Chinese Universities & Designers Create Video of Artistic Chemical Reactions

Hi-Tech October, 18 2014 Varvara Baryshneva

Scientists and artists in China create videos of the chemical processes of crystallization, bubbling, and precipitation.

Beautiful Chemistry is a collaboration between the Institute of Advanced Technology at the University of Science and Technology of China and Tsinghua University Press. The goal of this project is to show the beauty of chemistry to the general public.

Scientists involved graphic designers from Shanghai to select the most eye-catching chemical reactions. They used a 4K UltraHD Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 camera. Eight videos were made showing the process of crystallization, reactions of bubbling as well as three types of smoke.

“The molecules inside some plants giving them vibrant colors can change to other colors under acid and base conditions. What we show here is the color change of purple cabbage and a flower named Teornia fournieri in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions” explained the authors in the description of one of the videos. Currently scientists and artists are working on new videos.