Australia's Science Forum

G'day rae, in our job it is safest to wear enclosed shoes, of course. I find leather gym shoes the best because of all the walking we lab techs do. I have a pair of black ones and a pair of white. My foot doctor likes them to be as rigid as possible for foot support. I took my inserts along to the s...

Hi again rae, we don't even try to get this chemical out of boiling tubes but keep them stoppered in between and re-use. The Chemical Science in Schools package does not recommend using naphthalene but lists safer alternatives....... After a lot of fuss and expense, we got phenyl benzoate in from ov...

Hello again rae, the 3 silver salts you require are very insoluble, (silver chloride IS insoluble)so if you were able to carry out the appropriate reactions or were able to buy them individually (they probably are expensive, being silver compounds), it is dubious whether you could get 0.5g/Litre to ...

Sorry rae, you will have to buy the three chemicals individually from a chemical supplier. To change the silver nitrate chemically will probably be more trouble than it is worth with no guarantee of the purity. I hope you have catalogues available to do a search (it would be nice to get them all fro...

Hi Nicky,
I hope you received the 6-page fax. The cover page is actually the cover of "the bible". The supplier's name is also on the cover - Southern Biological, Melbourne -Phone: 03 9877 4597
Good Luck,
~Robyn

Hi nickyw, the technicians 'bible', "The Laboratory", (B. Dungey) has on page 111 the recipe for the above stain and its accompanying fixative and the reasons why aceto orcein is so good for showing up the chromosomes in mitosis. If you don't have a copy, I can fax you the relevant pages i...

Hello Mother,
we have used a 3-4 metre piece of rubber tubing which is whirled around the operators head. At one end is a Girl Guides whistle and the teacher/operator blows through his end.
Hope this helps,
~Robyn

Hi rae,
would you mean something like the Hodson Motor Kit?
Contains a 'U' shape metal frame, reels of black & red wire, axel shaft and magnets, comes in a plastic storage jar.
Try Scientrific, Yamba NSW, 02 6645 8111
Cheers,
~Robyn

Hi All, I have found that a starch solution over about 1%, however prepared, will go solid at room temperature, let alone in the fridge where it must be kept long term to inhibit moulds. If you are using dialysis tubing to test the presence of starch with iodine solution, it needs to be able to be '...

Dear rae,
Southern Biological carry the bacterial strains.
Ph: 03 9877 4597
email: sales@southernbiological.com
Bacterial cultures come in slopes and broths.
We have used broth cultures of
Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus albus

Hello kimmy,
Years ago I purchased screw cap lids for 25 & 50mL amber dropper bottles from:
Bottle Containers
161 Villawood Road
Villawood
PH: 9726 8000
I hope they are still in business - Good Luck!
Cheers,
~Robyn

Hi Sam,
the NT may have different standards but I can fax/email you the Sydney standards from the Chemical Safety in Schools package we work with here?
Cheers,
~Robyn

Hi Paula, this was discussed last year. I had trouble getting re-supplied with tapers, too. The forum discussion came up with the good idea of wooden applicator sticks. They come in a box of 1,000 (last for ages). They burn for hydrogen testing and smoulder for oxygen testing. And no wax droppings! ...

Dear rainbow-sky,
Red cabbage freezes quite well and pieces can be stored for future use, if I remember correctly...anyway, it's worth a try.
Cheers,
~Robyn

Sorry,
also Ian, when we do this experiment, we roll only a drop or two of the indicator around in the beaker so the cloudiness is less obvious until it has to react.
hope this helps,
~Robyn

Hi Ian, our recipe for this indicator is: 2 grams of phelolphthalein dissolved in 600mL ethanol. Made up to 1 litre with distilled water and filtered if needed. As most of the solution is alcohol, it evaporates readily and can leave a white ppt. Maybe make it a little weaker for that experiment?? ~R...

Dear Kathryn, we supply test tubes as they are needed for that very reason as well as keeping them clean. So when they are asked for in a prac request, we supply them in plastic coated baskets inside a 4 litre ice-cream container. The idea is that the dirty ones are returned in the ice-cream contain...

Gee, that's a hard one as Hydrochloric acid is so fuming, it seems to leak through anything including stoppers. There are some storage bottles that have an inner cap under the screw lid? We only get about 10-12 years out of a corrosive cupboard because of the HCl. I don't know your storage circumsta...

Dear rae, I think you are very wise in not dealing with this chemical once its composition (and probably its formula) has changed. I'm sure Robb would agree. Read its MSDS and dispose of it carefully. I have had this happen to red phosphorus due to age or exposure to air. It becomes deliquescent. It...

Hi Jen,
the writing was on the wall for us years ago regarding the supply of rolls of test tape for sugar detection. We had to move to Clinistix for glucose detection from Southern Biological, 03 9877 4597. It comes in packs of 50 strips. Code: G10.39; $14.80/100.
Regards,
~Robyn