What is the purpose of hobby chemistry?

[I720I]

I've recently picked up chemistry as a hobby. It's very educational while also being entertaining. I've started an element collection, and made some simple compounds as well.
The thing is, I get asked quite frequently what is the practicality of hobby chemistry, and I have trouble providing a sufficient answer. Is there more to hobby chemistry than fun and education?

 

[phinds]

What is the purpose of hobby chemistry?

Uh ... blowing up your younger sister?

 

[Borek]

what is the practicality of hobby

Why should the hobby be practical?

Is there more to hobby chemistry than fun and education?

Isn't fun and education more than enough?

 

[symbolipoint]

I've recently picked up chemistry as a hobby. It's very educational while also being entertaining. I've started an element collection, and made some simple compounds as well.
The thing is, I get asked quite frequently what is the practicality of hobby chemistry, and I have trouble providing a sufficient answer. Is there more to hobby chemistry than fun and education?

Am I too far off-base here, if I say that Chemistry is not suitable as a hobby?

There are a few Chemical related activities which might fit as "hobby", like soap-making, maybe ink-making, fabric dying which one might like to learn to do at home. Another interesting choice might be to take already available chemical data and use them in computer-programming activity. Otherwise, consider the reactivity, health, safety, and legal risks.

 

[Comeback City]

Am I too far off-base here, if I say that Chemistry is not suitable as a hobby?

There are a few Chemical related activities which might fit as "hobby", like soap-making, maybe ink-making, fabric dying which one might like to learn to do at home. Another interesting choice might be to take already available chemical data and use them in computer-programming activity. Otherwise, consider the reactivity, health, safety, and legal risks.

I disagree. Besides the fact that really anything can be made into a hobby, I have found that [safe] chemistry can be very fun! One home chemistry experiment I performed which I found rather cool was a test to see which type of salt melts ice and snow the fastest, out of regular table salt and rock salt that is actually used to melt snow/ice on roads. Interestingly enough, the table salt actually performed better.

 

[DaveC426913]

Am I too far off-base here, if I say that Chemistry is not suitable as a hobby?

'Hobby' is not synonymous with 'ignorant and foolish'.

Go cart racing, swimming, and cooking and can all be just as lethal if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[symbolipoint]

'Hobby' is not synonymous with 'ignorant and foolish'.

Go cart racing, swimming, and cooking and can all be just as lethal if you don't know what you're doing.

Chemistry is therefore a bit limited as a hobby. One might want to do more than just mixing materials.

Yes, even cooking and handling food in the kitchen can be dangerous. One may also find working-chemists, not many, but some few, who you would not trust in the home kitchen

 

[Comeback City]

One might want to do more than just mixing materials.

One could test for potential everyday-usefulness of certain compounds

 

[phinds]

One could test for potential everyday-usefulness of certain compounds

Yeah, testing hallucinogens for effectiveness could be fun.

 

[Comeback City]

Yeah, testing hallucinogens for effectiveness could be fun.

Exactly what I was thinking...

 

[phinds]

@I720I I have to apologize for our having somewhat sidetracked your thread.

 

[Comeback City]

@I720I I have to apologize for our having somewhat sidetracked your thread.

Technically (and unfortunately), testing effectiveness of hallucinogens could actually be argued to be a chemistry hobby. But we don't need to get that technical...

 

[I720I]

@I720I I have to apologize for our having somewhat sidetracked your thread.

No worries, I had fun reading it. I already love chemistry and I don't need a practical use for anything I make. In fact I feel hesitant every time I use up some of my precious products. However, I am asked the question a lot by people who do not understand why someone would do anything to explore the science behind it. I was just looking for a quick practical example. Most of what I've made so far are just fungicides, and pretty things. I am only now beginning to realize how short-sighted my original question was.

 

[Comeback City]

No worries, I had fun reading it. I already love chemistry and I don't need a practical use for anything I make. In fact I feel hesitant every time I use up some of my precious products. However, I am asked the question a lot by people who do not understand why someone would do anything to explore the science behind it. I was just looking for a quick practical example. Most of what I've made so far are just fungicides, and pretty things. I am only now beginning to realize how short-sighted my original question was.

That's cool! What kinds of fungicides have you produced?

 

[I720I]

That's cool! What kinds of fungicides have you produced?

Well these all have more uses than just fungicides, but it was a commonality I stuck with. Copper sulfate, copper chloride, and copper carbonate are all fungicides...and a lot of other "cides" I made them because they are a pretty blue, and are great for pyrotechnics. Those plus caffeine extraction, ferrofluid display, nitrous oxide production, and blowing up hydrogen balloons are about all I've done so far.

 

[Comeback City]

Well these all have more uses than just fungicides, but it was a commonality I stuck with.

So do you ever use them as fungicides, or just for other uses you mentioned?

 

[I720I]

So do you ever use them as fungicides, or just for other uses you mentioned?

No I don't use them for that purpose. I just know what a few of their uses are. I mostly just collect them, or use them to make new compounds. The copper compounds are also an easy way to get copper powder. It just seems like I work to make something new and exciting, but celebrate by putting it on a shelf or using it to make something else that just goes on a shelf. I know how to make really strong glue, which could have a practical use, but all of my possessions are currently intact. I'll continue doing chemistry even without a practical application for it, but sometimes I wish I could put my products to good use. Maybe I'm just making the wrong stuffs.

 

[Comeback City]

I know how to make really strong glue, which could have a practical use, but all of my possessions are currently intact. I'll continue doing chemistry even without a practical application for it, but sometimes I wish I could put my products to good use.

Perhaps you could start selling that "strong glue" and make some cash

 

[I720I]

Perhaps you could start selling that "strong glue" and make some cash

Honetly, copper sheet is pretty cheap, and making something to etch the copper is cheap too. Making super cheap jewelry and selling it online for profit seems like a decent "practical use"

 

[Aufbauwerk 2045]

When I was taking chemistry at community college, there was a certain guy in my class who intrigued me. I kept wondering, is he in this class for the reason I think he is? One day, he caught me looking at him and he winked. I know what he was thinking. "Yeah, man, I'm doing what you think I'm doing. But it don't bother me that you know, cause you are one cool dude. Peace out, man." I felt relieved, because I didn't get the sense he wanted to knife me or anything like that.

In all seriousness, I would be careful with chemistry. Just look at the laws they have in Texas now about what chemistry equipment you can legally possess. Did you know that it's illegal to own an Erlenmeyer flask unless you have it cleared, have your home lab inspected, etc? This is no joke. This is what we've come to in our so-called free country.

Recently I was looking over one of my sacred texts, The Golden Book of Chemistry, which in its day introduced many kids to chemistry experiments. I'm not sure, but I think at least the equipment part is legal because it tends to use household items. As far as the chemicals, I'm not totally sure. If you stick to household chemicals and equipment, I would imagine you would stay within the law, but I would still be careful.

Personally, I would get into 3D printing these days, instead of chemistry. Just don't make any guns, right?

Stay safe and legal.

 

[Comeback City]

When I was taking chemistry at community college, there was a certain guy in my class who intrigued me. I kept wondering, is he in this class for the reason I think he is? One day, he caught me looking at him and he winked. I know what he was thinking. "Yeah, man, I'm doing what you think I'm doing. But it don't bother me that you know, cause you are one cool dude. Peace out, man." I felt relieved, because I didn't get the sense he wanted to knife me or anything like that.

In all seriousness, I would be careful with chemistry. Just look at the laws they have in Texas now about what chemistry equipment you can legally possess. Did you know that it's illegal to own an Erlenmeyer flask unless you have it cleared, have your home lab inspected, etc? This is no joke. This is what we've come to in our so-called free country.

Recently I was looking over one of my sacred texts, The Golden Book of Chemistry, which in its day introduced many kids to chemistry experiments. I'm not sure, but I think at least the equipment part is legal because it tends to use household items. As far as the chemicals, I'm not totally sure. If you stick to household chemicals and equipment, I would imagine you would stay within the law, but I would still be careful.

Personally, I would get into 3D printing these days, instead of chemistry. Just don't make any guns, right?

Stay safe and legal.

So basically...
1) be careful who you meet in chem class
2) don't do chem in texas
?
In all seriousness though, as long as one is safe with their chemistry practices and doesn't make drugs, they should be fine. It's also definitely cheaper to do simple home chemistry experiments than to invest in 3D printing.

 

[I720I]

I don't do any experiments unless I feel that I understand the science and know how to prevent and react to dangerous situations. I also have checked up on my state's laws.

It seems like your answer to my question is not really that closely related, and by "not closely related" I mean, completely veering off to another topic.

 

[symbolipoint]

I don't do any experiments unless I feel that I understand the science and know how to prevent and react to dangerous situations. I also have checked up on my state's laws.

It seems like your answer to my question is not really that closely related, and by "not closely related" I mean, completely veering off to another topic.

All the cautioning and warning is justified. They/we are just saying, be safe and follow the laws in your area.

 

[I720I]

All the cautioning and warning is justified. They/we are just saying, be safe and follow the laws in your area.

I agree that a little warning about safety and laws is completely fine. I was mostly confused about the comment regarding just not doing chemistry and instead taking up 3D printing.

 

[Borek]

Sadly, chemistry became the pariah of the scientific hobbies.

Can you kill your family with a hammer? Sure.

Can you use the remote you made to blow up a building? Sure.

Can you put half a city on fire casting an iron rod? Sure.

Can you kill yourself incorrectly using a lab power supply? Sure.

So how come it is chemistry that is dangerous and has to be heavily regulated? Half of the reasons are nonsensical and stem from ignorance of people that never dealt with chemistry. Meh.

 

[TeethWhitener]

Sadly, chemistry became the pariah of the scientific hobbies.

Can you kill your family with a hammer? Sure.

Can you use the remote you made to blow up a building? Sure.

Can you put half a city on fire casting an iron rod? Sure.

Can you kill yourself incorrectly using a lab power supply? Sure.

So how come it is chemistry that is dangerous and has to be heavily regulated? Half of the reasons are nonsensical and stem from ignorance of people that never dealt with chemistry. Meh.

This. Chemists have a word for the prevailing attitude in this thread: chemophobia. What's even more disheartening is that it defies basic common sense. Chemistry has such brilliant potential as a hobby, and most of the illicit activities that the general public associates with hobby chemists are wildly impractical. It's far cheaper and easier to buy drugs than to make them ( on top of that, in many jurisdictions, buying a small amount is a misdemeanor whereas making any amount is a felony). Explosives involve virtually no knowledge of chemistry and their raw materials are essentially unregulated in the US (you may very well have a dozen gallons of explosives sitting in your driveway right now.). The main concern for me would be proper waste disposal, but your environmental quality is going to be far more affected by the industrial plant 10 miles upriver than it ever will be by a hobbyist (if they generate 10000 gallons of hazardous waste, even if they properly treat 99.99% of it, they're still making a larger environmental impact than most hobbyists will in a year). Sorry for the rant. It just frustrates me to see that even (non-chemist) scientists can hold a largely irrational attitude about chemistry.

 

[Steelwolf]

Even though I would only claim to have a 'hobbyist's knowledge' on Chemistry it is a very extremely useful thing to know in everyday usage. Little examples are being able to read a label and have a good idea what the substance inside will probably do, knowing which things in a normal cleaning cupboard should NOT be mixed (Ammonia and Bleach= Chlorine Gas) as well as little reactions that are useful in the kitchen (why leavening works). I was a sword maker for a decade, and had to know all sorts of brazing fluxes and how to neutralize some of them properly, different glue types for different materials, proper liquids for hardening and tempering steel (as well as the phase transformation charts for the crystallization of different alloys, again Chemistry) so I still use, and study, chemistry on a nearly daily basis some 36-37 years after my High School Chemistry Classes

 

[AgentCachat]

I have made my own mouthwash and toothpaste, simple stuff, and also something for periodontics. Also ant and roach repellent. Your local government, always eager to help, may have codes about what you can and can't do. There are a few chemistry and science hobby books that can help you. When I was a kid I found an old chemistry book that told how to make neat stuff like mercury fulminate. (You could get lots of chemical you can't get now.)
If you decide to pursue this, make sure you have all the safety stuff. But like others have asked, who says it has to be practical? Is music practical, or reading?

 

[rootone]

...what is the practicality of hobby chemistry ..?

About the same as the practicality of playing football

 

[PAllen]

I have made my own mouthwash and toothpaste, simple stuff, and also something for periodontics. Also ant and roach repellent. Your local government, always eager to help, may have codes about what you can and can't do. There are a few chemistry and science hobby books that can help you. When I was a kid I found an old chemistry book that told how to make neat stuff like mercury fulminate. (You could get lots of chemical you can't get now.)
If you decide to pursue this, make sure you have all the safety stuff. But like others have asked, who says it has to be practical? Is music practical, or reading?

Yeah, mercury is an interesting case. So much interesting and fun to do with it, but it really takes equipment and knowledge to handle safely. In the olden days (1930s), my father came up with brilliant use of it:

In growing crystals from aqueous solution, the two common methods each have a flaw. Suspending a seed with a thread leaves you with a thread in your otherwise (possibly) perfect crystal. Using seed on the bottom of a dish, turning e.g. daily, leaves you with no thread, but the last side down is always imperfect. So, float solution on mercury with seed at bottom (on top of the mercury), and it continuously turns itself, leading to no bad side and no thread. I still have 4 inch absolutely (visually) perfect crystals my father grew this way.

 

[ProfuselyQuarky]

So, float solution on mercury with seed at bottom (on top of the mercury), and it continuously turns itself, leading to no bad side and no thread. I still have 4 inch absolutely (visually) perfect crystals my father grew this way.

Gosh, that's fantastically clever.

 

[PAllen]

Gosh, that's fantastically clever.

Not too surprisingly, my father went on to a career in chemistry, ultimately directing materials research world wide for IBM.