I had to break all my beakers.

Summary

In this video, the creator shares an unusual experience involving a beaker that spontaneously broke twice—once when it was empty and again when it was filled with dilute acid. The cause is traced back to a previous experiment where plasma was generated in a microwave, causing extreme internal stresses in the glass. After recognizing the risk of potentially faulty beakers, the creator decided to discard all of them, even though they could have been reused. Instead, they chose to have fun with the situation, leading to a quirky and insightful conclusion about glass stress and safety.

Takeaways

• 😀 A few months ago, a piece of glass spontaneously broke off from a beaker, leaving a hole in it, but it was empty at the time and didn’t cause any issues.
• 😀 The second incident occurred weeks later when filming a video, and this time the beaker was full of dilute acid, causing a spill.
• 😀 The breakage was very unusual, with a small piece of glass ejected from the beaker both times.
• 😀 After the second breakage, the creator realized that the issue might be related to a previous experiment involving plasma in a microwave.
• 😀 The plasma experiment caused extreme heat and possibly internal stress in the glass, which may have weakened it.
• 😀 The glass was likely under extreme stress after being exposed to hot plasma and not properly cooled down.
• 😀 The creator acknowledged that proper annealing could have prevented the stresses in the glass by slowly cooling it to balance internal forces.
• 😀 Sodium ions were pulled from the glass during the plasma process, further destabilizing the beaker.
• 😀 After the plasma experiment, the creator unknowingly mixed potentially stressed beakers with their regular ones, not knowing which were safe to use.
• 😀 The creator considered using polarized light to detect stress patterns in the glass but didn’t think it was worth the effort or risk missing a faulty beaker.
• 😀 Ultimately, the creator decided to discard all potentially stressed beakers to avoid safety risks, despite the financial cost being minimal due to buying them in bulk.

Q & A

What happened to the beaker a few months ago that caught the speaker's attention?

A piece of glass spontaneously broke off from the beaker, creating a hole in it. At the time, the beaker was empty and nothing significant occurred, so the speaker didn't think much of it.

What was different about the second incident with the beaker?

In the second incident, the beaker was filled with dilute acid. When the glass broke again, it caused the acid to spill everywhere, which was more concerning than the first time.

What initial thought did the speaker have about the first breakage of the beaker?

The speaker initially thought the breakage was just a weird, random accident and didn't think too much about it at the time.

What did the speaker conclude after the beaker broke a second time?

The speaker realized that the breakage might not be a coincidence and started to worry about the cause, as the breakage pattern was identical to the first one.

What experiment did the speaker mention that could have contributed to the glass breaking?

The speaker mentioned making plasma in a microwave in August, where the plasma formed inside beakers. The high temperatures likely caused the glass to get very hot, possibly approaching melting point, which could have introduced internal stresses in the glass.

What is the process of annealing, and why was it important in preventing the beaker from breaking?

Annealing is the process of cooling glass slowly while holding it at a specific temperature to allow internal stresses to even out. This process could have prevented the glass from becoming unstable, but the speaker did not perform it.

What was the issue with the speaker's handling of the beakers after the plasma experiment?

The speaker did not properly anneal the beakers after the plasma experiment and just allowed them to cool to room temperature, which might have left them with internal stresses that made them more prone to breaking later.

How did the plasma experiment affect the glass in the beaker?

During the plasma experiment, the plasma pulled sodium ions from the glass, potentially destabilizing it. This may have further compromised the structural integrity of the beaker, making it more likely to break.

What did the speaker consider doing to identify which beakers were safe to use?

The speaker considered using polarized light to identify stress patterns in the glass, but decided it wasn't worth the effort since they weren't an expert in glass stress patterns.

What was the speaker's ultimate solution for dealing with the potentially faulty beakers?

The speaker decided to sacrifice all the beakers, as they were unsure which ones might break. Thankfully, since they were custom branded, they could replace them cheaply in bulk, though it was still a bit of a waste.

How did the speaker feel about discarding the beakers, and what did they choose to do instead?

The speaker felt it was a waste to just throw the beakers away, so instead of discarding them, they decided to have some fun with them.