Christmas 🎅 Chemistry 🧪

 Christmas  🎅Chemistry

Today is December 25,Merry Christmas. Christians celebrate this day in a very pompous way.They make the day memorable with various arrangements and activities ranging from decorating the house to giving gifts, eating and playing sports.And with all this but there is our favorite chemistry involved.Its presence has made everything diverse.Let's find out how chemistry⚗️ is involved in Christmas🧙‍♂️ arrangements.

1.Christmas tree :🎄

Several molecules contribute to the aroma of Christmas trees. The key compound is pinene (C10H16), which exists as two isomers like alpha-pinene & beta-pinene.Bornyl acetate also contributes a fresh pine aroma.And it’s usually used in perfumes & air fresheners. 

2.Christmas light :💡

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are made from semiconducting materials ; the colour of light emitted depends on the materials used. Many of these materials are based on gallium(Ga), such as gallium arsenide phosphide(GaAsP),gallium phosphide(GaP), gallium nitride(GaN) etc.

3.Christmas bells :🔔

Bells are commonly made by essentially alloys of copper (Cu→75%) & tin(Sn→20%) with other trace elements. Trace elements are added to improve the material properties & sound.Trace elements such as phosphorous(P) & sulfer(S) can make the bell more susceptible to cracking.

4.Christmas crackers :🧨

Small amounts of silver fluminate [Ag(+)---C(-)N(+)O(-)] (a highly unstable compound) are placed on one of the two stripes of card in the cracker and an abrasive agent is placed on the other.When the cracker is pulled, the friction generated is enough to detonate the silver fulminate. 

5.Snow globe :🔮

The 'Snow' in snow globe made from Benzoic acid(C6H5–COOH). It's quite soluble in hot water,but isn’t very soluble in room temperature water.When dissolved in hot water,as the water cools down it precipitates out of solution and forms snow like flakes.

6.Silver baubles :🎊

Silver baubles for hanging on Christmas trees are traditionally silvered using silver nitrate solution(Ag+[NO3]–). This is added to the inside of the bauble, followed by concentrated ammonia solution {NH4OH(conc.)}. A glucose(C6H12O6) solution is then added, which causes the reduction of the silver ions to silver metal,producing a shiny silver coating on the inside of the bauble.

7.Christmas presents :🎁

Presents wrapping requires both wrapping paper and tape. Both are based on cellulose (C6H10O5)n. Tape also containing a synthetic rubber-based adhesive.

8.Candy cane :🍭

Candy cane are created by boiling a mixture of water, sugar (surcose)(C12H22O11) and corn starch to create a syrap, to which peppermint flavouring is added.Menthol (C10H20O) is the chemical in peppermint that makes your mouth feel cold.

9.Make Fake snow :🌨️

You can make fake snow using a common polymer such as sodium polyacrylate [–C-C(CO2Na)–]n . It is a super absorbant polymer & a white powder which can absorb about 300 times its own weight in water.

Finally we can show a magic or fun trick at the Christmas table. 

10.The relighting candle trick :🕯️

If you blow out a candle, then hold a lit match in the 'smoke trail' coming off the extinguished flame,the candle will relight. Actually the 'smoke trail' is a wax vapour,and putting a lit match into it simply relights the fuel,giving the illusion of the flame 'jumping' back down to the candle trick. 

General equation for wax combustion:

C25H52(g) + 38O2(g) → 25CO2(g) + 26H2O(g)

Mohammad Masfiqul Alam Evan

Dept. of Chemistry 

University of Rajshahi