Hi Paul > > Um, yes. Duh! I don't mind admitting it all looks like fly-shit to > > me. Well, not quite, I can follow it up to a point but easily get > > lost. Should've guessed the arrows though. > >Wouldn't worry too much about it Keith its all in house stuff. >Each discipline has its own jargon, show me some shorthand or typesetting >instructions and I wouldn't have a clue what it was all about. >Thats what we are all here for, to pool our knowledge, help each other out >and bounce ideas off each other.
You're so right, thankyou. <snip> >(quite a bit lost in the translation I'm afraid ,the hydroxide ion should be >represented as OH with a superscript minus after it. > > > It appears that the water molecule is more readily reduced than the > > > Na+ ion. This is entirely reasonable when you consider the addition > > > of sodium metal to water results in the spontaneous reaction : > > > > > > 2 Na (solid) + 2 H2O ---> 2 Na+ + H2 (g) + 2 OH -- >Not far wrong about that spontaneous reaction. Teachers at my school used to >perform what they called the "Red Sea Experiment". A paper boat would be >constructed by one of the students. The boat would be floated on water in a >large glass phneumatic trough (fancy words used to describe glass dish about >30cm diam and 15cm high usually used when collecting gas in a gas jar by >displacement of water). Some phenolphalein indicator had been mixed into the >water previously. This indicator is colourless in acidic or neutral >solutions but turns bright pink/purple in alkaline solution. >A piece of sodium was then placed in the boat. As the paper absorbed water >the boat would sink lower in the water. Bilge water would react with the >sodium. The reaction gave off hydrogen and generated much heat causing the >hydrogen to burst into flames. This in turn set fire to the boat which would >burn to the waterline exposing more of the sodium to water The reaction >also created alkaline conditions (the sodium hydroxide produced) within the >water causing the phenolphthalein to turn bright pink/purple. Very >spectacular when it works right but the problem is the unpredictable burn >rate of the sodium. The reaction rate is to a large extent dependent upon >the skill of the boat builder. Often the reaction is so fierce that the >sodium is liquified and hydrogen forms beneath/within it creats explosions >which scatter burning liquid sodium for some distance. Very spectacular >unless you happen to be in range. Some of our labs have burn marks on the >ceiling as testimony of that little bit too much sodium. Experiment has been >banned by head of department for safety reasons. Ah all the excitement has >gone out of chemistry these days. We all learn by mistakes especially >memorable ones, just so long as we are still around to remenber. :-) Nice yarn! What's a lab without burn marks on the ceiling? What's a kitchen without burn marks on the ceiling, LOL! Thanks Paul, I grasp this a bit better now. Lori's Caveman Chemistry link is interesting, could be the answer. Looks like it comes from a lab that might have burn marks on the ceiling. Regards Keith >Regards Paul Gobert. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Looking for a more powerful website? Try GeoCities for $8.95 per month. Register your domain name (http://your-name.com). More storage! No ads! http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info http://us.click.yahoo.com/aHOo4D/KJoEAA/MVfIAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
