Cleaning Out the Chemical Storage
The greatest challenge I’ve faced in starting a YouTube channel and getting myself to do what I really want to do has been where to start! (Aside from some silly internal resistance I can’t explain logically.) There are dozens of things I would like to do, but since I can’t do all of them at once, the ones I choose not to do won’t be done right now. So instead of choosing, I do nothing. For someone as logical as I think I am, this makes no sense at all. So why do it?!
Instead of the goal being “Start a YouTube Channel” (because what does that even mean?!) I wanted to see what sorts of things I could do towards that goal. Besides the desire to share chemistry with people online, my main purpose in moving forward was to USE the chemicals that have been sitting on my shelves for many, many years collecting dust. I’ve had a chemical inventory for a long time, but it wasn’t up to date. That sounds like a Step One.
So I updated my chemical inventory. It took a few days, but it’s completely up-to-date. In the process, I was able to note a few things that might have gone bad in storage (solutions that aren’t particularly shelf-stable) or things that I have no idea what to do with. Part of a good inventory is to say how much is left in the bottle. For example, “500 gram bottle of sodium bicarbonate, about half full.” I found chemical bottles that are essentially empty!
As of right now, there are over 700 individual bottles in my inventory. Some of them I use frequently, others I’ve never touched. There’s even a bottle I bought way back in 2014 that’s still sealed! Well in the process, I came up with a cool way to at least try to make use of everything. An idea that factors in my indecision on which chemicals to use first. There’s still some refinement to this idea, so I’ll keep it to myself for the moment.
But it also provided a place to start. Many solutions that have been sitting on the shelf might have limited shelf stability. That is to say, after a period of time, they will no longer function the same chemically as they do when freshly mixed. The plan is to film a series of videos where I test the activity of these questionable solutions. If the experiment doesn’t work, I’ll mix up fresh solutions (in smaller volumes) to test which of the solutions is to blame for the failure (if I have the “dry” reagents available). If something is in fact no good, I can get it off the shelf and out of my way.
This first video series won’t be particularly exciting, only minimally informative, and likely not very well edited. So why do it? Well, because that way, I’ve at least done something! Before anyone can be even somewhat proficient in a new domain, they have to practice it. There are plenty of interesting videos I’m planning, but why not make the videos that are going to be the crappiest quality also be the least exciting? It makes sense to me!
And it’s a place to start. Which is the most important thing of all!
I’m planning five videos in this first series. They are:
01.01: Clock Reactions
01.02: Oscillating Reactions
01.03: Chemiluminescent Reactions
01.04: Using up almost-empty chemicals
01.05: My favorite demos
In the last video, about my favorite chemistry demonstrations, I’ll release the brilliant idea (if I say so myself) for how I’m going to finally use the chemicals that have been sitting on my shelves, some for as many as 20 years!
Hope to see you on YouTube!
–Jason
