PACIFIC SOUTHWEST ASSOCIATION OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS
TEMPEST IN A TEST TUBE WILLIAM J. EISENLORD Shell Development Company, Emeryville, California
INSANFRANCISCO, every Wednesday night a t 7:30, Bay Area TV viewers are shown some of the mysteries and delights of chemistry, thanks t o the efforts of the Northern California Section of the A. C. S. and educational TV station KQED. A program, called "Tempest in a Test Tube," is jointly sponsored by these two organizations and is receiving the acclaim and attention of a wide number of viewers. The program came into being after lengthy ground work by the A. C. S. radio and television committee organized a detailed program for this nonprofit station. This seemed to dovetail into the idea the A. C. S. had been wanting to try for some time: to stimulate the interest of teen-aged students in chemistry and the allied sciences and present chemistry t o that vast audience which is only vaguely aware of the sciences' existence. I n May of 1954, a trial program was broadcast with Dr. D. B. Luten but not continued because the station was operating more or less sporadically a t that time. The real start for "Tempest" came on August 24, 1955, when the first of 13 scheduled telecasts was made.' The initial programs were inspired by Michael Faraday's famous Chemical History of a Candle lectures, lectures he used to awaken an interest in chemistry in the teen-aged children of his day. I n these lectures, which started with the lighting of a candle, Faraday developed the basic principles of chemistry and physics. And so it was, with Faraday more or less looking over their shoulders, the committee started their first program called Chemistry by Candlelight. The committee was faced with several problems. It had to keep the lectures entertaining and simple. Entertainment value came first since this is not a captive audience such as a class in a lecture hall or laboratory. The basic outline for the 13 programs had 'The members of the working committee were: Stanley Abrams, Hans Benesi, Harris Carter, Stanley Cosgroove, William Eisenlord, Charles Greene, Vincent Guinn, Harold Lundgren, Alan Nixan, Harry Sello, and Paul Williams, chairman.
to be worked out and approved. A working committee had t o he organized and put into operation. The staff of KQED had to be consulted and program and production problems worked out with them. These problems proved to be less knotty than anticipated; even the student cameramen made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in experience. Dr. Harry Sello (pictured before the TV camera) was finally selected as lecturer-demonstrator. He is a research chemist who has done lecturing and is further qualified by having had experience in amateur and professional theatrics. A working outline of subject matter was chosen with the idea of presenting a complete course in chemistry, and the work on experiments began. Experiments were chosen for their entertainment value, effectiveness when photographed, and adaptability to the subject a t hand. They were taken from many source^.^ It may be of interest and help to prospective program organizers to mention a few of the experiments which were particularly effective. To illustrate capillary action, a mound of salt in a glass dish was used with ink as the liquid. To show how hot air rises, two asbestos cups, balanced a t the ends of a yardstick, were used. Holding the flame under one cup caused that one to rise. The old stand-by, a collapsing can, was used to help demonstrate the lecture on Freezing, Melting, and Boiling. Also, the expansion of freezing water was shown by filling a short piece of pipe with water and sealing both ends. This was then placed in a bath of dry ice until the pipe split. The electrolysis of water and use of the oxygen and a glowing splint were excellent experiments. To show chemical and physical change, AgNOI and HC1 gave a precipitate and the Someof the most helpful were: (1) A R T E ~ PAUL, , "Lecture Demonstrations in General Science," McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1939. (2) SWEZEY, K. M., "After Dinner Science," Whittlesey House, NewYork, 1948. (3) DAYISON, H. F., "A Collection of Chemical Lecture Exp~riments,"Chemical Catalogue Company, New York, 1926. (4) DERRICK, J. O., J. CHEM.EDUC.> 27, 562 (1950).
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pyrolysis of sugar formed water. One lecture, Household Chemistry, attained the greatest audience reaction. Showing how silver can be cleaned in a solution of washing soda and water in an aluminum pan worked very well here. The chemistry of cooking and baking, which are everyday experiences for most people, had that universal tourh that is vital to the program's success. Each member of the committee is responsible for a program on a rotating basis. He must select the experiments, assemble the equipment, make sure that each experiment works, and rehearse them with the lecturerdemonstrator. The first can be done during off-work hours, the remainder is done during work-day lunch hours. For these reasons, the committee found it best t o locate as many of its members as possible in one place of employment. The present group, with two exceptions, is associated with Shell Development Company a t Emeryville, California. However, it is planned to shift the program responsibility to another group, either industrial or academic, with enough overlap to allow for continuity. A similar program could be equally effective in most any area where a TV audience is available. The purpose in the Bay Area was partly to help encourage more young people to enter careers in science. The A. C. S. was especially concerned about the decreasing percentages of scientists among college graduates during a time when the need for scientists is increasing tremew donsly. There are several main ingredients, however, that such a program must have: willingness of the sponsors to give hard, creative work; simple photographable experiments; and an inexhaustable sense of humor. The best-planned and most meticu-
lously organized production can get out of hand if the lecturerdemonstrator is not always a t ease and has not the ability to explain why reactions and experiments do not work. The first thing to go wrong on "Tempest" was the pesky way the Bunsen burner conducted itself. Dr. Sello had just explained how the burner worked and what an excellent and necessary piece of laboratory equipment it is. When he applied the match, flames shot out of the sides, around the bottom, and at every opening except t,he top. This injected a light note into the lecture. While he made quick adjustments, he explained how the burner is mauufactured to operate a t a given pressure and that the pressure in the portable tank was far above that required. This was the first "catastrophe" the s h o ~had and pointed up the importance of being able to recover rapidly when things do not go exactly right. At another time, Dr. Sello \!-as doing an experiment with sodium chlorate to show how a burning taper glows in the presence of oxygen. He had described a t some length the bright glow to be expected. With nervous hands he placed the burning taper in the test tube. It went out. Again he tried. Again it went out. Then, starting from the very beginning, he went on to explain that there was a certain amount of ~vaterinside the test tube, condensed in the few moments since the program had started. He explained further that the heat applied had generated more steam than oxygen. Hence, the flaming taper went out rather than glowing nicely as he had described. Response to "Tempest" could not be more gratifying. Schools, as well as individual teachers, have asked for outlines of the series with the purpose of making it a
Dr. Harry Sello Before the TV Camom
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JUNE, 1956
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regular part of the classroom activities. Outlines have pounds, (3-4) Atoms and kIolecules, (5) Radioactivity, been made available to everyone requesting them. (6) Chemical Conductors of Electricity, (7) Acids, Bases, Students, teachers, and interested people are allowed and Salts, (8) Dissolving Gases, Liquids, and Solids, (9) in the studio in limited numbers. The Adult E d u c e Crystals and Glass, (10) Chemical Clock Reactions, (11) tion Division of the San Jose School District has incor- Carbon Chemistry, (12) Polymers and Plastics, (13) porated the show into its curriculum. KQED asked Chemical Hall of Fame. [PSACT EDITOR'SNOTE: In corresponding with for the program to be continued for a second series and the A. C. S. section gladly complied. At this writing, Donald S. Noyce, Assistant Dean of the College of Chemistry of the University of California, mention was a third is being planned by a new group. Lecture subjects outlined for the first series were: made by him of the fine TV program sponsored by the (1) Chemistry by Candlelight, (2) Fire and Flame, California Section of the A. C. S. It was suggested (3) Combustion Products, (4) Freezing, Melting, and that contact be made with Dr. Fred Stross of the Shell Boiling, (5-6) Oxygen, (7-8) Liquid Air, (9) Physi- Development Company in Emeryville for a story on the series, since Dr. Stross is chairman of the TV-radio cal and Chemical Change, (10) Chemical Fire-Incendiaries, (11) Catalysts, (12) Electricity from Chemicals, committee of the California Section of the A. C. .S. We are pleased to acknowledge the work of Mr. W. J. (13) Household Chemistry. Lecture subjects outlined for the second series were: Eisenlord, a member of this committee who prepared (1) Industry Uses Chemistry, (2) Elements and Corn- the above report.]
