by dukhsan » Sun Oct 21, 2018 1:30 am
Ok so let's say I have a phone. Let's say an iPhone. Since the compound is also in it, can I find it in the external part of the phone? Some plastics might be made with that compound, but by that point it's an entirely different compound if so; let's say irrelevant for including it in a phone case.
Can I see it at a first glance? Do I need to open the phone? Search inside the batteries of the phone? In the internal engines? Is the paint of the phone relevant? Is the phone the object in which the compound is mostly used? I cannot imagine that most of it worldwide is used in electronics, including phones. I'm not aware of it specifically being in batteries or the circuitry, but I might just not know offhand. Let's try to find this compound in another place besides electronics to determine what it is - it should go faster this way.
Is the compound black? Is it artificially produced by man? Is it mainly found in an object that we handle every day? It is not black, it is found naturally, and we do handle things that contain it daily.
Is the substance physically put in the flames? Yes. Does the black color appear once the substance is burned? The fuel with the substance inside it does create the black flame when we also add the the optical-illusion part of the experiment. Does the fire need to be lighted up before the substance come into contact with the fire or can the substance be put together with the wood and other fuel and the fire lighted up afterward? Either; the fire can start off with the substance, or it can be added later. Wood is not the fuel used here, also. If the former, does the fire need to be lighted up with a particular fuel? It uses a certain liquid fuel.
Was this known and possible also in middle age? No, and not possible then. To be sure...are we talking about a fire that can be lighted up or a fire like for instance the one produced by the sun and present there? The sun "burns" with nuclear fusion, so it is the common type of fire we want.
P.s. sorry but I had my last experience with chemistry 7 years ago. No apologies needed at all - thanks very much for playing along! I try to give longer explanations on science puzzles because anything less is honestly a bit punishing for folks who haven't done this or it's been a while. The goal is to share something cool about science in puzzle format in a way that people can hopefully remember better when solving, or follow along if they read it later in the archives.