Here's how to isolate bismuth from Pepto Bismol (which has bismuth subsalicylate), by reducing it with aluminum in concentrated HCl:
Pepto Bismuth from Melanie Hoff on Vimeo.
Bonus: here's a picture via Reddit of a gnarly crystals grown of bismuth:
The crazy colours come from refraction by a thin layer of bismuth oxide at the crystal surface. Science!
1 comment:
Haha, awesome, yet again what was posted on sciencemadness.org goes mainstream later. I love crystallizing bismuth, the crystals kick ass. Although the first time I did it I had a rather large bismuth burn on my arm, as once you pull the crystals out of the melt you really need to fling them of molten bismuth, and if done improperly, it ends up on your arm.
Its Davin, just gonna drop a link to my new project on my way out.
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