Chemistry in high school was, I'd admit, for me never one of my fortes, although I as an adult have recently begun to take a liking to learning about new subjects, and chemistry from what I understand can be a fascinating subject. A lot of what occurs in the world, from what I understand, is because of chemistry.

There is a term which I am confused about. It is the term "Reflux". What exactly does "reflux" means? Does it mean that it's basically being heated, but in such a way so as the temperature remains the same throughout? Is that what a reflux condenser does?

Also, if one doesn't have a reflux condenser, would boiling in a pot with a cover (say, aluminum foil), and held shut with a rubber band achieve the same effect as a reflux condenser?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Try lab tips.

Try lab tips.

yesh in this forum we only care about the chemicals of love and happinesssss

Chemistry in high school was, I'd admit, for me never one of my fortes, although I as an adult have recently begun to take a liking to learning about new subjects, and chemistry from what I understand can be a fascinating subject. A lot of what occurs in the world, from what I understand, is because of chemistry.

There is a term which I am confused about. It is the term "Reflux". What exactly does "reflux" means? Does it mean that it's basically being heated, but in such a way so as the temperature remains the same throughout? Is that what a reflux condenser does?


It is used for many great purposes, like separating organics by vaporization points, making moonshine and hundreds of industrial uses including chemical purification. It depends what kind of solvent you use.


Also, if one doesn't have a reflux condenser, would boiling in a pot with a cover (say, aluminum foil), and held shut with a rubber band achieve the same effect as a reflux condenser?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Yes.... i guess it would, but you would be just refluxing, and not "condensing"

A reflux condenser is something like this
http://photos.labx.com/labx/276000/276309-0m.jpg

the curly inner tube(curly for a greater surface area) is where your refluxed substance passes, and the outer jacket is just meant for, usually circulating cold water.

I have seen multi million dollar, glassware, electronic and platinum reaction vessel, setups....

1 year of college organic chemistry doesn't even get me close to understanding what all the machines and processes involved. It is insane.... not to mention when this shit is done on a 500ft scale...

And to think that some of these HUGE industrial machines were used almost a whole century ago.

1 year of college organic chemistry doesn't even get me close to understanding what all the machines and processes involved. It is insane. And to think that some of these HUGE industrial machines were used almost a whole century ago.

For thousands of years people dedicate their entire lives to understand chemistry, You think a single year in some shitty community college you are going to grasp concepts that took life times, tens of thousands of hours of trial and error to finally get right? While you sit through your 90 minute block 3 times a week, preparing for your Exam on organic chemistry nomenclature realizing how much of a fucking idiot you are. Only to get your shitty chemistry major and land a job in some other even shittier community college regurgitating the same bull shit for the rest of your carrier. Your rudimentary understand of chemistry is laughable in the eyes of actual chemistry professors who make new discoveries and change the way people think.

Eventually you realize you are 35 and know no more then you did when you graduated st 21. Only then do you figure out you wasted your life and there is still another 25 years until your mortgage is payed off, and you will still be living in that run-down 2 bedroom walk up apartment with shit stains on the carpet from your dog because you cant afford to have a proper yard. Because again, you go to shitty community college where after 15 years you've managed to work your way up to $45 000/yr. But you still only making $1300 every 2 weeks because you got bumped up to the next tax bracket. You spiral into suicidal depression and eventually kill yourself with a heroin overdose that you bought from the dealer next door.

Your lay unnoticed for days before your body starts decomposing and someone finally discovers you. The stench of rotting flesh has wafted through the building and the other residents demand compensation. A class action lawsuit is filed against your remaining relatives, demanding they pay for the clean up as you were in breach of your policy when you commit suicide Being a chemistry professor, your family curses you, citing you should have made it look natural so they could receive the $1 000 000 death benefit, which could have easily payed the residents and still had $700 000 left over.

For the rest of your parents life, their income is garnished 60% At this rate they will be working until they die to pay off your debt. Your father takes up a second job at that same community college you went to as a boy, pushing a mop. He has a heart attack and dies within a few days. Your mother ages rapidly and slips silently into dementia. She dies 2 years later. Your sister can't believe you could do this to the family, why couldn't you make your death look like an accident? Several attempted suicides later your sister drives head on into a tractor trailer and dies instantly, still carrying your debt on her shoulders. Luckily she had just crossed into Canada so an autopsy is performed on her immediately. A living baby is removed from her which is then raised in the university hospital where they removed him.

He grows up to be a genius raised by some of the smarted people in the country. And eventually goes on to find a cure for aids and many nigger lives are saved. The world population quickly climbs to over 100 billion and just as fast as it went up, people begin starving to death, and food prices skyrocket. World war breaks out as opposing factions battle for natural resources Nuclear fall-out killing 99.995% of the remaining 17 billion people. Only society's elite survive and over the next thousand years the earth begins to repopulate. By the year 3055 humans will be so advanced, evolution accelerated exponentially because of you. In the end you did something great for humanity, but it's too late for you.;)

^^^ asshole

Try lab tips.

This.