The Colors
This color appears when iodine (I₂) concentration is HIGH and iodide (I⁻) is LOW.
What is yellow?
This common household chemical is used at 8.6% concentration to kick off the Briggs-Rauscher reaction.
What is hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)?
The Briggs-Rauscher reaction was invented in this decade.
What is the 1970s? (1973)
This deep color forms when BOTH I₂ and I⁻ concentrations are elevated, creating a complex with starch.
What is blue (or blue-black)?
This intermediate compound rises and falls in concentration, acting as the 'trigger' driving the color oscillations.
What is HOI (hypoiodous acid)?
Unlike most famous chemical reactions, Briggs and Rauscher were not university professors. They worked here.
What is a high school? (Galileo High School, San Francisco)
The solution turns colorless when I₂ concentration is LOW and I⁻ is HIGH. Name the linear starch fraction responsible for the blue complex.
What is amylose?
The color of the solution depends on these two chemicals.
What is iodine (I2) and iodide (I-)?
Oscillating reactions like this one appear in living systems too. Name one biological process that oscillates chemically.
What is a heartbeat / circadian rhythm?