Discussion
In QI last night Stephen Fry poured 'something' into a flask of hydrogen peroxide and created an impressive amount of foam. I thought he said the hydrogen peroxide was mixed with a small amount of detergent but didn't say what he poured in. Or perhaps it was the detergent he poured in to pure hydrogen peroxide. Does anyone know?
A catalyst of some description - like this : https://imaginationstationtoledo.org/content/2010/...
Here's a YouTube link to it being done by someone else (for anyone who didn't see it on QI):
<url>http://youtu.be/p1eG2y2mn54</url>
I've done it at a school I used to work it. If you get the mixture right and do it in the right sort of container (large conical flask works best), the foam will shoot 12-15 feet in the air. Since the bubbles are oxygen, if you get in quick enough after the start of the reaction, and throw in a lit splint, you can light the oxygen and make the foam appear to glow.
<url>http://youtu.be/p1eG2y2mn54</url>
I've done it at a school I used to work it. If you get the mixture right and do it in the right sort of container (large conical flask works best), the foam will shoot 12-15 feet in the air. Since the bubbles are oxygen, if you get in quick enough after the start of the reaction, and throw in a lit splint, you can light the oxygen and make the foam appear to glow.
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