Chemistry Question #1046

Helina, a 15 year old female from Shakespeare asks on November 14, 2002,

What two liquids combine that gives you a solid instantly?

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The answer

Michal Jaworski answered on March 23, 2003

There are likely many possible such liquids, but one method is by using supersaturated solutions. This refers to a system that has a substance [such as Sodium Acetate] dissolved beyond the point when the substance would normally crystalize out of solution at that temperature. When one uses such a supersaturated solution and mixes it with a less saturated solution a crystaline substance forms almost instantly (about a second or two). When one starts to pour the solution on the supersaturated solution, they react and begin to form solid objects. Many videos on YouTube show this. This can be performed by the pourer of the fluid and you can create any shape that the fluid lands at. Thus you have a liquid to solid crystallizer. These fluids come in many variations, so if further interested, you might want to research "supersaturated solutions" on google.

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