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I always assumed you were supposed to "wharf the smell" (spelling?)
You know, wave the scent towards you, so you're not inhaling it really.
But IDK.

geminicross wrote:I always assumed you were supposed to "wharf the smell" (spelling?)
You know, wave the scent towards you, so you're not inhaling it really.
But IDK.

Waft, I think. But okay, yeah, it was an accident and I wasn't being that careful, but... The Wiki describes it as smelling "sweet," and Ammonia was far from it. It smelled like something dead.

Lol, thank you
(and yeah, when I printed out my cheat sheet, I remembered to replace Sweet with any other adjective)

geminicross wrote:Lol, thank you
(and yeah, when I printed out my cheat sheet, I remembered to replace Sweet with any other adjective)

I'm going to edit that out, I think. *shrug* What should I put instead? Nasty?

caseyotis wrote:

geminicross wrote:Lol, thank you
(and yeah, when I printed out my cheat sheet, I remembered to replace Sweet with any other adjective)

I'm going to edit that out, I think. *shrug* What should I put instead? Nasty?

I've also heard ammonia be described as pungent. That might work.

Ammonia is the same stuff used in many glass cleaners in a dilute concentration... It is also the stuff they used to use in smelling salts. When someone fainted, or was knocked unconscious, the first responder may crack one of these capsule and wave it under the patient's nose... If that didn't wake them up, they were pronounced dead at the scene!... OK... not really, but it usually worked... Not sure if they still use it for that or not.
I usually teach our team to think about spatial associations... The smell of alcohol reminds them of a Doctor's office... ammonia - window cleaner... vinegar - a salad... lemon juice - lemon-aid... works until you get to water and hydrogen peroxide...

Liquid odors are released by molecules breaking their liquid jail and entering the air as a vapor from the surface of the liquid... Therefore it stands to reason that the more surface area there is, the more odor there will be... You can tell very quickly who the good teams are at a competition, by watching them... the good ones pour the liquid into a petri dish... the others pour the liquids into a test tube to waft it. Petri dishes have 50 times more surface area than a test tube... therefore 50 times the odor.

So my partner and I have been practicing with Iodine, or I2, or KI or whatever you want to call it. The point is, it was that distinctive yellowish/orange color. When we got to regionals, our bottle labeled "KI" was clear. Completely threw us off. It didn't smell, it was clear, and it didn't react with anything! Fluke, or is this some substance that actually is KI? Thanks in advance.

stephritz929 wrote:So my partner and I have been practicing with Iodine, or I2, or KI or whatever you want to call it. The point is, it was that distinctive yellowish/orange color. When we got to regionals, our bottle labeled "KI" was clear. Completely threw us off. It didn't smell, it was clear, and it didn't react with anything! Fluke, or is this some substance that actually is KI? Thanks in advance.

KI is potassium iodide in chemistry, but I'm not sure what that has to do with Crime Busters... I don't know.

stephritz929 wrote:So my partner and I have been practicing with Iodine, or I2, or KI or whatever you want to call it. The point is, it was that distinctive yellowish/orange color. When we got to regionals, our bottle labeled "KI" was clear. Completely threw us off. It didn't smell, it was clear, and it didn't react with anything! Fluke, or is this some substance that actually is KI? Thanks in advance.

It should have been yellowish/orange-ish/brownish, not clear.

and if it didnt react with anything, its a pretty clear sign that it wasnt the right thing

joshyyoo wrote:

stephritz929 wrote:So my partner and I have been practicing with Iodine, or I2, or KI or whatever you want to call it. The point is, it was that distinctive yellowish/orange color. When we got to regionals, our bottle labeled "KI" was clear. Completely threw us off. It didn't smell, it was clear, and it didn't react with anything! Fluke, or is this some substance that actually is KI? Thanks in advance.

It should have been yellowish/orange-ish/brownish, not clear.

and if it didnt react with anything, its a pretty clear sign that it wasnt the right thing

Actually, a plain Iodine solution will not react with starch... It takes a super-saturated potassium iodide solution... I believe the correct chemical formula is actually IKI. Another name for it is Lugol's Solution. To make it, it's a little more tricky than just adding iodine crystals to water. I made some Lugol's a few years ago... started with about 250 ml of water, added a few iodine crystals, some KCl, some more iodine crystals... it was so strong I could have used it to dilute a 55 gallon drum, probably! The point is, that if it's clear. it's not the solution you need.