Australia's Science Forum

Just wondering if any of your great labbies have instructions for making a Crystal Tree - I have one that is
The "Magic" Solution -- Mix together:
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon bluing
- 1/2 tablespoon household ammonia

Just wondering if you have any other tried and tested mixures.

Thanks for the help with this.

KIMMY

That should work out fine; producing fluffy white crystals from memory.

To add some colour, just add colouring. Soak the tips of the carboard cut out branches with food colouring. The crystals will pick up the dye as they grow through it.

This sounds interesting but what is bluing?
Helen

Prussian Blue is the main reagent in Laundry Bluing Liquids, which are used to whiten cloth.

Is that the same as Blueo? (or Bluo?) That might explain why we have a bottle of it in a cupboard here! It's in the one cupboard that i haven't touched since my arrival nearly 6 years ago... perhaps they used to do that prac here!

Can you even still buy it at the supermarket I haven't seen it for years, but then I haven't been looking for it.

Bluo.

It's hard to tell, but I don't think so.

Pascoes' MSDS isn't particularly forthcoming about the contents.

However, Bluo appears to reference a use of optical brighteners rather than bluing.

Bluing is just a bit olde tech.

----

Check your chemical inventory for a less kitchen-sink approach. Do you have potassium ferrocyanide and ferric sulfate to prepare your own Prussian Blue?

yes you can still buy it I got it at our little IGA today.

KIMMY

So do you cut out a tree and soak it in the solution or what? I'll be doing crystals gardens etc next week and would like to try lots of different ideas. and how do I make Prussian Blue? thanks in advance!

Not sure I've never made it but Chemwatch Prussian blue stain
Ferric sulfate 0.7%
Potassium ferricyanide (111) 0.3%
Water 99%

hope it works for you

This is what i used and yes it worked.... )))

So ..... where's the photo of the finished product??
I got all excited and then nothing happened.
Story of my life!
J

Sorry but I can not upload photos onto this computer at the moment -
But it worked rather good - I will try to add photo from another computer if i can get onto one which is a whole nother story.

KIMMY

+How do you keep a whole forum in anticipation?........

J wrote:So ..... where's the photo of the finished product??
I got all excited and then nothing happened.
Story of my life!
J

At a guess another 50+ girl I love it

I made 2 this arvo 1 with copper sulphate saturated and 1 with copper sulphate and ammonia, let you know if it works. Just felt like playing this arvo.

Haha Waiting (barely!) patiently Macca

WOnder what colour they'll be..... wonder how big they'll be.... wonder how cool they'll look.... wonder.... wonder....

We make silver trees here on copper wire - an oldie but a goodie! And also not exactly the type but still fun!

Sadly, Macca, you guessed correctly.
J

I set this up on Friday using Pascoes Bluo that i got and Coles and am very dissapointed in the results.

Nothing much has happened. The liquid didn't migrate up the cardbord tree at all and there are no signs of crystals.
I did use ammonia but I did use my neat ammonia which may have been too strong?

I tried it also with some chromatography paper made into a tree, this has gone blue with the liquid moving up it with a little crystal growth (blue) but nothing like the crystal growth I was lead to expect.

I wonder where I have gone wrong

What about using Potassium Aluminium Sulphate, or even Magnesium Sulphate? I have used both of those for crystal growing - just not up here! Waste of time, especially this end of the year!

Finally back on line, will be trying the crystal tree tomorrow, sounds like most sat solns for crystals should work? What's the silver crystals on copper? Is it silver nitrate and how do you get it on the copper? We have just done the lead acetate and zinc but I've lost the lead acetate recipe and the crystals they made last week are very small, more like fur! Dont know what strength the teacher made up. Bucket strength I'd guess. Thanks for all the tree stuff.