Uploaded March 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Want to learn interesting science facts and find cool experiments to do at home? You can find all this and more in the news tab of the MEL Chemistry app!
Watch the video and download the MEL Chemistry app in the App Store or get it on Google Play: mel.app.link/hsVOSNOKX3
Want to learn interesting science facts and find cool experiments to do at home? You can find all this and more in the news tab of the MEL Chemistry app!
Watch the video and download the MEL Chemistry app in the App Store or get it on Google Play: mel.app.link/hsVOSNOKX3

![Explosive silver
Explosive silver in an explosive new video!
Reagents and equipment: calcium carbide, 50mL Tollens’ reagent, water, conical flasks, cork with gas pipe, funnel, filter paper, burner.
Add a small piece of calcium carbide to a conical flask with 50mL of water, and close it using a cork with a gas outlet tube. Immerse the free end of the gas outlet tube in 50mL of Tollens’ reagent. Wait for the reaction to die down. A loose, greyish-white precipitate will form in the second flask. Filter it through a funnel with filter paper and rinse with water. Pat the precipitate dry with filter paper and set a small amount on fire. And boom!
The reaction between calcium carbide and water produces acetylene gas and calcium hydroxide: CaC2+2H2O→Ca(OH)2+C2H2↑ Passing acetylene gas through a solution of Tollens’ reagent (ammonia silver hydroxide solution) yields a friable grey-white precipitate of silver acetylide: C2H2+2[Ag(NH3)2]OH→Ag2C2↓+4NH3↑+2H2O
Silver acetylide is an extremely unstable explosive. The fewer impurities it contains, the more dangerous it is. Silver acetylide can explode when heated and mechanically stressed.
Ag2C2(solid)→2Ag(solid)+2C(solid)
Safety precautions: Do not try this at home. Only under professional supervision. Explosive silver](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EQmSTFGFdeo/mqdefault.jpg)








