The Handy Chemistry Answer Book (2014)
THE MODERN CHEMISTRY LAB
SAFETY FIRST!
What kinds of safety precautions are typically taken when working in a chemistry laboratory?
Chemists working with chemicals in a laboratory typically wear safety goggles to protect their eyes, a lab coat to protect their skin and clothes, and a pair of gloves to protect their hands. Of course, there are many situations when additional specialized protective gear is necessary.
What makes strong acids and bases dangerous to work with in the laboratory?
Strong acids, like nitric acid, are strong oxidizing agents and can cause severe burns on your skin. Strong bases, like sodium hydroxide, can also cause burns as well as nerve damage. Strong acids and bases destroy your cells by reacting with the membranes, proteins, and other components that make up your cells. They are also dangerous to your eyes and can permanently damage your vision.
Why should a chemist add acid to water and not the other way around?
This is an issue of safety. When an acid mixes with water, it will react very quickly. This reaction can release a large amount of heat and can cause the solution to bubble or splash. It’s important to pour an acid into water, since acidic solutions are almost always more dense than pure water, meaning that the acidic solution will sink down into the water as it reacts. If you were to add water to a more dense acidic solution, the water would react at the surface of the solution, and there is a much greater chance it could bubble or splash up at you.
What is a glovebox and what is its purpose?
A glovebox is a method of carrying out chemical reactions under an inert atmosphere. It basically consists of a large box that has had the air removed and replaced with an inert gas (like pure nitrogen or argon). One side of the box is typically made of a clear, hard, transparent plastic, which has openings covered by large rubber gloves, into which a researcher can insert their arms. This allows a researcher to manipulate items inside the inert atmosphere of the glove box without letting any air inside. To move items in or out of the box, a purgeable antechamber is attached to one side of the box. While it is certainly not as easy to manipulate items inside a glovebox as it is to manipulate items outside the box, a glovebox provides one of the most straightforward approaches to carrying out chemistry in an air-free environment.