Nice reference Alan, Yes, I also encourage the basement experimentalist to be-careful with these experiments. The boranes (ie. B_x H_y) can be toxic, and even explosive. B2H4 is rocket fuel. Throw sodium in the mix, hydrogen and oxygen, Its like lighting a match. Chemically. I ran these types of experiments for a couple of years and never had any problems. That is the way I would treat it. It's not something you would do in you high school chemistry class, but don't be concerned if a high-school-er does it (at low voltage!).
Certainly have a Geiger counter handy for the heck of it. Storms has it right. A long period of Geiger counter readings should expose the phenomena. What looks like a slight rise or fall certainly could be a low level fusion signature. On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 6:44 PM, Alan J Fletcher <a...@well.com> wrote: > Another warning on electrolysis and stuff > > http://www.iscmns.org/CMNS/JCMNS-Vol9.pdf p64 Lakshmanan > > During sodium metal dissolution in aqueous Epsom salts, it was > accidentally discovered that a massive explosion occurs in 0.85 M > Epsom solution on the completion of Na dissolution. ... > > However, at the end of Na dissolution, i.e., 30 s after Na addition, an > intense and massive > explosion occurred, accompanied with Na aerosol release and a shock wave > as well as vaporization of Borosil glass > beaker containing salt solution. The explosion attracted the attention of > everyone in the building due to its high intensity, > even people in rooms far from the one where the experiment was carried > out. Molten glass needles flew all around, > making holes too small to be seen with the naked eye in two plastic water > bottles at two different locations about 2 m > from the explosion. I was standing 4–5 m from the cell when it exploded. > The needles scratched my hand. Borosil > glass vaporizes at temperatures >1000°C. This fact indicates that a very > high temperature has indeed been reached > in this experiment. The timing of the explosion (20–25 s after Na > addition) is prima facie evidence that hydrogen > somehow got trapped in the solution. A normal hydrogen explosion occurs > within 5–10 s after Na addition in dilute > salt solutions, and the intensity of a normal explosion is not sufficient > to vaporize the glass beaker. >
