That was one WEIRD science experiment, I'm wondering what exactly the gummy bear has in it that makes it react so violently with the potassium chlorate.
One common fuel for amateur rockets in the old days was "sugar candy". A mix of potassium nitrate and sugar. You had to melt it *very* carefully. Then pour it into the tube, with an insert to leave the right shaped hole if you didn't want an "end burning" grain.
Potassium chlorate is a stronger oxidizer, and molten, I can see it self igniting.
From Bad Astronomy (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/10/20/gummis-the-gummis-were-screaming/), where I got this:
I think the video leaves out an important part: you need a bit of sulfuric acid to make this work. Adding the acid to potassium chlorate yields chloric acid and potassium sulfate:
2 KClO3 + H2SO4 → 2 HClO3 + K2SO4
Sugar reacts, um, strongly to the chloric acid:
8 HClO3 + C12H22O11 → 11 H2O + 12 CO2 + 8 HCl
You can see the water coming out of the test tube in the form of steam — the reaction is highly exothermic — and the purple flame is from potassium being heated. At the same time, a second reaction occurs, breaking up some of the sugar molecules into carbon and water. When the flames and sturm and drang are all done, what’s left is a black residue: carbon, the burnt remains of the tasty, tasty Gummi bear.
Hero Games did an experiment with a couple of damaged copies of Fifth Edition Revised "Fred" which was refered to as bullet resistant, so they went to a local range and put this to the test. it fully stopped a 9mm among other things
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That was one WEIRD science experiment, I'm wondering what exactly the gummy bear has in it that makes it react so violently with the potassium chlorate.
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One common fuel for amateur rockets in the old days was "sugar candy". A mix of potassium nitrate and sugar. You had to melt it *very* carefully. Then pour it into the tube, with an insert to leave the right shaped hole if you didn't want an "end burning" grain.
Potassium chlorate is a stronger oxidizer, and molten, I can see it self igniting.
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I think the video leaves out an important part: you need a bit of sulfuric acid to make this work. Adding the acid to potassium chlorate yields chloric acid and potassium sulfate:
2 KClO3 + H2SO4 → 2 HClO3 + K2SO4
Sugar reacts, um, strongly to the chloric acid:
8 HClO3 + C12H22O11 → 11 H2O + 12 CO2 + 8 HCl
You can see the water coming out of the test tube in the form of steam — the reaction is highly exothermic — and the purple flame is from potassium being heated. At the same time, a second reaction occurs, breaking up some of the sugar molecules into carbon and water. When the flames and sturm and drang are all done, what’s left is a black residue: carbon, the burnt remains of the tasty, tasty Gummi bear.
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*Big* bright purple flame.
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