Two-headed chemical mayhem!

Monday, January 15, 2007

The FANTABULOUS lab timer

A most fantastic device has been invented in our lab recently. It is the all purpose chemistry 4 and a half minute glass! Here is how you too can make your very own device. All you need is two bottles of your choice (preferably empty, but whatever floats your boat), some superglue, some sand, and lastly a piercing implement!



Who really needs an hourglass anyway. An hour really isn't a very practical time period. However 4.5 minutes seems to be the ideal amount of time to do many many lab related things! For example, ever come back to your bench to find your t.l.c plate has overrun? Well no more! With the 4.5 minute glass your t.l.c plates will be full of t.l.c goodness when you return to your bench. (Of course, the 4.5 minute glass has been specially designed to account for variables such as solvent system, plate size, wind velocity etc.)

Here are some other lab related activities you can do in 4.5 minutes:

1) Annoy evil lab mates
2) Set up a column
3) Decide to quit your PhD
4) Act like an idiot and get your friend to take a photo (see picture below)



Of course there are many more, but I will leave suggestions up to our valued blog readers.

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shit Bunsen, that dude is HIDEOUS! I mean I've heard of getting straight-up beat with the ugly stick but man... That poor guy... Would it be compassionate to perform a little bit of euthenasia in that case?

12:39 PM  
Blogger Chemgeek said...

superb!!!

2:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, I tried your timer and my TLC plate still over ran! I'm suing.... The timer did work well for actually setting up the column though!

9:12 AM  
Blogger Russ said...

Wouldn't watching the fantabulous lab timer be just as bothersome as watching a TLC elute?

Idea for Fantabulous Lab timer 2.0

Place a small pellet of Na or K at the top of the sand in the top chamber of the timer. Bottom chamber is full of water. As timer goes, sand falls into water. When last of sand has fallen the metal falls into the water, giving an audible (visual, tactile etc.) signal that the time is up...

2:44 AM  
Blogger pip said...

mmm... four and a half minutes...

10:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't forget to put some tall boots on - one can get seriously kicked during a four-and-half minute congress... I mean, realy baaad

6:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work.

3:56 PM  
Anonymous Sodium silicate said...

excellent lab timer i was very impressed. nice work

7:51 PM  
Blogger deraz said...

خدمات الشارقة – ابو الهول
سباك بالشارقة
اعمال سباكة وصحى بالشارقة

6:15 AM  

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