Step-by-step instruction
- Fill the beaker with 50 ml of silicate glue and the same amount of water.
- Mix it.
- Carefully put crystals of salt on the bottom of the glass.
- Watch the growth of thread.
From salt crystals, descended into the solution, colored tubes that resemble algae grow
Scientific name: The resulting transition metal silicates form chemical algae by osmosis
YouTube
Chemical Garden - Periodic Table of Videos
Safety
none
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Reaction formula
CaCl2 + Na2SiO3 → CaSiO3 + 2NaCl
CuSO4 + Na2SiO3 → CuSiO3 + Na2SO4
NiSO4 + Na2SiO3 → NiSiO3 + Na2SO4
CoCl2 + Na2SiO3 → CoSiO3 + 2NaCl
MnCl2 + Na2SiO3 → MnSiO3 + 2NaCl
2FeCl3 + 3Na2SiO3 + 6H2O → 2Fe(OH)3 + 3H2SiO3 +6NaCl
2CrCl3 + 3Na2SiO3 + 6H2O → 2Cr(OH)3 + 3H2SiO3 +6NaCl
2CuSO4 + Na2SiO3 + 2H2O → Cu2(OH)2SO4 + H2SiO3 + Na2SO4
etc.
Reagents
Scientific background
Crystals of immersed salts follow air bubbles and stretch into thin hollow tube whose walls consist of the formed precipitation. The tube is a semipermeable membrane (septum), through which water penetrates. Osmosis occurs. As a result, in some places the tube breaks. Precipitate forms again in place of the gap. "Thickets" appear, resembling trees or algae. The color of algae depends on the metal. Copper salts give blue algae, cobalt - blue, magnesium, aluminum and zinc - white, nickel - light green, iron (III) - brown, chromium - green, "manganese" algae grow white at first, but eventually turn brown, iron salts (II) give a dark-green algae, which then also becomes brown (in both cases the color change is the result of oxidation).