Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

Chapter 4. Chemicals for the Home Chemistry Lab

To state the obvious, a home chemistry lab requires chemicals. Years ago, laboratory chemicals were pretty easy to find. Dozens of small businesses specialized in supplying chemicals to home chemists, Fisher Scientific and other large specialty chemical suppliers were happy to sell to individuals, and even many corner drugstores did a side business in supplying home chemistry hobbyists.

Nowadays, laboratory chemicals are a bit harder to come by. Concerns about safety, liability, terrorism, and illicit drug labs have made it more difficult to obtain the chemicals that you need. Many vendors nowadays ...