This one time in Chem class

Ok, this post is about a fun time I had in Chemistry class when I was a high school senior. Before I start I should mention that they way our school system works is you pick a set of classes in 10th grade and stick with them through the 12th grade, you know, in preparation for college.

So anyway, this one time when I was a senior, I was in my Chemistry class. The thing about this class was it was very easy and I was finished with the class by the end of 11th grade. So there I was, a senior sitting in class, and I had nothing to do. So I decided that I would have some fun with electrolysis. I wanted to make me some Sodium Hydroxide and I knew that if I had some concentrated Sodium Chloride, it would only be a matter of fining a power source to complete my circuit. I also thought it would be a good idea if I could capture the Chlorine gas that would eventually be produced.

As class was going on I decided it was time to start my experiment. Everything was going fine until after about 10 minutes, the Chlorine gas that was being produced started to come out faster than my ventilation system would allow (and by ventilation system I mean I opened the windows). When this happened, there was a lovely yellow-green haze coming from my experiment. I had to stop my fun and quickly turn on all the remaining fans. This happened at the chorus of a few of my classmates and the teacher coughing from the chlorine gas that now diffused through the room. This is what happend when you have a very crappy ventilation system and fail to seal all the connections properly.

I learned a good lesson that day: Never try to make Sodium Hydroxide with 12 other people in the room and without proper ventilation. It wasn't safe, but it sure was fun