ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- In this video, I'll be recreating an old demonstration called the Tree of Saturn. To do this, I'll be using a zinc block and lead acetate, both of which I made in previous videos.
I was inspired by a video made by TheBackyardScientist, but I used a slightly different method and procedure.
References:
• TheBackYardScientist video: • How to Grow A Lead Cry...
• Making lead acetate: • Making lead crystals t...
• Making the zinc block: • Melting Zinc Battery C...
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Nile talks about lab safety: • Chemistry is dangerous.
Music in credits (Walker by SORRYSINES): / walker
You should do something along the lines of an "Early Chemistry" type thing, I personally really enjoy the alchemical names of compounds, and think that a series about the more chemistry portions of alchemy would be amazing.
Awesome, I knew you were working on this video for awhile it turned out great and thanks for the shoutout! Shame about not being able to save the crystals. My idea was mix up some polyester resin and inject in into the bottom of the beaker. I bet the lead would still oxidize though.
I was thinking the same thing with the resin, not sure if the thickness/weight of the resin would end up damaging the crystals during the pouring process. It would certainly look pretty cool if it worked though.
why not try to submerge it quickly in silicone-oil ... or try to put it under nitrogen / vacuum with some Iron-powder to get rid of remaining oxygen?
I remember in highschool chemistry my teacher showed us the process of lead cyanide (I'm not 100% sure thats what it was) crystalizing after she took the breaker off of the burner. I remember beautiful yellow/gold crystals seeming to form as specks and they grew and grew into an amazing Crystal structure that would all fade away back to a clear liquid as soon as it was put on the burner again. Is there any way you could re create that experiment?
Do you think that this could be a way of cleaning up battery acid do you think anyone ?!?!?!?!?!?!? 🤔
300thliker
Nilered must not be a great gardener. he managed to kill a metal tree
I guess he doesn't have a silver thumb ;)
A metaljack huh
Y’all who are thinking of making a metal joke shush
oof
@@razorwolf2758 why
I see this video daily in my recommendations, and i still read “Meth crystals” every time
Me too! 😂
You can try to displace out the water with a dense, clear resin. (with no dissolved CO2 of course) Then, once the resin hardens you can take it out and display it
That's exactly what i was going to suggest. Some prior experimentation to ensure no reaction would make sense.
^My thoughts
My thought exactly. You can get resins that have a low initial viscosity that may work well
A good UV resin like NOA68T and 365nm UV bulb from underneath for a few minutes should bake it well.
That's a very good idea, however the resin couldn't be much more viscous than the water or it might disrupt the crystals; they looked very delicate to me.
O chemisTree,
O ChemisTree,
How steadfast are
Your branches!
So underrated.
Ok, Mr White.
That’s so good.
its been a year, lets see how its held up
2 now
Indeed
Show us your tree
Commun it's ironic that your picture is Saturn
It's been two years let's see how it's held up
Your love & interest of chemistry and science are inspiring. Keep up the good work!
“it became a miserable white crusty mess” me during my 3rd week of school
Bruh U stole my joke 4 months before I even got to say it 😭
@@mambafoo4083 Don't worry bro, you at least got it 3months before I did. 😁
ummm why white...?
@@jbk0 probably because im white. i wrote this super long ago tho i cant even remember watching the video lol
@@kt8ozoh, I thought it was because of cum lmao
I was hoping for an continuous time lapse and the last one awesome! Also, the pearly white background is really nice for these videos.
I swear when I read the thumbnail for a sec I thought it said something else lmao
Big fan of your videos!! My interest in organic chemistry has grown because of you. Love from India!
anurag gundeti see my this video you know about common chemicals and where to get them th-cam.com/video/CGVA5FbDpSg/w-d-xo.html
"I knocked it over..."
Thats like, a must for chemists, at least trice...
I think it's just the surface tension of the water that messes it up because it's so thin - and lead is also not known for it's hardness to begin with.
So how about rather than pulling it up from the water you slowly displace it with dichloromethane? Heck - maybe even mineral spirits, but that would require a more elaborate inverted container since it's lighter than water. Either way - the idea is that you can remove the water and then let the solvent very gently evaporate - hopefully leaving an intact structure. To avoid oxidation you would need a gas bubbler or other one-way valve to keep it away from oxygen until you are ready to spray it with a really fine mist. I'd probably go for a polyurethane since it's known to go in very thin layers and has good barrier properties. Alternatively - leave it in there and just seal it, and display it like that (in a suitable glass container obviously).
It would be a bit of work, but it would look spectacular with a LED pedestal and be very unique.
Growing metal crystals are always beautiful! Nice video!
Try coating it in "CrystalGel by Rosco" - It sets to a transparent plastic-like coating, and can be thinned with water, so should be fine if you go straight from the water bath to the gel.
Another incredible video. You’ve got my 7 year old son interested in chemistry. Couldn’t thank you enough for that!!!!
How’s the tree of Saturn doing?
I was watching your new videos from my tent at the Falls Music Festival, whilst I was stuck there during the torrential rain etc. I felt right at home...
Why did I read the title as crystal meth and not be concerned about it😭
Boil the water prior to rid any disolved gasses. If possible see if you can run the reaction in a container where you can drain the bottom. Displace the water with a light solvent like hexane or ethylacetate. Preserve it in the solvent.
Thank you YT for sending me a notification for this video that just got released... wait a second...
My man NileRed for the new year. Yisss. Love your content dude.
You read "Crystal Meth" and so did I.
...yeah
Me to man
Guilty as charged officer
4:51 yeah, i’ve had days like that
That was really neat. A good example of inorganic chem at work.
In very surprised with how affordable your glassware is on your site! I expected it to be much more expensive, due to it being lab-grade and branded with your name. I will definitely be buying some
oh wow just checked it out. its a better deal than stuff from ebay thanks Nile!
Beauty cannot always be captured, but maybe revisited occasionally.
Nile:Why I did this you ask?
Because SCIENCE!
I have no idea what's going on in half of your videos guys it's always fanaciting
Resin dip would probably be your best bet, would also add som buoyancy to make the tree spead out a bit again.
The crystal growth is like watching paint dry. Fine lead based paint that is
Great videos, thanks for the consistent format!
Can you freeze it to harden the crystal structures, the beaker may have to be sacrificed but or try it again in an open beaker, but it could result in a more stable crystal structure
7:50 who knew that Lead crystals could be soo relaxing 😌😌
I love this beautiful fractal structure
I love those crystalisation vieos, for me it is much more than nice looking, it is chemical self organisation at work and I can't wrap my head around it.
my class used your video during quarentine because we didn't have lab access (online). so thank you
Cool stuff as always!
That looks super cool!
Peter Brown might be able to dip some crystals in resin...
Aaron Higgins Pretty sure that they are too fragile, but it would be cool if it worked
I don't know how he'd get the resin in without taking the crystals out of the water, but I would love to see it
I was thinking tbe same thing
This comment is waaay too much underated 😂
Duuuuuude. Yes.
your videos are so freaking cool
I know it’s old but I love to rewatch it!
Maaaan look at that beautiful dendritic crystal structure
love your channel, and the quality of your videos is just amazing
keep it up
Tin crystals are very fine as well but I leanred that using corningware to melt it and then cooling it gets crystals to grow because the corningware is a ceramicglass that allows the cooling to take long enough for crystals to grow. Would likely work for lead too. Probably any metal that doesn't exceed melting point of the corningware.
your demo was far better than the backyard scientist
I love to see those timelapdses, could keeping the vase in ice during the reaction slow the process and form bigger cristals? Thanks!
Every time this comes up in my feed I think it says Meth Crystals for a second. I've seen it before but YT really wants me to watch it so I did.
Can you do the gold rain experiment
he already did
Godspeed7955 He has not?
Is that you, mr Trump?
It may be a Trump video
I will!
The first one look the best.nice large protruding crystals
This would make a nice Christmas decoration. Who needs snoflakes when we have lead crystals!
Stumbled on this one by accident, wonder if you would be interested in designing an experiment to determine how much if any lead is actually dissolved out of glass crystal decanters into liquors? My first thought is that over time, any lead on the surface of the crystal will be dissolved out and they will be safe. If so, how long would that take? etc. Thanks for all the cool videos!
I don't know why but I just love listening to his voice
Welding supply store, cylinder of argon or nitrogen, insert tree solution container in 1l beaker. Fume hood off. Maintain a constant, regulated flow of gas to purge beaker. Use a syringe, pipette or dropper loaded with a clear, uncured epoxy. Displace the tree solution. Your choice whether or not to break smaller container. Feel a sense of accomplishment.
Could you displace the water with anything like an acrylic?
Why do the crystals preferentally form at the top of the zinc block?
The lead crystals form at the surface of the zinc because that's where it gains the electrons needed to reduce into elemental lead. Water has high resistivity so the closer the lead is to where the electrical current is strongest it will form.
@@sonicthehedshot9789 That doesn't explain why the growth was fastest at the top. My guess is that the feathery crystals were growing from the wire, and were different from the ones that grew directly from the lead. The obvious test would be to repeat the experiment in such a way that the wire wasn't in contact with the solution.
2:26 and 7:38 are my favorite parts of this video, but the whole video is great
You could make the lead trees then dilute/displace any ions in the solution before electroplating it with a more durable metal, and also a nice shine. Gold would look really interesting.
I have done something similar before: dip a tiny drop of mercury into a little bottle of dilute silver nitrate solution (and then permanently sealed the bottle). this is called diana’s tree.
The colour of Galena (PbS) is pretty close to these lead crystals with slightly more blueish purple tint to it. neat.
Go straight from the water into a solution that won’t react with resin, then right into the resin. Cast it in a clear block essentially
is possible to stop process and seal it in some jello or epoxy - like carefully change liquids?
happy new year +nilered
Maybe try doing a snow globe type thing....use a container with a screw on lid, like a Mason jar & glue the zinc to the underside of the lid. Screw the lid on and let it do its thing, so that once the 'tree' is done growing, you can just gently turn it over, so it looks like it grew upward. Then it can stay in that solution, no worries about oxidation/calcification.
Yum! Lead crystals!
Suggestion... Try infusing the water with some sodium silicate, see if it damages the lead or not, and if not, then slowly use gradual steps to remove the water with measure gradients of acetone. [this is how aerogel is made]
If you are fortunate, you may end up with a fine coating of glass over the lead which would [hopefully] shield it from oxidation.
No promises though...
Also dilute clear resin might make a good coating.
that was cool man !
That explains the white crust on the lead pipes I had removed in my flip houses.
woooowww i watch your vedios and get very much inspired you are a genius
lol thanks!
maria Taylor 😁😁😄
Shweta Shenoy groupies
To get bigger crystals: What about adding gelatine or some other nonreactive water soluble thickener? That way the density of the water will be enough the lead will be more apt to try spread horizontally. When u took it out it it collapse cause buoyancy in air
Is there perhaps some alternative solvent that could be used, which may also be used as a plastic monomer? This way you could then "embalm" the resulting tree in a block of transparent plastic. I mention this because it occurs to me that acetate salts may well have appreciable solubilities in some organic compounds, and as such the reaction may still work in the same manner.
Alternatively, and more realistically, you could perhaps simply progressively dilute the water solution the tree forms in with acetone until it is essentially 100% acetone, and then add an acetone solution of some appropriate polymer (nitrocellulose? cyanoacrylate? Not sure what would work best...), and then boil off the acetone, perhaps using a vacuum, leaving the tree coated and strengthened. You could then fully embed it in a crystal-clear epoxy, polyester, or acrylic.
Submerge the lead tree in a jar of clear resin, wait for it to set and there you go
Not so sure about that; any water remaining would mess it up, and the viscous resin would damage the tree as it was submerged.
Groovy baby, yeah!
Hi Can you please do a q and a type video? that'd be awesome! I love your videos keep up the good work!
I will eventually
Awesome, thank you!
As a dyslexic I thought it said meth crystals and I was much more excited than I should have been
Also, try dipping it in a beaker full of something like a urethane finish. Dip it just like you rinsed it.
Do the wash step then add it to a solution hard set hairspray. Leave in solution for a while to ensure a full coat. Then you should be able to remove, dry and then cast in epoxy or something.
I think that's how the energy shape itself through this element and the solution do something like dismantling and slowing that energy and that's how you can see its shape like this REALLY COOL STUFF I like that
I would have made a slightly less potent lead salt solution and connected the zinc to the lid of a mason jar. Filling the jar the whole way should allow you to carefully turn the tree over once it is complete. By carefully, I mean taking about 5 minutes to do so.
To preserve the lead crystal you possibly could use a clear epoxy resin? Mix it and pour it into the formed crystals while you drain the remaining lead salt solution? I don't know if this is possible, just an outlandish suggestion
Let's see the progress
I wonder if it is still around today? Maybe you could bring it on the next episode of Safety Third??
I don't know a lot about chemistry but I think you should do the tree of Saturn and ( fast enough to avoid the lead carbonate but still slow enough to give the lead tim) evaporate the water to see if the lead builds structure slowly
Happy new year
Would be nice to see a video about and with chlorine trifluoride.
That would be highly interesting.
hey nile, christmas tree!
I have seen almost all your videos and I think it would really cool if you made a series on different elements as you did with Mercury
It would be super awesome if the reaction could be done in some sort of concoction that could be polymerized into a plastic / acrylic matrix, without removing or disturbing the crystals!
Hey can we get an update on the status??
I wonder if you can make one of these but put it in some very strong shatter prof glass then have it sealed and sell them as a fun knickknack?
you could do a more physicochemistry based video using this experiment. you could vary the concentration and volume of the lead acetate solution, maintaining the total quantity of lead ions and verify how this affects the speed of the reaction, and the shape of the crystals. you could also add varying quantities of acetic acid to the solution and see what this entails. and finally you could add unreactive salts like sodium acetate to see how this affects lead depositions, specially in high concentrations (but without saturation of any compound).
and, oh, you could do this reaction in a viscous solution, like syrup to see how viscosity affects diffusion.
also, you could try to plate the lead with electroless nickel plating.
Nilered accidentally the whole world.
I think you need to fill the sealed glass with another gas, then grain the water out, then heat it, then maybe vacuum the gas out and see if that will do it. Do it small scale.
You could try adding Something to the Water that Turns it into Gel for preservation
If you keep the solution cool while the crystals are forming, would that result in bigger crystals?
this will go viral on facebook for sure.
Could you do this in epoxy resin? Do it in part A then after you grow your tree can add the part b. I think it would be really cool if you could preserve it.
Wondering if you can reverse the reaction with electricity? Very cool vid!
Could you do it using epoxy resin as the solvent 🤔🤔🤔
Could you make a snow globe out of it? Do the same thing but use a torch to seal the glass opening. With the right piece of glass, you could do it the same way Cody does. Then mount it in a wooden stand to prevent it being knocked over.