By\u00a0McKinley Smith<\/a><\/p>\n The Daily Barometer<\/p>\n Published:\u00a0<\/strong>Tuesday, April 16, 2013<\/p>\n Updated:\u00a0<\/strong>Tuesday, April 16, 2013 02:04<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With a flash of lights, flames and a bang, the scent of soap fills the air, assaulting the senses.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stigma associated with chemistry being, \u2018memorize all these numbers and use them,\u2019 [or] \u2018draw these hexagons with carbon atoms,\u2019\u201d said Amanda Abbot, a senior in chemistry and member of the Oregon State University chemistry club. \u201cChemistry club is more about the fun side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n Chemistry club is open to anyone who \u201clikes the fun part of chemistry,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n Club meetings take place every other week in the second floor lab in the Gilbert Hall addition. They begin with group planning and conclude with demonstrations. The club is currently selling beaker-themed glasses and mugs to raise funds, with order forms available in Gilbert 153.<\/p>\n The 24 students met for the club\u2019s most recent meeting on Thursday, and featured many testaments of chemistry\u2019s wonders.<\/p>\n Adam Huntley, a demo coordinator and a senior in chemistry, worked off an online recipe for indestructible bubbles, putting a new spin on a childhood pastime. The corn syrup, water and Dawn dish soap concoction yielded bubbles as large as basketballs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t actually gotten them indestructible yet,\u201d Huntley said. \u201cIt\u2019s more like a yo-yo.\u201d<\/p>\n Dry ice, a Halloween staple well known for its smoky quality, took on a new angle, or a curve, during the demonstrations. Ashley Moon, junior in chemistry and demo coordinator, took turns with Huntley to whip up the dry ice, soap and water mixture into a luminous bubble, bulging over the side of the glass bowl before popping in a ring of smoke that swept over the lab bench.<\/p>\n The dry ice bubbles in the water, producing a carbon dioxide gas that is trapped by the thin veneer of soap created by passing a soapy fabric over the brim of the bowl. From there, the gas pushes up against the soap film, forming a large bubble. When the stress gets to be too much, it pops.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems so simple, but so interesting at the same [time],\u201d said Gillian Downey, a freshman in chemistry.<\/p>\n For Downey and Zoe Johnson, a freshman in\u00a0bioresource\u00a0research, it was their first chemistry club meeting.<\/p>\n Omran\u00a0Muslin, a post-baccalaureate student studying biology, described the reaction between two chemicals about to take place under the fume hood.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll get a big cloud of smoke and you\u2019ll get a little snake that comes out of it, a carbon snake, a black snake,\u201d Muslin said. Muslin led the chemistry club years earlier, but currently aids the club.<\/p>\n Another demonstration added a bit of color to the evening. Different metals combined with methanol burned according to the particular metal they contained, producing an array of colors in the room \u2014 darkened to intensify the effect.<\/p>\n \u201cLithium is a purple-pink, copper is a green color, methanol itself is blue, so it\u2019s just different colors, different variations,\u201d Moon said.<\/p>\n Demonstrations go through the safety committee before being tested by the faculty advisors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of tweak [the demonstration] until it works correctly and then we give it to the general population,\u201d said EmileFirpo, one of the faculty advisers. \u201cIt\u2019s not fun to have a demo that doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n Firpo\u00a0has been involved in the club since the mid\u00a01990s.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try not to make them explode and catch on fire, but inadvertently stuff a lot of times ends up not exactly lighting on fire but smoking,\u201d\u00a0Firpo\u00a0said. \u201cWe try to make things colorful and exciting, but not actually light things on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n John\u00a0Loeser, faculty adviser, took over the Chemistry Club in the late\u00a01980s\u00a0and since then has procured a room and furniture for the club in Gilbert\u2019s basement, room 22.<\/p>\n McKinley Smith, news reporter http:\/\/www.dailybarometer.com\/oregon-state-chemistry-club-plays-with-fire-1.3028528#.UX6YA7Wkrgw<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oregon State chemistry club plays with fire By\u00a0McKinley Smith The Daily Barometer Published:\u00a0Tuesday, April 16, 2013 Updated:\u00a0Tuesday, April 16, 2013 02:04 With a flash of lights, flames and a bang, the scent of soap fills the air, assaulting the senses. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stigma associated with chemistry being, \u2018memorize all these numbers and use… Continue reading
\nnews@dailybarometer.com<\/p>\n