Making Opals for Free Air Conditioning 

Hi everyone! I tried a lot of new things in the way I made this video. First of all, this is the most complicated project I've ever filmed without using a script. This allowed me to film the video much more rapidly than usual. Normally I would do all my experiments off camera to make sure everything worked, figure out a plan for how to present the project, build physical items to demonstrate concepts, research to make sure I can explain the science correctly, and finally script the video and film. I skipped all of that besides filming, which shaved a solid 3-4 weeks off the time it took to make this video. I hope the lack of a script makes the video more enjoyable for the reason of being able to see my authentic reactions to success and failure, and giving a behind the scenes look at how I tackle difficult projects. The downside of being unscripted is that this video is obviously not very succinct in presenting the key details of the project, and my descriptions of the science involved are off the cuff and probably contain many errors. On the other hand, without a script I was able to talk about all the details which I thought were interesting in the moment, and, if you like spending time with me in my workshop this should give you a big dose at nearly 50 minutes long. I'm certain many will find the slow pace hard to sit through. I will be interested to read your comments and find out how many enjoy this style compared to those who dislike it. I am also trying a new intro format with subtitles to try to get new viewers interested as they're scrolling through RU-vid without volume on. I hope this doesn't seem too fast paced and gimmicky to those of you who have been with me for a long time. I wanted a strong hook for new viewers at the start of the video, but a relaxing and enjoyable watch for the rest of the project. I'll be watching the stats of this video closely to see how the intro has effected the interest of viewers new and old. Lastly I want to thank all of you for continuing to watch my channel and allowing me to pursue these projects with your support. This is what I love to do and I'm very grateful. To all my Patreon supporters especially, thank you for giving me some confidence in continuing on without fear of not being able to provide for my family. To everyone who leaves me comments, thank you also for the encouragement and even the occasional criticism which helps me to improve how I do things. Thank you all very much! Ben

Hey thanks for the shoutout and nice video! Some tips that you may find helpful: For centrifuging, you need more speed not less. I used that exact same centrifuge, I just cranked it to max and held it so it didn't shake itself apart. Also for settling you'll want to dilute the solution with more ethanol, then let it settle in a tall tube. Like a grad cylinder with a removable bottom. That way the settling is as slow as possible and you'll grow the largest pseudocrystals. Also something I found was that the color you get from settling slowly or with a centrifuge, is not the same as the color you get from quickly drying. I found there was a weird effect where certain sized particle batches will settle out to look great, up until the second you attempt to dry them, then they look good. Or others that look good wet and dry. And different colors work differently depending on settling method. It was rather finicky to get it right. Something I never took the time to do was quantify this carefully because it was so annoying doing the reaction as carefully as I was. The fact you got this basically working in a beaker actually speeds this way up. I was being way too delicate about it I think. Cool to see others working on this and this actually gave me some ideas on a way to improve making big chunks of opal. Though traditionally the long reaction time is there to make sure all the TEOS is used up otherwise the particles will start to agglomerate and stick to each other with the tiny bit that's left in solution. Also for clarity, the issue isn't the particles. It's that they're not stuck together. It'll only go clear-ish if you sinter the final opal, or backfill it with epoxy to remove the air pockets/voids. The most difficult but pretty ones to make are settled, dried, sintered, then back filled with a solution of even smaller particles, then sintered again. But getting that process to work is tricky. Though even a single round of sintering will make it more clear and glassy, but don't overheat it or it all just melts. Need just enough heat for the contact points between spheres to fuse, without melting the spheres. Hope that helps!

Cripes. I followed this guy to learn how to make tarps out of old bedsheets. Now we're making synthetic opals for radiative cooling? I'm here for it but that's a hell of a journey.

This is incredible! I am the founder/CEO of the first large-scale distributor of PDRC materials in the US down in Tucson, AZ. I've been following your progress since your first attempts using barium. Totally love what you are doing to not only explain PDRC, but actually show people how it's possible to make their own! If you ever want to play with a sample of commercial Radi-Cool material, let me know! I'd be happy to send you some membrane, self-adhesive film, and/or fabric.

I've had Glove² casually chilling under my kitchen sink for months and had absolutely no idea how dangerous it was. I even have a glovebox in my car! Thank you so much for saving my life with this information. Subscribed.

The thought emporium is legitimately one of the most awesome youtube channels out there. From body modding to growing neurons for electrical purposes. Theyre awesome and worth a watch

Sodium silicate is how you would best fill the opal spheres. It can be perfectly mixed, balanced, and then dried using acetone under pressure until it solidifies [sort of like aerogel, only without making it actually hollow, and therefore having no porosity], which is essentially like what happens in nature when silane deposits around the opal spheres under high pressure in the earth.

I love how contagious your excitement is. Including your "failures" with your previous attempts made it all the more genuine and really makes the viewers feel like they're with you for the ride. Stay awesome, Ben 👍

8:51 So is this how Legolas knew there had been a battle during night at the start of the second movie? The rising sun was more red not directly because blood was spilt but because the humans had burned the orc corpses causing more particles to be suspended in the air.

Didn't you know? The element Glove is one of the more dangerous elements. I hope this video doesn't get flagged or demonetized.

Material science videos are their own kind of gem. The practical application of dumping waste heat into space is especially exciting. Keep up the good work!

Love the creator's high that you got from making opal for the first time.

Spilling it on the floor was the most relatable thing I’ve ever seen

18:30 seeing you happy about succeeding at something largely only special to you has also been the most wholesome part of my day too

At 18:35 "I feel like such a nerd". Yes you are, but we LOVE YOU for THAT. 👍 Congratulations.

as a physicist, this is incredible. I already kind of knew this before, but seeing someone applying it is somewhat satisfactory..

I’m a ring maker and often use opal as a critical component in my rings. I usually think about creating my opal, but the biggest hurdle I see is if you let the solution settle to create a gemstone. It’s very fragile, so I hope you tackle the issue of heating it under immense pressure to make a workable gemstone. I wish you good luck to you in your opal adventure!

Getting out of depression, you're re-igniting my passion for science. Functional stuff like this just tickles my brain in a way that nothing else does. Thank you so much, dude.

Ben, I usually don't gush about folks I follow, but I have to say, I'm really pleased with your channel. Top quality, fascinating, useful, original content. Humility, willing to show your own mistakes as well as how you learned from them. Humble requests for support while acknowledging the limitations of some of your viewers. You have folks like Tech Ingredients and others name dropping you? You've made it, dude. Amazing work , well done. And thank you very much for your content.

Len Cram revolutionized opal research, debunking the belief that opals take millions of years to form. Subsequently, he earned an honorary Ph.D. for his groundbreaking work. Despite lacking formal scientific training or a high-tech laboratory, Cram's passion for opals drove him to success, operating from a humble workshed! Fantastic video!

I love that you always share as much information as possible and give credit to the original work. So much content on here now is just out of context stuff or stolen work so your channel is quite a breath of fresh air. Keep up the great work! All of your videos are gems.

I also am working on making my own opals. I am using Thought Imporiums process for making them as well. I'll be posting a video on the process later this summer if anyone wants to follow along and see what i can do. Thanks for making another video to go by! Taking tons of notes and I'd be glad to collaborate if i am successful. Thanks again!

I remember years ago I subscribed because I thought raising peasants and fireworks where interesting. I felt so excited when this video showed up on my feed! Other youtube channels die off or lose their charm but after all of these years, your channel has only gotten better and so much nicer! Kudos to you and your channel

"Enormously small," lol! No, it's not boring. I'm almost as excited as you are, and your's comes through the screen! I'm sending this to a friend who's tried making opal before but she had no clue. I bet if she gets inspired she'll try again, she's super smart so I think she can do it.

THIS. This is the RU-vid I love and remember. Full credit to the researcher, and pure joy to recreate the results. Science in its most pure form. Thank you to both you and Thought Emporium. I love both of your channels and I watched the process when Thought did it. It was fascinating to learn the process. But I am enjoying yours just as much to hear the excitement in your voice. This is pure discovery at its best!

I've never seen hawk so expressive. After watching his videos and admiring all the precise science and effort he puts into them, this man truly desrves this payoff, like I was felt happy to see him so happy. Good shit my guy

There is this channel that I love where a guy makes D20s out of gemstones. Just carves them out beautifully. And in one of his videos he used synthetic opal. It is so cool. Wish someone would grow an ol' chunk o' opal to carve a D20 out of. It is such a beautiful pretty rock, there should be plenty of it for people to play with. Anyway, really nice video, brother. Keep up the great work and God bless you.

Congratulations on becoming a father oh my goodness! I've been watching your videos for about 10 years now, a little less than half my life, and I wanted to say you're one of the greatest people on youtube. Thank you for sharing your projects with us, I always get so happy when I see your videos and look forward to what's to come.

As someome who's watched your vids since the old 4th of July vid that Grant made back in the day, I'm glad that you are still going and introducing people to other great creators. Grant would be proud I bet.

It warms my heart seeing you gush with glee at liquid opal drying, so innocent and bright. Also congratulations on having a son, we're all proud of you :) That boy will have a fantastic childhood I'm sure.

The pure joy this man is feeling... it's so wholesome.

Please give us a follow-up video for this one 🙏! I am very interested in seeing how the longer time-span, naturally grown crystals turn out. I also really like how you went back and edited the footage with notes, once you learned how you accidentally created the blue hued opalescence. The humility and dedicated truth-seeking values to do so are quite noteworthy!

What you'll see in high quality black opals is that the top of the polished opal with the "fire" is sometimes more translucent than the dark potch underneath. Doublets simply glue a translucent opal to a black background to create a cheaper imitation of a black opal. So you could let your opal just dry on a black surface, then use the nail polish trick to get rid of the white. My understanding is that synthetic opals used as gems actually have the silica particles in some kind of resin, which is what fills the gaps instead of air.

Run the opaline fluid through a freeze dryer. The vacuum element would negate the oxygen mixed in the fluid, and it potentially could speed up the turn around time for "settling out" a good looking opal. Just a thought. Cheers man, been a fan for a LONG time! :)

Thanks, Ben. I really appreciate seeing you be happy. You put so much effort into the project. You deserve it. It means a lot to me and the audience. Congratulations on your success.

The time lapse of the particles drying is amazing! Looks like a computer graphics effect. Really nice work.

My PhD is working with SiO2 Stöber type nanoparticles, glad to see this get some attention :) I'm not going to grill you for the science about light scattering, it's a complicated topic. but let's just say that Rayleigh scattering is simply a simpler model of the Mie-Solution to the light scattering of particles. The Mie-Solution is exact, albeit requires a numerical solution. Time to invest in a DLS / SLS / SEM / TEM! :D Quick tip in general: pre-dilute your TEOS /w at least an equal volume of Ethanol (so split up your total charge of Ethanol into two parts), this prevents aggregation. One last thing: it takes about 3 hours for me to see no more changes in particle size / scattering properties at 25C reaction temperature. I would recommend you wait at least 2 hours, even at 60C. you can do reactions in small screw-cap-vials, that way you can test many different reaction conditions very quickly. you can 3D print a holder or buy one made out of metal for a stirplate, should be able to stir like 6 at a time. then you just have to do it at 25C, but this doesn't influence the reaction all that much - you just get larger particles in general at lower temperatures. One very very last thing: Higher percentage of solid content in a medium might not be better. The effect is non-linear, and there is a maximum volume percentage at which the maximum light is scattered and reflected, this is called "dependent scattering".

A lot of people are mentioning annealing as a fix for the lack of stacking or even the air contamination. I wonder if heat or a very weak but continuous vibration would help. It would need to be weak enough not to resuspend the particles but strong enough to dislodge them from the messy lattice. If you are stll worried about the denaturant or other contaminants/impurities, you COULD distill the reagents. With how well it worked, I don't think that's necessary though. Also, (for anyone interested) the ammonia being used to help the TEOS break down is actually hydrolyzing it. The hydroxide ion in the ammonia (ammonium hydroxide, not pure ammonia which is a yikes) breaks the silicon-ethyl ester to form ethanol and an orthosilicate ion which then takes protons from the ammonium ion to form orthosilicic acid. This then breaks into silicon dioxide and water. The ammonia and water react to regenerate some of the ammonium hydroxide. (edited for spelling)

I like this format. Warts and all... We can see your genuine excitement and get a feel for what it actually takes. On top of that you always have the luxury of editing later on and adding editor cuts to explain things or correct yourself. And it takes WEEKS less for you to make just as great a video.

Watching his excitement put a huge smile on my face it’s amazing how intoxicating actual joy is to watch and experience

I like that you also show when it doesn't work and going from there and trying to fix the problem. Shows the scientific method really nicely.

Try using a slow rotary evaporator. And keep feeding in stock material to build a thick layer. And ...... Super AWSOME stuff man. ... congrats with your first colors

17:27 I almost spilled my coffee on keybord (because of the excitement) :D Congrats!!

Hi, as a Dutch material engineer I can tell you that this effect is not only restricted to silica based particles. You can see the same effect when polymerisation crosslinked polystyrene. The fact that particles settle is a very ordening manner is dependable on their monodispersity and settling time. Fore stone-like structures your approach using silica is probably the best way forward. As a suggestion: you could use a fraction of your first synthesised sample to use as a seed solution for further, more controlled, growth of your desired mondispersed particle diameter. Good luck!

About the ammonia: almost every % that isn't ammonia is water, and water is actually the reactant in this process, ammonia is just a pH modifier to slow the reaction: Si(OEt)4 + 2H2O --> SiO2 + 4EtOH By using 10% ammonia instead of 25% you were adding more than twice as much water as the authors of that paper. Also I've found that most "clear ammonia" for cleaning use contains miscellaneous alkylammonium "detergent agents" via the MSDS (not the label), so if you need pure ammonia (or technically, pure ammonia+water) it's best to make it via: NH4(X)(s) + NaOH(aq,~40%w/w,corrodes glass) --> NH3(gas) + H2O + Na(X)(aq) and bubble the gas into very cold (close as you can get to not freezing) distilled water, ideally with a diffuser for small bubbles, then titrate to work out the percentage.

Watching or listening to someone geek out about what they are passionate about has to be one of the greatest things. The pure joy when he is seeing the shimmer of red is great to behold.

Can’t wait to see more! I also can’t wait to be able to afford not living in an apartment so I can test some of my own ideas people such as yourself have inspired. Vancouver housing is such a buzz kill! Thanks as always!

I've never seen your videos before, but am a huge fan of The Thought Emporium! I really loved this - instant subscribe for me and I'm only 20 minutes through. So excited to see where this video goes and to follow your future projects!!!

Loved this format, the length and raw experimentation. You’re one of the few people that has stayed true to yourself on RU-vid, I’ve been watching for over 10 years and it still feels the same watching your videos now, which I love. I can’t wait to see some practical experiments using opal

I haven't finished yet but Janitor's ammonia (any store bought ammonia solution) often contains other stuff like scent and detergents. That could be messing with nucleation.

I liked how the video was long, filled with your explanation, procedure, unfiltered and your emotions.

I haven't even watched most of your video yet, but I am already just as excited as you about everything I am about to learn! You have a way of teaching scientific things that goes beyond just teaching X's and O's- you show us how to feel like a child again, excited and eager to learn. And at the same time you are always humbly giving credit to the sources that inspired your experience. Anytime in the future you are arduously working to produce another video, remember that your videos go far beyond teaching- they show us how to feel excited about learning. They make us happy, because we feel the positive vibes you give off. Thank you so much for giving us these wonderful videos!

I'm loving the live reactions from the video being unscripted, but you're good enough at explaining things that I didn't even know it was unscripted until you said so! Phenomenal results so far 👌 looking forward to parts 2-∞

Your joy in this video is absolutely contagious. Thanks Ben :)

You've done so much for my understanding of concept I didn't even know were possible beforehand. Be it thermal lances from brakelines, microwave rubies, starlite, radiative cooling, automatically aiming solar panels and a bunch more. Thank you for your continued effort in providing the most interesting science videos on RU-vid!

Your enthusiasm is awesome. That is the most genuine excitement I think I've ever witnessed on a RU-vid video.

This might be the only ad where I wished it was longer; I love that bird

Your enthusiasm is both contagious and inspiring! Big congrats on the opal synthesis! Looks amazing! Been loving every one of your videos since many many years, and am looking forward to your next one. cheers

I cannot believe this video blew right past me. This is just absolutely incredible and i am in such awe about it. This is seriously going to help me in ways you cannot imagine.

This man has the most legit good-aura-true-love-of-knowledge-Mr-Rogers vibes on all of YT If u aren’t grinnin ear to ear watching this, arrrrrgh then ur soul be damaged matey

Awesome! Really great work Ben! This video "flows" really well for not having a script! I'm curious what effect -- if any -- ultrasonic exposure at normal incidence might have on your solution as it dries on the glass. My thoughts are that if you could set up a standing wave, the pressure oscillations should create a nearly motionless node at the glass surface that helps nanoparticles adhere there, but may jostle them just the right amount a tiny bit above the glass to allow you to "tune" the thickness of your opal layers.

This was so cool! Thank you for sticking with the longer form experiments and videos.

How happy you were at achieving your goal and getting synthetic opal to work is what the pursuit of science is all about. The joy of discovery and the satisfaction of success. Kudos, major kudos. 👍

I would also like to thank all of your patreon supporters, as I am unable to contribute but absolutely love this channel.

Congratulations on your son!!! 🎉

Congrats on the birth of your son you’re going to be an amazing dad and teach him a lot.

really appreciate how you've approached this. as a bench scientist many of the techniques you're using, reading primary literature then trying to recreate it, or just how to approach interpreting results is familiar to me having done it for a job but you are catching on very quickly & bringing us along as you do so.

I don't think there's another channel whose uploads I look forward to more, since my subscription I've enjoyed every single video

This is the FIRST VIDEO i can HEAR how EXCITED you are for a Project, All reactions, tone and laughter are pure and real ... so much so ... wa can truly see and hear your PASSION

22:45 Nothing on planet earth could EVER have predicted just how utterly BAMBOOZLED I was in regards to what was about to happen here. That alone deserves a sub.

You can slow down the Brownian motion during evaporation by keeping the solution on the slide at a lower temperature while it evaporates.

23:30 BIRB! also thought imperium is an awesome channel

I just had a thought, and I feel like it's important to share. It might be a good idea to install a ribbon to flutter in the air near the vent for your DIY fume hood. If you lost negative pressure due to failure of your evacuation fan, you might not realize until after you've started breathing dangerous chemicals.

Such a joy your channel is! You're enthusiasm is adorable.

Your description of nano particles snd nucleation sites also works for macro particles e.g. hail stones.

This series gets me really excited. Would nanospheres be effective if suspended in Vinyl or TPU sheets? I've painted flexible TPU 3d prints by mixing a slurry of scrap TPU dissolved in DMSO and pigment powders. These materials are really durable and the the pigments can never flake off (they're literally embedded in the surface). If we can get a nanosphere surface bonded to a pliable roll of material it will greatly help the application process. Love the work!

18:39 he's so excited because the red shift means he's doing the thing correctly. It's adorable and I'm here for it

I loved this so much. This is exactly the type of content that makes me comfy for some reason. I think your whole vibe of happy curiosity mixed with sincere analysis of results is something to strive for. This was my first view of one of your videos but definitely not the last!

I have a question. How are you/ did you dry your opal solution without destroying them? I made opal via the TEOS synthesis last fall and have allowed several batches to settle due to gravity and with a centrifuge. They have great color as a pellet in a test tube, but whenever I've let them sit out to dry they shatter or lose all color. I have looked at supercritically drying them then fusing with a furnace, but it Is a large monetary investment to go that route. Any suggestions or experience would be very welcome.

So where is my free air conditioning?

I don't know how I got to smart people youtube but I'm just happy to be here and happier for your accomplishment. Congratulations!

I love how engaged and appreciative you are to other youtubers. Love the shoutout to the Thought Emporium's foundation, and Steve Mould on Brownian Motion.

Fidel Castro is a lot more chill these days.

Ted Cruz making opal for youtube

I’ve been watching for many years and I loved this one! It was fun seeing you excited! I consider you king of Nerds here in Mi!

Your excitement is super contagious!! I’m so excited for you!!! This is amazing!!

absolutely NOT overdoing, that thermometer is gorgeous ❤ 👍🏽

Your complete joy at your success is infectious!

congratulations buddy, few of us achieve lifelong goals but you're a reminder that dedication is key

Great video!!! Thank you for being an honest person and crediting the thought emporium! I love all of your content, and I appreciate that you are a decent human being.

That's amazing! I remember my school teacher once said: If you're on the last chapter of the physics books, you're just on the first chapter on the chemistry books. Meaning, understanding chemistry is far more complex than physics. It looks like you understand both! Well done here and please continue surprising us from our lazy chairs.

I wish you could have heard my 8 year old son geeking out over the first shots of the blue opal! Thanks again, Nighthawk!

Wow , love Opal , I have been to the Opal mines in NW Nevada maybe 20 times over 15 years . I gotta try this , I could think of at least 20 experiments to do with this .. Very cool , just amazing really - thank you for the video - can’t wait for the next

Came for the free air conditioning, stayed for the pure joy of the host making something cool :)

I love your videos....the trial and error, the explanations, and how excited you get! Great work!

I really convey the joy through the screen, I'm totally also enjoying this this much!! It's truly amazing especially the red on the shard I really cheered with you there!

I am excited to see where this goes. And the applications it could be used for.

The brownian motion in your spheres solutions is so beautiful

The joy you have at each in every success makes this videos so great. Keep up the good work I love your content!

Surfactant in opal solution may improve lattice forming in centrifuge. You should try to kiln bake the pellets from the centrifuge below the melting point. Or you can use your borate nanoparticles as a flux.