[JohnPQ]

Hi guys I'm new to the forums.

I have a question I hope your guys could answer for me.

The other day I was wasting time on Youtube and found this video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_GKyg6J6Nl8

Researching further I found a recipe and "suggested use" on this website:
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1315755

I could assure all that I don't have sightliest interest in repeating this experiment. However, I'm really curious about the mechanism behind it.

How does chlorine tablet + isoproprly alcohol produce gas?
would it work with other kind of alcohol like ethanol?

It have been a while since I last took chemistry, everything are all fuzzy. I would appreciate if anyone would explain it to me.

[deoxyribonucleicacid444]

it's because chlorine gas is being released. Then as the gas level rises the less room is left in the bottle. Then there is sooooo much gas that the whole bottle pops or explodes because of the pressure

[JohnPQ]

I think I understand the physical process of why it happen, but I just curious about the chemical process.

[constant thinker]

I'm not familiar with what's in chlorine tablets, my guess is that it's a combination of sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite with other compounds probably cyanuric acid.

Seeing as sodium and calcium hypochlorites are oxidizers, there is some sort of redox reaction going on where the hypochlorites are the oxidizers, and the ispropanol is the reducer.


That's my best attempt at explaining what's going on chemically, keep in mind I don't have a degree in chemistry, and it's the middle of the summer.

By the way, the physical explanation given by dna444 is right. Chlorine gas is released, eventually the pressure hits a point where it causes the bottle to burst.

[lysdexia]

Why would chlorine gas be released?