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Final version. I'll post on Saturday, but you get to see it now!

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Promethean Matches - The Ancestor to Modern Matches

In this video we make the ancestor to modern matches before phosphorus: The Promethean Match The operating principle is that sulfuric acid would react with potassium chlorate and sugar to catch fire. So to turn it into a match, the sulfuric acid was stored in a glass capsule that was broken and mixed with potassium chlorate and sugar. This would ignite and set fire to the paper roll it was packaged in. Donate to NurdRage! Through Patreon (preferred): https://www.patreon.com/NurdRage Through Youtube Memberships: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIgKGGJkt1MrNmhq3vRibYA/join Twitter: https://twitter.com/NurdRage Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/NurdRage/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nurdrageyoutube/

Comments

Bill Noren

Great video! Match history that I didn’t know.

Elizabeth Greene

Off-topic: Do you have any resources to explain complexing agents? I'm reading about Zinc Bromine batteries, and they discuss adding complexing agents to the electrolyte but I'm at a loss as to both what these are and what function they perform. If you're too busy to respond I completely understand. Thanks for your time and welcome back to YouTube. We missed you. <3

NurdRage

Research the topic "coordination complex" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordination_complex and go from there. Basically, you can have a central atom and other molecules can "stick" to it for various reasons. It's not a covalent or ionic bond exactly, but a much looser bond. The nature of the bond is actually somewhat variable, so there is no specific type i can define for you. But overall the molecule is called a "coordination complex". Complexing agents are those chemicals that can bond to the central atom. In the context of your zinc bromide battery. They're looking for a substance that complexes with the zinc and sticks to it. This can have multiple effects like changing solubility, and electrochemical potential. It can also prevent other undesired reactions by making them more energetically unfavorable. I have a video on using coordination complexes to flip redox potentials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsw3lOnHaas In this case it's so strong i can make tin plate onto copper. Something which doesn't happen with just normal copper and tin ions. Without additional info it's hard to tell what the authors of the ZnBr battery article meant. They might be looking for a complexing agent that prevents corrosion (a big problem in ZnBr batteries), or they are looking for an agent that improves the redox characteristics for more power. Alternatively, maybe i'm wrong, and they want to complex with the bromine and not the zinc. Maybe they want a substance that can stabilize the bromine so it doesn't smell so horrendously bad, or prevent it from evaporating out of the cell. Maybe they want it to be safer in case of spills. Complexing agents can do all of that and some can do multiple functions. But you have to pick the right one.