GEORGE L.
GILBERT
tested demonstrcltions
How Vacuum Cleaners Pick Up Paper:
Demonstrating the Relationship
between Air Pressure and Vacuums
Submined by
Thomas L. Neils
Wisconsin Lutheran College
8830 W. Bluemound Road
Milwaukee, W153226
Checked by
The study of air pressure is often used as an introduc-
tion to the study of gases in general chemistry courses.
Several effective demonstrations have been developed to
show that air does exert a force on all objects and that pres-
sure differences can cause nonrigid containers to collapse.
These demonstrations often involve the use of a vacuum
pump to reduce the pressure inside a container. Because of
this type of demonstration, many students mistakenly he-
lieve that the vacuum is sucking in the walls of the con-
tainer, and they completely miss the point of the example.
They think that the vacuum pulls the walls in, rather than
that the higher pressure on the outside crushes the walls.
This misunderstanding can be clarified easily by the fol-
lowing demonstration that involves a vacuum cleaner with
a hose, several pieces of paper, and a sheet of silicone rub-
ber.
First, the students are shown that a vacuum cleaner will
pick up a small piece of paper. When asked what hap-
pened, most students will say that the vacuum cleaner
sucked up the paper.
Next, a second piece of paper, smaller in size than the
circumference of the end of the vacuum cleaner hose, is
placed on the sheet of rubber. The end of the vacuum
cleaner hose is placed over the paper and pressed firmly
and evenly into the rubber. The vacuum cleaner is turned
on for a short time and then turned off. The hose must be
kept firmly pressed into the rubber until the vacuum
cleaner has stopped completely. When the hose is lifted,
the paper is still there!
In-Rushing Air Carries the Paper
This experiment shows that the vacuum does not pull
the paper up, as most students believe. The actual process,
in which air rushes in to equalize the pressure and carries
the paper along with it, can then be explained. The expla-
nation may include the point that rug attachments for vac-
uum cleaners must have "beater bars" to lift heavy dirt
particles into the air so that they will he carried into the
cleaner by the in-rushing air.
This demonstration can be adapted for use with an over-
head projector. Cut a small hole, with a diameter smaller
than that of the vacuum hose, in the rubber sheet and
place it on the projector. The piece of paper can be set in
this hole and students will he able to see that it did not get
pulled into the vacuum cleaner by the suction.
Denison University
Granville.OH 43023
Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank John Terry and Jamin
Warnke for their input and interest.
Combustion of Hydrocarbons:
A Stoichiometry Demonstration
Submitted by
M. Dale Alexander
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM 88003
Checked by
Wayne C. Wolsey
Macalester Colleae
St. Paul, MN 55105
One of the chemical concepts that many students find
uninteresting, if not boring, is that of stoichiometry The
simple stoichiometry demonstration described here is one
that students find to be not only interesting hut also rele-
vant.
Materials
Bunsen burner: H-baseburner equipped with bottom sliding
air shutter (Cenea,Cat. No. 11003-03)is preferred, but burn-
ers with side vents may be employed.
.
.small propane torch
buranc hnckpnrker's stove \Gnrc~aGaz or MSR Rnpldfire
Srove or Scnpto Hutnne Fuel canister 2 1 or,rqu~ppedulth
#4 lighter inlet
Procedure
Operation of the Bunsen burner is discussed in terms of
the equation for the combustion reaction when natural gas
is employed.
CH, + 20, + CO, + 2H20
The ratio of the volumes of oxygen to methane is seen to
be 21. Considering the composition of air (115 oxygen by
volume), the relative volumes of air and natural gas are,
therefore, 10:l (air to methane).
The students are then shown what happens to the Bun-
sen burner flame when the mixture is first made too rich
and then too lean with the air shutter. The burner is then
adjusted to give the best mixture.
Now the equation for the combustion of propane is dis-
cussed
C,H,+ 5 0 % - 3C02+ 4H,O
and the students are shown that ratio of the volume of air
to that of propane (25:l) is considerably greater than is the
'A small propane torch equipped with a needle valve can be used
for the propane source. If the burner head of the torch is unscrewed
fromthe shaft, the shaft can be connected to the Bunsen burner with
rubber tubino. To orovide a butane source. the same ~rocedurecan
be Jseo erncoyrig a smal b~laneoac6pacner's stove If a Scrlpto
B~taneF.e canster is useo. wncn s not eqJppea w l h a neeole
va.ve a secono person 1s neeoed lo pLsn in the n pple valve
Volume 70 Number 4 April 1993 327
case for methane. If the bumer, which is perfectly adjusted
for methane. is fueled with nrooane instead.' the students
immediately note that the && er is too &h, an observa-
tion consistent with the volume stoichiometry of the reac-
tion. Even when the air shutter is opened fully to give the
maximum air supply, the flame is still luminous, which in-
dicates that the combustion is still incomplete.
The procedure is repeated except that butane is em-
ployed.' In this case the ratio of the volume of air to that of
butane for complete combustion is even greater (32.5:l).
2C4Hlo+ 130, + 8C02+ 10HzO
The Bunsen flame using butane, when the burner is ad-
justed for natural gas, is noticeably more luminous than
when propane is used. Even when the maximum amount
of air is admitted, the flame is still very luminous, and if
the air shutter is completely closed, the flame is very sooty
Variations
If compressed air is available, the students can be shown
that if the air supply is sufficient, both propane and butane
can undergo complete combustion. Employing a T-shaped
or Y-shaped connecting tube, air from the compressed air
source and the fuel gas (propane or butane) can be pre-
mixed before introduction into the Bunsen burner, and by
controlling the amount of air, the flame can be adjusted to
give complete combustion.
Precautions
Keep the propane and butane canisters well away
from the Bunsen burner flame.
The Use of Fuses in Chemical Demonstrations
Submined by
John J. Fortrnan and Jeffrey Schreier
Wright State University
Daylon. OH 45435
Checked by
Gordon A. Parker
University of Toledo
Toledo, OH 43606
It is oRen convenient or entertaining to use fuses to set
off such pyrotechnic demonstrations as
colored hydrogen balloon explosions ( I )
potassium chloratdsugar torches (2)
.nitrocellulose/ black powderlpowdered metal sparkling
'flower-pots" (31, or
thermite reactions
Waterproof wick (black powder fuse) can be purchased
a t most hobby shops or gun dealers. It bums hot enough
for the delayed ignition of many pyrotechnic demonstra-
tions.
Torches and Sparkler Pots
The wick can be used for the igniting the potassium chlo-
ratelsugar torches in place of using concentrated sulfuric
acid on suear (2). or for nitrocellulose soarkler flasks in-
stead of u;ng b&zoyl peroxide and anaiine (3).In either
case. the fuse is simnlv inserted into the solids that have
been mixed according& the appropriate instructions (2,3).
The Thermite Reaction
I n similar fashion the fuse can be used in place of either
magnesium ribbon (6)or potassium permanganate plus
glycerin (4,7-10) to ignite the thermite reaction. Thermite
starting mixture is placed in a small indentation made in
328 Journal of Chemical Education
the coarse thennite in the crucible. A smaller depression is
made in the fine startine mixture and filled with a small
amount of a 50:50mixture of sugar and potassium chloratr
( 4 . 6 . 11I. The fuse is inserted into this mixture to a depth
of about one inch. Due to a recent accident (12, 13) & i s
important to offer a warning to those who choose to per-
form the thermite demonstration.
.CAUTION: Do not allow the molten metal to drop into
water. Use a sand trap instead.
Alcohol Explosions
A waterproof fuse also can be used in place of a spark
generated by a Tesla coil jumping between two nails in a
polyethylene bottle to ignite a n air/alcohol vapor mixture
(14, 15).A hole slightly larger than the size of the fuse is
made in the side of a 250-mL to 1-L polyethylene bottle
with a nail.
.CAUTION:It ir important that the hortlr he flexible poly-
ethylene as rlrar piastre hnttlrs may shatter.
A little alcohol is added. the flask corked and shaken.
most of the excess liquid aicohol poured out, and the flask
recorked. In order to avoid getting the end of the wick wet,
only then is a short piece of fuse inserted about 2 in.
throueh the nail hole. Lieht the fuse and when i t oroduces
spark; on the inside of tGe bottle the cork will be shot into
the air. The fuse should be pointed away from anyone as
should the cork. If it doesn't explode, wait until after there
is no red glow before approaching the bottle because the
explosion still may occur as long as there is any spark. If
the vapor pressure of the alcohol is too great or the hole is
too big the escaping vapor will keep the sparks blowing to
the outside and the gases mag not detonate. The vapor
pressure can be reduced by adding a little water to the iiq-
uid alcohol in the bottle. For various reasons ibmition with
the wick is onlv successful about 80% of the time. Alcohol
may either bum in the presence of air or an alcohol vapor
oxygen (air) mixture may detonate. Whereas, the spark
from a Tesla coil always will detonate the gaseous mixture
if i t is within the volume oercent exolosive limits (16).
sometimes the hurning fuse may cause only burning of the
alcohol instead of initiatine the chain reaction of an exolo-
sion.
After each use the bottle will not fire again due to lack of
oxygen until it is flushed out by filling it with water. Most
of the water must then be poured out before reuse. This
flushing may be used to instruct students about the need
for the exhaust stroke in an internal combustion eneine.
The same bottle can be used only about five times before
the hole has been melted too laree and the fuse will bum
away inside the bottle with sm&e but no explosion. Old
holes may be covered with strapping tape to allow the max-
imum use of the bottle before i t is thrown away.
A third wav to imite the exnlosion of the alcohol cannon
that is mar; cons%tently su&essful than the waterproof
wick, but cheaper than a Tesla coil, is to use a six-volt lan-
tern battery and an electrical rocket igniter1 that can be
purchased from hobby shops. The igniters and the water-
proof wick usually are found with the model rocket sup-
plies. Still another method is to use a piezoelectric starter
button for home gas grills (17).
Hydrogen Balloon Explosions
The fireworks fuse can be used for initiation of hvdrozen
, .,
balloon explosions in interesting ways. However, the fuse
cannot be extinmished ensilvonce it is lit. so it is best used
on balloons whirre falling uhburned hot portions will not
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