline, almost as alkaline as Lye.

My question is what metals would you use for 1.)Red, 2.)Green, 3.)Orange, 4.)Yellow, or 5.)Purple?

Real nerds protect their eyes! Put on your safety glasses and THEN I'll consider you cool.

How much ammonium carbonate did you use? You do not mention this in the clip or transcript. Thanks.

Kids watch this show. A 12 YR. old who is viewing it needs more safety info., and less comments about CSI and creepy people.

i agree w/ the first comment. why shouldn't we touch it?

I don't see what everyone is complaining about. He said specifically not to "throw on children". How much safer do you want?

I used to do Hollywood special effects, and we once needed to create glowing rocks that could be passed around and carried in a basket. We cut open light sticks and separated the AB solutions, and when the camera was ready to roll, mixed the solutions and funneled them into clear acrylic "rocks" that we made, which we capped and rinsed. Worked great. Of course, we had full protection for eyes and skin, including goggles, rubber suits, rubber aprons & gloves, since the MSDS noted that contact with this stuff could cause testicular cancer.

I have to agree with alot that said above. The Hack segment was fun and I would like to see more of them in the future. But, it was majorly lacking. Not enough detail to do it yourself but enough detail and lack of safety instruction to make it dangerious for anyone who tries.

Why Dangerous To Put In Mouth???? All of them say they are NON - TOXIC!!! Stupid People....

Another Comment from me...

BTW: I got it on my skin, in my mouth and in my eyes (I chewed it!) Nothing happened - I washed my eyes out & i simply glowed for the rest of the night... GO GLOW STICKS!

As a research scientist, I find the demonstration to make a glow stick completely irresponsible! The demo seemed to indicate that you could do this at home! Mr. Hardwick should have been protective clothing (lab coat), protective glasses and gloves! Luminol is not a chemical that should be available to the public, who have no idea of how to deal with and dispose of it. In schools, universities, and research facilities, safety is the number one rule. There are lots of at home science experiments that can be done that are fun, teach, and are safe. If you are promoting science, do it properly. Safety first!

There is no scientific evidence that shows that these chemicals are harmful or cause cancer. They say non-toxic for a reason, and you can throw them in the trash, like any other glowstick.

Beverly Castner said:
"Luminol is not a chemical that should be available to the public"

WTF??? Luminol is no more dangerous then half the stuff found under the average American kitchen sink. In fast it's less of a health hazard then Drano, the MSDS for Luminol rates it's health hazard as a 2 while Drano is a 3.

Yes there should have been more safety info in the video but saying that Luminol is so dangerous that the public shouldn't have access is just fear mongering.

I see a lot of posts here about safety.
People are asking why they shouldn't drink something that is pH > 11. Come on now... don't do the experiment if you want to drink things you don't know anything about.
America is loosing Her creativity and ingenuity that once made Her great because Science is not taken seriously.

WTF?! i need to know how to make different colors...doing this 4 science fair!!!

If the chemicals that go into making glow sticks are so dangerous as many people here who have comment have made them seem, why is it that anyone, of any age, can purchase a glowstick and do whatever they like with them? It even reasonable to assume a fair number of these kids will rupture the containers, put the substance on their skin and or even inadvertently digest some of it. However, I have never ever heard of a single report of poisoning from a glowstick.

cool my sicnce progect is going tro be awsome

i just did this with a more consentrated solution and put it in a spray bottle, then i sprayed it on my shoes!!

that is soooo cool.can you guys replay that movie.please
thanks.hannah schafer

I think everyone needs to "lighten" up!!

where do you get the stuff at?

is there any clips or show or anything to prove it works

u guys need 2 take a chill pill

Well...if copper sulfate made blue Im going to assume this worls the same as fire works.

Red - Strontium (strontium chloride or strontium sulfate)
Orange - Calcium chloride or calcium sulfate)
Yellow - Sodium
Green/Blue - Copper solutions can be used.
Purple I dunno.

Potassium is purple.

I just want to ask what chemical was responsible for the lengthening of the lifetime of the glow. I'm doing an experiment on luminol, and one of its disadvantages is it's very short lifetime (30 seconds), and I want to see if I can manipulate its variables to lengthen the glow's lifetime, even for just a few more seconds.

I was just wondering about the glowstick experiment,
the experiment is great and all but i noticed that it didnt glow for very long and i was just wondering if there is a way to make the glow last longer than a few seconds/ please let me know of there is a way.

thankyou.

I was thinking about doing this in the class I teach, but I think it might be cheaper and safer just to explain it and get glow sticks at Wally World.

At least he didn't mention Mountain Dew

This was majorly lacking. He hardly tells you how much he used of anything. Also, I have to agree with alot of people, how do you dispose of stuff like this, safety instructions, and what to do if an emergency happens (aka gets in your eyes, mouth, ect.)

The comments all have good points, but this was an interesting article nonetheless!

Why dont you guys do some research of your own and you can find the answers that your asking. Dont just rely on a PBS video to tell you.

What happens if we accidentally pop the glow stick inside of our mouths?

if enters mouth what should you do

I thought about why the effect was short lived. It seems that the Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate (root killer) neutralized too quickly. Maybe if the mixtures are chilled or somehow make it into a gel?

I noticed another VID that made green and it lasts for hours
16 match heads ( for the phosphorus )
1 cap bleach
3 caps hydrogen peroxide

any input on the bleach / peroxide mix .. doesn't sound good ?

thanks for showing me how it is really made i always want to know how they made the glow sticks really glow but are you leaving something out of it because that look a little to easy so make from where im sitting at.
im a nineteen year old teen from co and i like to make stuff that really no one in the right mind would like to make i have been this this way since the age of 8 years old people say i am a geek for the stuff i make but i think its cool so i dont carry what the say. but it doesnt mean im going to try it because as fun as it sound it could always back fire on me

Thanks This Is Just What I Am Looking For A Am Doing A Science Project On This! Everything Else Is Talking About Mountain Dew And Iced Tea And Glowing Water, I Not Sure Is It A Hoax Or Not So Thanks! I Will Create My Own Now.
LSLYLYLO____Loved

how much hydrogen peroxide is required to do this?

I tried the Mountain Dew version! WHAT A JOKE!! No glow whatsoever. There must have been something else in there!

It seems to me that this is a case of "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing". If any posters had bothered to do ANY research whatsoever, you'd know that the luminescence from this "glow stick" and the commercially available ones are as a result of COMPLETELY different compounds. This demo uses luminol as the chemiluminescent agent whereas the glow sticks sold at stores use an oxalic acid derivative. What this means is that the safety hazards for the glow sticks you have at home are nowhere NEAR the same - as long as you follow the package directions, you'll be FINE.

As for this demo - if you do not have the training to work with hazardous chemicals DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS!

The pH of this solution (measure of acidity/alkalinity) is 11.8, which falls somewhere between household ammonia and household bleach - I don't think you would drink those, so would you drink this?

To MAKE luminol, you have to handle hydrazine which is a carcinogen - if you don't want cancer, don't handle it.

If you are worried about disposal - DON'T MAKE IT

Take the vid for what it is - a demonstration on luminescence. If you want to play with luminescence at home, get a glow stick and follow the package directions.

dr.sally
thanks for the maxican...thing.'
even if it a joke..

To clean up a basic solution (pH of 7+) pour vinegar on it. Seriously. It will neutralize the base in the solution and is about as safe and common as you will find. Just be careful, because it -may- act like your third grade volcano project. Take it slow and be calm.

I just spoke with Poison Control. The glowsticks have a very potent alcohol. There is very little it can do to you in that small of a container. If you injest more you will have problems, but it is more of an irritant then anything else. She said they get questions about this every day.

I love how people are asking why they shouldn't touch it.
You are working with chemicals, why would you touch it?
He obviously didn't touch it, so again, why would you?

how much hydrogen peroxide should we add?

i needed to make a glow stick for a science presentation for my class but the chemicals to create one are very expensive.
now im stuck with making glowing water because i have tried so many different ways but they all failed.
thanks a lot.

the mountain dew was just a cut glow stick with peroxide in it.
the vid was cut & pasted

I believe the point here is to be entertaining while showing a neat science fact. How many people watch a mythbusters episode and say wait a minute they did not tell you why you should'nt light the giant pike of phosphorus with a match. He is quite funny in delivery. Great job.

this is to the person whe said [quote]Why dont you guys do some research of your own and you can find the answers that your asking. Dont just rely on a PBS video to tell you.[/quote]

what per say we all did do our own research, but still had to have some other guinea pig try it out for us, before we decide to mix out our own and mix the solution in our mouths to run around a big party looking like a alien with glowing spit.

I want to know what he's into real glow sticks to make them last for hours. I want to do Halloween stuff with This! And btw, the bleach, peroxide, and match heads doesn't work. The bleach causes the hydrogen peroxide to release large amounts of its unstable pure oxygen. Nothing else. Just keep the flame away from it. I almost blew myself up doing that. Lol

I want to know what he's into real glow sticks to make them last for hours. I want to do Halloween stuff with This! And btw, the bleach, peroxide, and match heads doesn't work. The bleach causes the hydrogen peroxide to release large amounts of its unstable pure oxygen. Nothing else. Just keep the flame away from it. I almost blew myself up doing that. Lol

ya im the 55th person to coment

How do I make this with chemicals that are easier to get?

How do I make this with chemicals that are easier to get?

what is the plastic container that keeps the liquid chemical inside and when i snap it it will start to glow and were can i find the chemicals needed for this experiment?