Why does brake fluid react with chlorine

You can find any number of demonstrations of it under "chlorine and brake fluid," but what you really need is not pure chlorine but a product generally referred to as pool shock. It's calcium hypochlorite. Meanwhile, the brake fluid should be a type with polyethylene glycol.

Mix the two together and nothing happens The mixture just sits there for about five to 30 seconds, then starts hissing, and then comes the leaping red flame. Calcium hypochlorite is a molecule that's all about pairs. When the fuel rapidly oxidizes in the presence of the oxidizing agent, the mixture spontaneously combusts, resulting in a fireball. Because this experiment involves mixing volatile compounds and produces a fireball, it is dangerous. The only safe way to conduct this experiment is to use very small quantities of the ingredients in a laboratory with a fume hood while under the supervision of an expert.

Anyone present during the experiment should wear a face shield. Place 2 to 2. Pipette 1 milliliter of brake fluid into the evaporating dish. Step away from the fume hood to observe the experiment from a safe distance.

After combining the ingredients, you should expect a short period of dormancy. Nothing will happen for between 5 and 30 seconds, depending on the freshness of the swimming pool chlorine. It is important not to approach the fume hood during this time even if you suspect the experiment did not work. You should hear a hiss in the evaporating dish followed by a fireball within a second of the sound.

This fireball should flare and die quickly and is likely to shatter the evaporating dish. Mixing swimming pool chlorine with brake fluid is an exciting experiment that displays the power of oxidation.

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