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Friday, February 18, 2011

The fatal chemistry.

Chemistry was the only subject I liked in school. Okay maybe not really liked it that much, just found it easier than the others. It was not nerve wrecking like physics or mind boggling like maths. I always scored well and got most of the concepts of  chemistry right. 

Always thought chemical equations were less taxing than solving the x and y equations or calculating the time interval difference of water drops falling from the ceiling and their diameter ( believe me that was a question in physics kinematics).

 I was always fascinated me how the potassium permanganate on dissolving into water changed it into purple or how the thermite reaction took place and a million other things.This was until I had my first lab practical.The practicals in chemistry lab were something I really anticipated. Anyone remember the Nutty Professor?? The slimming potion invented by Eddie Murphy in the movie seemed so awesome.

 All my anticipation and fascination vanished in the very first lab itself , when we were first introduced to the live samples of concentrated HCl and concentrated H2SO4. Reading about them in books was easier but actually looking at the fumes emitting from the respective bottles was scary.Yeah I know you will be laughing your heads off on reading this and thinking I am crazy .


The worst part was yet to come  , we were asked to pipette out 20ml of HCl , who in their right mind would go near the freaking bottles of such monstrous things let alone sucking them using a pipette and risk killing yourself even if one drop is swallowed. It seemed so bizarre.

Thankfully my lab partner always agreed to pipette out whatever was required and me  being my stubborn self  never even touched a container or beaker with a chemical that could be described as harmful to any living organism on the planet.

 Its some kind of phobia that I have. I feel the fuming liquid dragon will emerge from the bottle and engulf me like some creepy insects activated by my touch. I might sound like a complete lunatic by now but I can't help it , my biggest fear would be to pipette out these acids.I'd rather jump off a cliff .

It was such a breather when I thought my nightmares in chemistry lab were over but to my horror we still have one full semester of chemistry labs.The bad odor , dense fumes are back to torture me. Can you believe we made the rat killing poison in one of our labs using copper sulphate( that was my favorite chemical, maybe because of the color) .

The very procedure of making it was so miserable and tormenting.Thankfully again I have three wonderful people as partners who do the entire work while I just look at them wondering how they managed to go near each of those deadly acids.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hahaha...reminded me of my chemistry classes...I think I broke a few test tubes too...I loved the potassium permanganate dissolving into purple n then off course the sulphuric acid n hydrochloric acid being used in experiments... I actually poured some on a table to see if it burned the wood...nice piece brought back some memories of mine...

Unknown said...

thanks. i remember in my first lab hcl spilled on the table , partially burning it up and then there was some accident involving the lab asstt itself, all that scared me. and the potassium permanganate reaction were always nice to observe apart from that also the cu sulphate because of the blue.