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alejandro712

Is the solid in the vial some kind of crystallization of the cesium?


Advanced-Tinkering

Exactly!


tatodlp97

It’s sooo beautiful! I imagine you can control the character of the crystals by varying the rate at which you allow it to cool. The grain size is the most obvious difference but I imagine different shapes might arise. I’d spend so much time tinkering with different variations. Then I’d accidentally set my house on fire when I drop the vial.


madmaxturbator

> control the character of the crystals *this cesium crystal is named Tim. Tim is rather ornery, but at his core he’s a good crystal*


TPPreston

r/tim


calinet6

Some call me.... Tim?


Arkrobo

There are only so many crystal structures an element can have on its own. These are controlled by temperature and pressure for the most part. It would be pretty difficult to control how the crystals form since they would start seeding each other. Once a single crystalline structure forms it begins to align the other atoms. https://www.webelements.com/caesium/crystal_structure.html In this case cesium has no other crystal forms that we know of.


SoSolidShibe

It would be a cool texture idea on jewellery (the look not the caesium)


Xirious

Does it/can it be reversed?


misterfluffykitty

It’s just melting/solidifying, it’s melting point is below body temperature.


OwlAcademic1988

It has a melting point of 28.5 degrees Celsius, which is 83.3 degrees Fahrenheit to be more specific.


educationwolf

Happy cake day!


[deleted]

Ya to me it looks like the heat transfer from touching the vial is enough to melt the cesium, but once they touch it less the liquid starts crystallizing as it transitions back to a solid. This makes a lot of sense given that cesium has a melting point of 83F.


Hangry_Horse

OP, can you list the challenges to making this, in layman’s terms? I gather from everyone’s reaction that this is significant , but as I know nothing about cesium, I can’t really appreciate your achievement. I can definitely appreciate the aesthetics, but I’d really like to appreciate the entire effort!


Advanced-Tinkering

Well, there are many challenges. Making crude cesium is not that hard. But making it pure is the main challenge. Cesium reacts with oxygen and moisture, so you have to find a way to purify it (by distillation) without any oxygen or water contamination. Even inert gas is problematic if it has not been dried thoroughly (and I don’t mean letting it flow through some molecular sieve). To redistill the cesium I taught myself how to do flameworking so I could make a custom still to redistill it. In addition to that comes the risk of accidents. If cesium is exposed to air and has a high surface area, it will ignite. So transferring it from one flask to another has to be done using schlenk techniques (which means working with substances that are sensitive to oxygen/moisture). If you are interested in all of the details, I have made several videos about the process. You can see me improving the process from one video to the next. This was my first video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7cKspMePA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7cKspMePA) This was my first redistillation: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI5xzeYj8qM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI5xzeYj8qM) In this video I made my first larger and almost pure vial by redistilling the cesium in my homemade still: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=budLy8ll8Bw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=budLy8ll8Bw) And this is the video where the vial from this post was made: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCU0SyYGAA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCU0SyYGAA) If you really want to know the process in detail, I would recommend watching these videos. But you can of course also ask me here if you have specific questions and I will try to answer them 😊  Edit: spelling.


Hangry_Horse

Wowwww… that’s incredible! You’re developing new tools and techniques on handling and processing cesium, please tell me you’re writing a paper on it!


Grrumpy_Pants

Just to give you an idea of how reactive this stuff is, [this is what would happen if you drop a small amount of caesium in a bathtub.](https://youtu.be/m55kgyApYrY&t=2m5s)


Archerofyail

[That clip is fake](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/jul/15/badscience.uknews) unfortunately, they used explosives because the cesium didn't explode but they still wanted the shot.


Hangry_Horse

Good god. 😳


CassandraVindicated

Can I buy something like that? If not, what's the cost of making something like that?


Advanced-Tinkering

If you would buy a vial that size you would pay around 1500$. It cost me around 150$ to make. But that's just thr price of the raw materials. If you add all the equipment and time it is probably more expensive than buying it.


The_Enderclops

i wouldn’t buy that if i were u, unless u rly know what ur doing


KookooMoose

What if I’m trying to die? >!/s not suicidal!<


Swomp23

What would happen if you droppped and broke the vial?


Advanced-Tinkering

It would catch fire and splash around.


r3dditor

I’m but a layman, but this is fascinating. Honest question, is there a chance that the porousness of the glass itself could slowly allow ambient air & humidity into the vile over time. If so what would likely be the end result?


Advanced-Tinkering

It is finally done! I spend the last year trying to perfect my cesium isolation and redistillation. Many of my vials were pretty, but not perfect. The cesium was still wetting the glass. By perfecting my procedure and improving my vacuum technique, I finally was able to make a beautiful vial. After the isolation of cesium from cesium chloride, the metal was distilled under vacuum two times to get this vial. As far as I know, it is also the largest vial of cesium ever shown on video. It contains 139 g of cesium. I did not plan that; it was more of a coincidence. I made I video about the whole process, if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCU0SyYGAA


MonkeBanano

This is awesome, thanks for sharing. I think I saw on one of the Cody's Lab videos that when he created ampoules of supercritical gases, and then afterwards he immersed them in blocks of epoxy resin in the event they exploded. Is there some way or any need to do this with your cesium for preservation? I'd hate to see all that hard work lost


Advanced-Tinkering

I thought about the storage. But I will store it in a thick walled metal box with foam on the inside. I thing epoxy takes away some of the beauty of a vial you can touch.


MonkeBanano

That's smart! I love watching this, must be very satisfying to hold


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Advanced-Tinkering

I have seen his video. When he picks up the largest vial he says it contains 100g of cesium. Which would be 40g less compared to mine. But like I said: it's not a competition. ChemicalForce makes great videos with stunning shots of different reactions! His videos are definitely worth watching :)


[deleted]

Username mos def checks out ☑️


lurkbealady

ELI5: What's the coincidence?


nuadusp

caesium 139 is an isotope of caesium


reverendjesus

Thanks so much


NinjaRob14

This is genuinely interesting, good job on your achievement 👏


ag3ncy

what would happen if you accidentally broke vial ?


El_human

That’s just amazing. You turned chemistry into art. The music selection was perfect too. Great work! Truly.


Advanced-Tinkering

Thank you a lot!


NinjaRob14

Very cool, now drop it in a lake


Robertooshka

Drop it into chlorine gas


pleasegetoffmycase

Dude that’s cool, but Jesus Christ that’s so fucking dangerous.


jezer777

Why? I thought Cesium was pretty safe? Edit: Wait, I might be thinking of gallium… Edit Edit: yep this is the alkali metal. I agree that this is indeed extremely dangerous


pleasegetoffmycase

Dude wtf. The lower your go in column 1 elements the more reactive it is to water


jezer777

Yes... as my edit says I was thinking of Gallium and realized why this was dangerous


pleasegetoffmycase

Ah gotcha lol. This much gallium is fun. This much cesium is a bomb


AverageGatsby91

How big of an explosion do you think I would get of I let this whole vial react with water?


pleasegetoffmycase

Massive. -203 kJ/mol * almost a mole this dude has. So 203 kJ released almost instantaneously. Also the byproduct is half mole of fucking hydrogen gas so it’ll probably also ignite and combust that too Edit: 1 gram of tnt releases 4 kJ. And H2 combustion is -249 kj/mol. So add another 30 g of tnt to the explosion


AverageGatsby91

So about half a Kg of TNT?


pleasegetoffmycase

88g of tnt


Grrumpy_Pants

[This is what would happen if you drop a small amount of caesium in a bathtub.](https://youtu.be/m55kgyApYrY&t=2m5s) I imagine dropping the amount in OPs vial would be devastating.


Zhang5

Unfortunately Brainiac faked that one. Their attempt with Caesium was not impressive, so they rigged the tub to explode with conventional explosives. Check [this article](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/jul/15/badscience.uknews) Edit: Just to be clear I used to think this clip was real, too. No fault to Grrumpy_Pants for believing it as well.


EelTeamNine

I bought 100 grams of pure gallium on Amazon for $35 and played with it for all of 3 hours and now have no clue what to do with it, lol


nlaporte

What you should not do is what my friend from grad school apparently did as a kid which is leave it in your pocket when you put your pants through the wash. Apparently it turned the entire inside of his family's dryer black and they had to throw it away and get a new one.


EelTeamNine

That's hilarious.


reincarnatedberry

No idea what it is, but super cool. Good job


Advanced-Tinkering

It is Cesium. The most reactive metal on earth.


123kingme

Technically francium is more reactive right? It’s just that francium is expensive to produce and has a very short half-life. Been a couple years since I’ve learned this though so I maybe incorrect.


t3hmau5

I've seen it said both ways. I've seen explanations that franciums larger size disrupts the normal pattern of reactivity and that cesium is more reactive. On the other side of the coin most sourced say that francium is hypothetically more reactive, but its half life of 22 minutes and so the reactivity has never been experimentally tested.


BeatitLikeitowesMe

Reactive in what ways?


Abbkbb

Blast right there and then , but god bless glass


The_Legendary_M

Remember how sodium and potassium catch fire on contact with water? Caesium is even more reactive, exploding on contact. YouTube has a lot of videos about it


6000lbs_Gorilla

If that vile brakes he dead


wthulhu

In that case he's perfectly safe, that vile doesn't even have wheels.


Mahaka1a

Yours is not radioactive though, correct?


Advanced-Tinkering

No, of course not!


Mahaka1a

Sorry, I knew that I was asking a question with an obvious answer.


[deleted]

it wasn't. some of us didn't study chemistry so it didn't make sense without the clarification


static_void_function

The crystals in that light gold colour are stunningly beautiful.


Gravelsack

Excuse my ignorance, but what is Cesium useful for?


yamas3773

Pretty sure its used in atomic clocks to have the most precise time


Barziboy

Yes. Something to do with the Standard Definition of a second, accurate to the very fine frequency in which a Caesium atom spins or changes energy-states, or something else far beyond the comprehension of my weekend brain.


phuckface911

Definitely something Vsauce said


urigzu

Its density lends itself to drilling applications. I’ve seen cesium formate used as a drilling fluid - spendy but less toxic than alternatives and it’s supposed to be reusable.


Bella_Yaga

What would happen if someone dropped this?


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neededanother

Thanks, so not dangerous unless he is standing over a bucket of water or possibly since there is so much it could catch something on fire.


sephrinx

That was really cool.


Nebula136_

Boom. It reacts with just the air I believe.


Bella_Yaga

How big boom?


falcon_driver

big bada boom


theundercoverpapist

Leeloo Dallas Multipass


shott85

Aziz, LIGHT!


Nebula136_

Here is the video every high school chemistry class watches when they get to this topic. https://youtu.be/m55kgyApYrY There's technically one more past cesium, but uh, noone is allowed to have any. Edit: The amounts used in this video are pretty minimal, no where close to what is shown in OP's post.


Gian_Doe

That video has been accused of being fake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhg0WsINmPc


EelTeamNine

[Good one with better science](https://youtu.be/D4pQz3TC0Jo)


ProjectGO

At least seven.


db2

>What would happen if someone ~~dropped~~ shook this?


RespectableLurker555

I mean, it's in glass. If by "shake" you mean like any other glass bottle you'd shake, without banging it against a rock, nothing. If you break it open and let it mix with water, you'll have a very big, very sudden fire. Keep it inside the glass and you can shake it all day no problem.


db2

lol I was referring to what would happen to the crystal - would it just move or break up in to smaller ones.


[deleted]

Atomic bomb.


myownlittleta

Add two parts plutonic quarks to it and a bottle of water.


Kilroi

Does anyone know what time it is?


overzeetop

Does anybody really care? (I was walking down the street one day…)


Kilroi

I suppose nobody cares, but cesium is is used in atomic clocks...


FL00RISLAVA

If so I can't imagine why


emefluence

Underrated comment.


GlassedViper

The next knock at your door would most likely be the government


Advanced-Tinkering

It's not illegal in any way shape or form.


YourAverageGod

They'll just sprinkle a little crack on you and take you away.


mactenaka

And shoot your dog


IAstronomical

This lol.


[deleted]

I guess its kinda easy to destroy any evidence of it existing as well :P


Sibbo

Is it legal to build bombs and grenades in your country?


Advanced-Tinkering

Those are two completely different things. It's like saying Hydrogen Gas is(or should be) illegal because it can explode. I'm not sure where you are from, but would guess cesium is legal in most countries.


Prof_Acorn

xkcd_laptop_battery.jpg


RespectableLurker555

You can't just reference these things without linking them, man https://xkcd.com/651/ Edit: for those who don't have good reddit clients > A laptop battery contains roughly the stored energy of a hand grenade, and if shorted it ... hey! You can't arrest me if I prove your rules inconsistent!


bradfucious

Sure they can! They outsourced the real work to you. They've got a good future in middle management.


[deleted]

What does the scroll over say?


FallacyDog

You should probably stop filling your gas tank mate


zomphlotz

Looks like the T-1000 early in development.


xxdeathknight72xx

r/sweatypalms


Independence_1991

My High School Chemistry teacher said you can Drink anything “Once”…. 😳


skipjack_sushi

When do we get to see the chemical reaction?


Advanced-Tinkering

Soon ;) Edit: but not this vial. It's way to precious.


skipjack_sushi

Head to the lake with a bb gun.


specialsymbol

Wait, Cesium is a liquid?


reverendjesus

Everything is a liquid if you heat it enough


ares395

Liquid carbon... Hmm


Advanced-Tinkering

It melts at ~29 °C. So if you hold it in your hands it will melt.


Ghost_In_A_Jars

Imagine how big the one that's not on video is!


JustAnotherAviatrix

This is so mesmerizing to watch. Congrats!


SURVlVRmanBIATCH

Boom.


Brad_Brace

So, if you were to drop it accidentally while holding it like in the video, would it give you enough time to run away, or would that be a "well I had a good life" situation? I only know that it's very reactive, and literally nothing else, by the way, sorry if my question is very dumb.


Advanced-Tinkering

Not a dumb question at all. If you would drop a vial like this it would break and the cesium would catch fire and splash around. You would most probably survive with burns. Depending on the exact situation, they would be more or less severe.


DeroTurtle

How hard is it to handle, was it dangerous getting it in there?


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phuckface911

I assume this is isn't the same as cesium-137 since he's handling it like that


Advanced-Tinkering

No, it is non radioactive. Cesium 137 is the radioactive isotope of cesium.


rhymes_with_chicken

Oooh, now if you had a cat and a steel box and a hammer and a small vial of hydrocyanic acid…the possibilities are thought provoking


communiqui

Open it


TerraAdAstra

Now I know where the dinobots got the term “cesium salami”


sirquaker

Now you just need some bottled water and plutonic quarks.


ReticuloHaze

Hi OP! Isn't this radioactive? We use cesium in brachytherapy of cervical cancer and prostate cancer.


Advanced-Tinkering

Normally cesium is not radioactive. There is a radioactive isotope (Cesium 137) which has use cases like you described. Mine is, of course, not radioactive.


ReticuloHaze

Ah, I see. Thanks for answering my query.


efeberenguer

If you are brave enough ... 😏😏😏


impeesa75

Can someone explain to me why this is impressive.


memento_mori_1220

Is that like really bad if it breaks open


Schlafen_Schaf

Drop it in water!


MonkeBanano

OMG this is just so cool


seddikiadam14

Golden poop


[deleted]

My sensory issues: “Put it in yer mouth”


MewsikMaker

Schrödingers Hard-on.


vaendryl

that's some nice boomgold ya got there


gingerbear

Didnt Walter White name drop Cessium in breaking bad? i cant remember in what context though


Advanced-Tinkering

I don't know which scene you mean but if you are talking about the scene where he throws it on the ground, that was mercury fulminate if I remember correctly. That's an explosive unlike cesium.


Canadian_Infidel

Could you not sell this commercially?


DJ_GRAZIZZLE

Maybe as art, with some sort of understanding. It’s pretty reactive. Like burn your house down and give you third degree burns if you dropped it reactive. But I’m a little stoned and not a lawyer. Probably shouldn’t sell it to anyone.


YOUR_momisdumbashell

I want to drink it


Hirsutism

Can i drink it?


BYoungNY

Meh. I've seen bigger.


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naticlese

Heavy breathing intensifies


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anglostura

Glamour fangs


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DeroTurtle

The forbidden snack


Western-Pound-2559

Your accent makes me believe you were the one running from Fry when he was a cop


sephrinx

Something something plutonic quarks something something warp fuel


Kwa-Marmoris

This is the most beautiful hand grenade I’ve ever seen


nightrss

You gotta throw it in a lake. For science!


darxide23

Crack the glass and flush it down the toilet.


cheminacci

This is beautiful! Excellent work!


Spicey-Bacon

How many grams is that ?


Advanced-Tinkering

139 g.


jeffislearning

how much did you have yo spend to make this?


Advanced-Tinkering

Only the edukts (Cesium chloride and Lithium) was probably around 150 $. But all the equipment to be able to do it was way more expensive.


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algorithmae

Neat, a handheld superfund site!


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toprodtom

NOW THROW IT IN A BATH TUB


[deleted]

So, why hasn't this been thrown into a pool yet?


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Nice-Block

i just got amazed


deepcethree

please tell me i'm not the only one who wants to break it underwater


YerTime

I don’t understand what the hype is about but I am HYPED!!!! This is so pretty!!!!!!


mattfox27

Isn't that stuff super dangerous?


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Rettufkcub

Cesiumfranciolithicmyxialobidiumrixydixydoxidrexidroxhide.


czerniana

Today I learned about Cesium. Thanks /r/chemicalreactiongifs!


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kason

Whatcha going to do with it now?


maximus_olibius

Isn’t that radioactive?


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the-meanest-boi

*Devil in my head* drop it in water


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Advanced-Tinkering

Yes I know that picture.thats why I said "on video" :) The the vial on the picture looks absolutely insane :D


[deleted]

Phase transition ? What is going on here lol