[NewCandle] sodium and aluminum?!?

[Nick Reiter]

Hello, all,

Didn't think I would be making too many more updates
on the aluminum-water hydrolysis experiments, as it
really was appearing as though chemically things were
pretty cut and dried.  I'm still sorting through the
gas evolution rate data looking for hints that the
rolled foil with its potential Casimir cavities
between turns was influencing gas production in some
way, but that was looking like it will take a while to
sort out.

However, Sam Faile sustained a couple of unusual
events with his hydrolysis jars...

Last week, Sam decided to try some aluminum hydrolysis
in salt water (NaCl salt) with 4 tsps per gallon
strength.  In some plastic jars with both rolled and
crinkled versions, Sam got some modest H2 bubbling
within about 24 hours.

So yesterday afternoon, Sam was watching his bubbles,
then left the room for approximately two minutes.  He
returned when he heard a "thump".  What he found was
that the one plastic jar with two rolls of foil in
salt water, which had been bubbling away in a
lackluster fashion, had suddenly sped up, began
belching gas and steam, and had melted the PETE jar to
the extent that it had collapsed and fell onto the
floor.  Within a few minutes, Sam then witnessed a
second similar but smaller jar - again with a foil
roll in salt water - take off and begin to steam. 
This one, Sam dumped out into the sink before it
melted the plastic.

What would cause such a sudden avalanche, when the
vessels had been bubbling along at a constant pace for
a couple of days, I honestly cannot say.  Guess I will
have to try replicating it.  Seems like it might have
been a significant pair of events... possibly
something from the first one triggering the second to
"blow"?

So for the moment, I am trying to figure out what the
predicted chemistry would be with aluminum, H2O, and
NaCl.  The salt he used was commercial grocery store
salt, so one might have to consider Ca and I in there
too.

Any comments from the peanut gallery?  Tres weird.

NR

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com