Lessee if I remember this correctly...
Three parts tincture of iodine dissolved in one part cleaning ammonia, wash in ether, and allow the precipitate to dry. Then handle the dish in which it dried... very gently.
O-kay, if you mix up a couple kilograms of this stuff, you've got the makings of a bomb. But, more usually, you'll find it extremely inconvenient to work in quantities resulting in anyhing more than a gram or two of tiny, pretty, purple crystals.
Very unstable. Don't leave it in sunlight. A fly landing on those crystals is enough to set them off. Poof! Lovely billowing clouds of purple smoke... that permanently stain anything they contact.
So, what's a precocious student with too much time on his hands, and the key to the Chemistry supply closet, to do? While it's still in solution, this stuff's pretty stable. So... painting the rollers and slides of a particuarly favored teacher's desk drawer comes to mind... *exceedingly evil grin* |
