Learning about science and the experimental method is a lot of fun. Mix this with that and see what you get! Sometimes the result can be, well, hazardous to your health. But if you survive such an encounter, you have to tell all your friends. With the internet, you can tell everyone, and even show the video. But seeing it done doesn't make these experiments any safer. Remember, the ones who survived to tell their tales are the lucky ones. Most of the experiments detailed here were done by professionals.

Theodore Grey has an index of Fun/Dangerous Experiments. He includes a special note for teenagers about mortality and how it will mean something in a few years. And about safety glasses.

Why are glasses so important? Because having your cheeks ripped off by shrapnel, your hair burned to the roots, and your nose split open and folded up over your forehead is nothing, nothing compared to being blind for the rest of your life. Not even close.

He then documents quite a few experiments with the elements, including this fascinating account of his Sodium Party. Besides the explosive combination of sodium and water, I found out there are butterflies who collect sodium, and how to protect fish from exploding sodium.



Unwise Microwave Oven Experiments has a scary disclaimer, pointing to the fact that these experiments were done by a professional electrical engineer with his own microwave ovens. Then there are lnks to different microwave effects, including superheated liquids that we should all be aware of. Other experiments include nuking flames, light bulbs, molten materials such as Pyrex, and other very dangerous things you should never put in a microwave.

More dangerous experiments after the jump.

Powerlabs Unwise Liquid Nitrogen Experiments describes the Liquid Nitrogen Baseball Bat Cannon and Pressure Bomb projects. Liquid nitrogen is a cryogenic fluid much colder than frozen water, and can cause frostbite if it comes in contact with skin. As its temperature rises, it expands so much that it is used as a pressurant. Not something you play with unless you know what you are doing.



A Tesla Coil consists of two or three coupled resonant electric circuits. The explanation is complicated, but it appears to come down to sending electricity through the air. Adam posted pictures of things he has zapped on the page Fun with Tesla Coils. This picture shows the effect of a Tesla Coil on an old CD. He also documented some other Extremely Stupid and Dangerous Experiments.



Fantastically Dangerous Capacitor-Bank Discharge Experiments has an extensive disclaimer, including the caveat that these experiments require expensive lab equipment and otherwise cannot be reproduced. I don't understand the science involved at all, but the watergun experiment mentioned 150,000 volts, which is enough to make me run away screaming. A link on this page took me to T. Johnson's Can Crusher, the apparatus pictured. He used a pulse capacitor to crush cans with electricty. He started with 200 volts and worked his way up to 2700 volts, detailing the effects of each voltage increase. At least he warned the neighbors.



Thermite is a combination of materials that will produce a large amount of heat. The process is used to weld railroad ties. From Wikipedia:

Although the reactants are stable at room temperature, they burn with an extremely intense exothermic reaction when they are heated to ignition temperature. The products emerge as liquids due to the high temperatures reached (up to 2500 Â°C (4500 Â°F) with iron(III) oxide)—although the actual temperature reached depends on how quickly heat can escape to the surrounding environment. Thermite contains its own supply of oxygen and does not require any external source of air. Consequently, it cannot be smothered and may ignite in any environment, given sufficient initial heat. It will burn well while wet and cannot be extinguished with water.

Of course, with a reaction like that, people are going to use it for entertainment. Thermite is not difficult to make. The danger of igniting the stuff should be apparant in this video.

The story of The Radioactive Boy Scout sounds like a movie script. 17-year-old David Hahn endangered 40,000 people with radioactive materials he was using to build a nuclear reactor. The EPA packed his experiment into 39 barrels and buried it in a nuclear waste dump. Hahn apparently did not learn his lesson, as he was recently arrested for stealing smoke detectors to obtain radioactive materials. Don't try this at home.



Other dangerous links:

Dangerous Laboratories

Mad Coiler's High Voltage Page

Fun Things to Do with Microwave Ovens

The Dangerous Experiments Flickr pool.