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Hydrogen Whistle

  • Page ID
    3006
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    Chemical Concepts Demonstrated

    • Hydrogen/oxygen chemistry
    • Activation energy

    Demonstration
    42-whis.gif

    The hydrogen whistle reactor consists of:

    • a H2 gas cylinder
    • a wooden match at the top
    • a rubber stopper in the bottom hole

    Remove the rubber stopper, light the match, and ignite the hydrogen gas.

    Observations

    There is a slight whistle present as the flame at the top burns. Eventually, there is a loud bang from the bottom of the reactor.

    Explanations

    The flame overcomes the activation energy necessary for the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. However, in order for this reaction to occur violently, hydrogen gas must be consumed.

    During the course of the reaction, the hydrogen is used up and air rushes into the reactor via the large hole at the bottom (this produces the whistling noise). As the reaction proceeds, the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen will hit one of the three values that allows the hydrogen to react with the oxygen in the air fast enough to produce an explosion.

    Contributors


    Hydrogen Whistle is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by George Bodner.

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