HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ifbb657@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Douglas Floyd)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Tempering metal with liquid nitrogen
Date: 10 Nov 92 20:23:25 GMT
Reply-To: ifbb657@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Douglas Floyd)
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX
Originator: ifbb657@donald.cc.utexas.edu


What happens if you use liquid nitrogen to quickly cool red-hot
iron/steel?  A friend of mine says that when he dosed a pocket-
knife blade with this method, the blade turned clear and
flexible and would not lose its edge.  Is this true or
just hearsay?

adTHANKSvance,

-- 
******* ifbb657@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Douglas R. Floyd) ******
            Disclaimer: I speak for myself.

            Please, no NeXTMail at this time.
Newsgroups: sci.chem
From: smithrs@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (SMITH  RANDALL SCOTT)
Subject: Re: Gold dust a fire hazard?
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 16:20:09 GMT

In article <1992Nov13.033411.22073@dsuvax.dsu.edu> rolfe@dsuvax.dsu.edu (Tim Rolfe) writes:
>In <1992Nov12.221840.13881@ncsu.edu> jrkitchi@eos.ncsu.edu
>(JOHN ROBERT KITCHIN) writes:
>
>>there are many metallic dusts which are not only flammable when in a
>>fine dust, but are pyrophoric (self-igniting).  This is definitely true
>>for metals such as aluminum and zinc, which are commonly used for
>>explosives and pyrotechnics, so I see no reason why it would be
>>different for other metals like gold and platinum.
>
>I thought gold was so UNreactive that even concentrated nitric acid
>by itself doesn't bother it --- you need aqua regia.  Given this, I
>do find it surprising to hear that gold can be oxidized, even finely
>divided.
>-- 
>                                              --- Tim Rolfe
>                                           rolfe@dsuvax.dsu.edu
>                                            ROLFE@SDNET.BITNET

It depends on what use you put gold to... NOTHING is unreactive in every
circumstance.

For instance, Hayashi and Ito have used gold complexed with chiral phos- 
phinoferrocenyl ligands to catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions of
alpha-isocyano carboxylates (Ito, Sawamura, Hayashi, Tetrahedron Lett., 
(1987), _28_, 6125.  Ito, Sawamura, Shirakawa, Hayashizaki, Hayashi, 
Tetrahedron Lett., (1988), _29_, 235.)  These studies obtained up to 
96% enantiomeric excess!  Moreover, the methodology is synthetically
useful, as they employed it in the synthesis of threo- and erythro-
sphingosines (Ito, Sawamura, Hayashi, Tetrahedron Lett., (1988), _29_ 239.)

Metallic gold, of course, is another matter entirely.  However, as many
people have pointed out, almost all POWDERS , when suspended in air,
have flash points.  For instance, wheat is not particularily explosive,
nor is flour, but grain and flour storage silos have a nasty habit of
exploding when emptied.  The reason that these silos can explode is that
the dust within them is exceedingly (read explosively) combustible.

Moreover, metal POWDERS act very differently than the metals themselves,
in solid form.  For instance, mix together an alkyl halide and a chunk of
magnesium and nothing will happen.  However, mix together the same
alkyl halide and POWDERED magnesium and you'd better stand back, because
the formation of grignard reagent is rapid and rather exothermix.  Why
the difference?  Mainly, it has to do with the increased surface area of
the finely divided powder.  More surface area is equivalent to more reactive
sites...and BOOM.

Anyway, my point is that just because one form of an element has a set of
properties, it doesn't mean that all forms of that element will have those
same properties.  If this were true, we'd be in trouble seeing as how we're
made out of lots of carbon, and seeing as how diamond is so inert...

Randall Smith
smithrs@ucsu.colorado.edu
the mad chemist
From: jfc88@cas.org (Jim Corning)
Subject: CAS/STN via INTERNET
Originator: jfc88@jfc88aws
Keywords: CAS STN INTERNET
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 19:42:00 GMT

    After receiving a good many email enquiries regarding INTERNET access
    to CAS databases allow me to post some general information which those
    on the net might find useful. [NOTE: STN is an online vendor for complete
    CAS databases and this is not a free service]]

    To connect to STN via the Internet, you always may use
    "134.243.5.32" as your destination address.  In addition, many
    locations also allow "stnc.cas.org" as a valid address for
    connecting to STN. However, you will need to establish a loginID and
    password with STN in Columbus, Ohio before proceeding.

    For those of you in the USA and Canada the quickest way to get started
    with this is to call 1-800-753-4227. For other countries send an email
    message to "help@cas.org" for the address nearest you.

    Also, if you have any questions about searching STN, you may send them
    to "help@cas.org." Please include your name, address, email address, phone,
    or fax number, and a description of the problem or request. These messages
    will be monitored several times each working day.

    I hope this helps.

    Jim Corning
    jfc88@cas.org
    Chemical Abstracts Service
    Columbus, Ohio
From: Chris Hanson <chanson@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Date: 07 Nov 92 22:19 PST
Subject: Scandiumj and Osmium end-users
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1465800003:000:327
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!chanson    Nov  7 22:19:00 1992



I am doing some research into current uses of Scandium 
and Osmium 187.  Does anyone have information on
how these substances are used in industry and
manufacturing?  I am especially interested in
identifying end-users.

Thanks for your help.

Chris Hanson
E-mail:  chanson@igc.org
Telephone:  415-988-1155
Fax:  415-988-9209
From: ebstokes@maxwell.crd.ge.com (Ed Stokes)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: methanol "luminescence"
Date: 10 Nov 92 19:52:35 GMT
Organization: GE Corp. Research & Development, Schenectady, NY

We are developing fiber optic sensors for various chemicals
of interest. One of the solvents that we typically use is
methanol. Just for kicks, we tried looking at pure,
"spectrophotometer grade" methanol with a 280nm laser
excitation (doubled 560nm dye laser). Much to our
surprise, the methanol shows a visible blueish fluorescence
around the laser beam as it passes through.

Now every book I can find tells me what I already knew: that
methanol is transparent at 280 nm, and has only one
absorption band in the uv, at about 180 nm. So, this
must be some impurity in the "spectrophotometer grade"
methanol.

Does anyone have any experience/advice on this matter ?

Ed Stokes
ebstokes@crd.ge.com
From: bjgaed@bb1t.monsanto.com
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Re: Heavy water separation
Date: 5 Nov 92 08:00:34 CST
Organization: Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO

In article <14316.3079216576@kiwi.gen.nz>, murray@kiwi.gen.nz (Murray Keen) writes:
> 
>  That got me wondering if it's practical to separate it myself.
>  I hear it's often done by electrolysis as Deuterium oxide doesent readily
> split, hence the call for old Car batteries to extract Heavy water for the
> WW2 Manhatten project. But this is almost certainly too impractical,
> expensive and dangerous for an individual to try.
> 
>  D2O's freezing point is 4 C. Am I right in that statistically Deuterium
> should occur in the form DHO? This presumably also freezes just above O C.
> From the average molecular mass of H, I worked out that D comprises .4% of
> the bulk.

As far as I know there are only two practical ways to perform this 
separation:  The electrolysis you mention, which involves fine tuning 
the voltage to split the H2O and leave the remaining water enriched in 
D; and fractional distillation.  D2O boils at 101.4 degrees, so as you 
distill off H2O the remaining water is once again enriched in D.  Both 
of these require repeated stages of operation to get significant 
enrichment.

>  Either way, the Isotopic weight differance is greater than the oft-quoted
> U235 F6 - U238 F6 ultracentrifuge separation technique, so I was wondering if
> separation could be effected in an ordinary lab centrifuge after cooling to
> just above freezing? Any DHO ice forming will float to the top to be
> separated.

UF6 is a gas.  It is used in the gaseous diffusion process where the 
slightly lighter U(235)F6 diffuses a little faster than the U(238)F6 
and thus goes through a membrane slightly faster.  Again, many stages.

I think the cetrifuges you mention are *gas* centrifuges designed to 
segregate the heavier U(238)F6 out at the rim.  

The reason this would be difficult with steam is the tendency of the 
hydrogen atoms to exchange between molecules of water.

I have never heard of fractional crystallization of HOD, a substance 
that may not have much of a static existence.  What you get is either 
proton-enriched or deuterium-enriched ice, depending on the relative 
energies of crystallization.  The density difference from water would 
be awfully small in the early stages of enrichment, and you might need 
an impractical g-force to separate it.

Yo! Biochemists--Is there any enrichment in deuterium in proteins 
or other macromolecules that are separated in an aqueous gradient by 
ultracentrifugation?  If the heavier, deuterium-enriched water 
molecules segragate at high g, wouldn't that slightly enrich anything 
around it with D?  Or is the effect too slight to notice?  Or am I all 
wet? 8{)


-- 
--Electric Monk            (Bruce Gaede); 
                            e-mail: bjgaed@ccmail.monsanto.com

"...and then time started seriously to pass."
--Douglas Adams, _Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency_
From: Thomas_Rolfes@ms.maus.de (Thomas Rolfes)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: solving ICs
Date: 5 Nov 92 05:27:00 GMT
Organization: MausNet
X-Gateway: MausGate/News 1.14

Hello,

what material are the IC-plastic-boxes, e.g. DRAMs, made of?
Are there (organic) solvents known, solving only the plastic
and not the IC?

Hopefully awayting your answers, Thomas

--------
Thomas_Rolfes@ms.maus.de
Newsgroups: sci.chem
From: jthomas@access.digex.com (Joe Thomas)
Subject: Re: Heavy water separation
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 01:47:00 GMT


In article <1992Nov3.205140.18843@pellns.alleg.edu> dblackbu@alleg.edu (Dave Blackburn) writes:
>In article <1992Nov3.180908.24563@kth.se> tomas_e@LINK.Physchem.KTH.SE (Tomas  
>Eriksson) writes:
>
>|
>|And - I'd advice against drinking water that's enriched in deuterium. 
>|The rates of many reactions in the body is tunnel-effect dependent, 
>|which means that if you get a D atom instead of an H atom at the wrong 
>|place, the rate of the reaction can decrease rather much. And to 
>|deliberately include deuterium in quite a lot of molecules of your body 
>|could do strange things to your physiology. (Not that I really expect 
>|you to die of a single sip of water with a few percent deuterium in it.)
>|
>|Tomas
>|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Interesting. Are there any reports of the physiological effects of D2O?  
>Preferably in non-journal form, more like Scientific American level, so that 
>those of us who don't read physiological lit can understand. (Either cellular  
>or whole-animal. Both should show isotope effects if Tomas is correct about  
>H-tunneling!)

Sorry I don't have any citations handy, but I do recall reading an article
about biological clocks and timing systems -- specifically how robust they
are at keeping time despite a variety of drugs.  Interestingly, one factor
that did influence them was heavy water, slowing a particular circadian
(daily) rythm by something like 10%.  I don't recall the dosage, but it
seems like it would have to be pretty high to cause such a pronounced effect.
This, of course, argues against a high toxicity of D2O.

Joe Thomas
jthomas@access.digex.com

Newsgroups: sci.chem
From: kt1@hera.cc.bellcore.com (tellefsen,karen a)
Subject: The flamability of gold dust
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 92 15:44:16 GMT

I do not think the warning on the Au and Pt powders
concerning flamability are idle.  Au and Pt will not oxidize
spontaneously in air, since their bulk oxides are not
thermodynamically stable. However, Au and especially Pt
are good catalysts. If there were hydrogen or organic vapors in
the air, a bit of Pt dust might be quite dangerous.

Then again, I may be wrong.

K. Tellefsen

Newsgroups: sci.chem
From: dlp@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (dan.l.philen)
Subject: Methanol Luminescence - Fluorescence
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: bl
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 16:06:38 GMT
Keywords: Optical Fiber



Luminescence in Methanol?  Using Optical Fiber as a probe?  Let's think!

Without seeing your specific set-up let me propose the following:


With the exception of Z fibers, all optical fibers are doped with 
Germanium.
This is generally GeO2 but a reaction byproduct of the doping is GeO.
That is, Ge in the +2 state.  This species of germania fluoresces in the
400 nm (blue) region of the spectrum.  It has a HUGE absorption maximum 
at 240 nm with a tail extending out to about 350 nm.

I suspect that what you are seeing is the scattered fluorescence from the
280 nm exication producing the blue light at 400 nm.  Please remember that
optical fibers are powerful waveguides, and you can get very big power 
densitiesin the core of the fiber.
The scattered Ge fluorescence is also guided inside the fiber core and can
reach reasonable light intensities even in the presence of high local 
scattering.  Thus, as the germania fluorescence exits the fiber it is 
scattered by the methanol (Rayleigh scattering) and appears as a blue light 
beam.  You may be confusing this scattered light from the fiber with 
fluorescence generated in the methanol (unlikely since methanol is used
as part of a matrix material at liquid N2 temp for fluorescence studies.)

Hope this helps.

Dan L. Philen
Distinguished Member of Technical Staff
Optical Fiber Development and Engineering Dept.
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Norcross, Ga.  
att!akguc!dlp
From: ce698@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (A. McPherson)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Re: picric acid explosion
Date: 5 Nov 92 15:14:52 GMT
Article-I.D.: usenet.1dbdpdINNr8d
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


in the field of fire or combustion research (not mine), analysing
the thermal decomposition products in an inert atmosphere is 
usually referred to as a pyrolysis.  in the presence of oxygen, the
experiment is usually referred to as an oxidative pyrolysis, or a
combustion.  a combustion without the propagation of a flame 
is sometimes referred to as a smouldering, in the literature.
From: chmoris@techunix.technion.ac.il (Moris Eisen)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Re: What is the functional group "subnitrate" ???
Date: 6 Nov 92 05:56:30 GMT
Reply-To: chmoris@techunix.technion.ac.il (Moris Eisen)
Organization: Technion, Israel Inst. of Technology

In article <1992Nov4.170252.12371@kth.se> tomas_e@LINK.Physchem.KTH.SE writes:
>In article <1992Nov4.033703.3482@portal.vpharm.com>, markm@portal.vpharm.com (Mark Murcko) writes:
>>At a local antique show last weekend, I found an old metal
>>cannister labelled "bismuth subnitrate."  Question: What is
>>subnitrate?
>
>My Aldrich catalogue says "Bismuth subnitrate (bismuth nitrate oxide,
>bismuth oxynitrate) OBiNO_3", i.e. it's nothing wrong with the nitrate -
>there's something "wrong" with the bismuth.
>
>>I don't recall ever hearing of that functional group...
>
>Tomas


Bismuth subnitrate its the old name given for today's bysmuthyl compounds.
There exist today many of those bysmuthyl compounds by the reaction of water on
the nitrate,sulphate, perchlorate of bismuth or on any bysmuth trihalides.
The compound BiONO3 its white, it dissolves in warm fused tartaric acid.

Dr. Moris S. Eisen
Department of Chemistry
Israel Institute of Technology-Israel
chmoris@techunix.technion.ac.il
From: hoyt@isus.UUCP (Hoyt A. Stearns jr.)
Subject: Re: Heavy water separation
Organization: International Society of Unified Science
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 02:32:43 GMT

>In article <1992Nov4.140347.179@physc1.byu.edu>, asplundm@physc1.byu.edu (Matt Asplund) writes:
>
>>	I had a chemistry prof. who had a tank of fish in heavy water.
>>He just happened to have lots around, so he put fish in heavy water and
>>they died.  The interesting thing is that when he slowly them by slowly
>>increasing the concentration of heavy water, they were fine, and eventually
>>he had several fish that lived exclusively in heavy water (I think one of them
>>died when he put it back into normal water).
>

So maybe it would be feasible to accomodate some bacteria to D20, and use
them to somehow separate D20, perhaps by extracting the bacteria from soln,
and pressing.

-- 
Hoyt A. Stearns jr.|hoyt@          | International Society of Unified Science|
4131 E. Cannon Dr. |isus.tnet.com -| Advancing Dewey B. Larson's Reciprocal  |
Phoenix, AZ. 85028 |ncar!enuucp!   | System- a unified physical theory.      |
voice_602_996_1717 telesys!isus!hoyt The Universe in two postulates__________|
From: frost@qut.edu.au
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: MSDS information required
Date: 11 Nov 92 16:25:29 EST
Organization: Queensland University of Technology

Re: MSDS data bases

Has any one done a comparison of data bases for MSDS sheets
eg CCINFO. What data bases for material science data sheets
are used elsewhere in the world.
What is "TOMES" ?
Is it possible to access any of these through the network?

Any advice or assistance would be very much appreciated.
Ray Frost
school of Chemistry
QUT, Brisbane, Australia
Frost@qut.edu.eu
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Test, Please ignore
From: pugsley@bclcl1.im.battelle.org
Date: 4 Nov 92 18:26:10 EST
Organization: Battelle, Columbus, OH

 Another test by a new user.  Please ignore.
From: bjgaed@bb1t.monsanto.com
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Asking Question (was re: Picric Acid)
Date: 9 Nov 92 13:19:36 GMT
Article-I.D.: bb1t.1992Nov9.071937.4629
Distribution: sci
Organization: Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO

In article <1992Nov5.002441.1868@newshost.lanl.gov>, mwj@beta.lanl.gov (William Johnson) writes:

[Discussion of Explosion Chemistry deleted]

> 
> BTW, is it asking too much to expect people to try the technical literature
> first before answering -- or asking -- questions like this?
> 
> -- 
> Bill Johnson				| My suggestion for an Official
> Los Alamos National Laboratory		| Usenet Motto: "If you have nothing
> Los Alamos, New Mexico USA		| to say, then come on in, this is the
> !cmcl2!lanl!mwj (mwj@lanl.gov)		| place for you, tell us all about it!"

I like to think of this newsgroup as a place to get a quick answer to 
questions outside my field.  If you don't know much about the 
chemistry of explosions it may take several hours in the library to 
get an answer since Chemical Abstracts would probably give you 
hundreds if not thousands of references to the chemistry of picric 
acid explosions, most of which would assume a great deal of knowledge. 
Unless you can pick up on a review or book reference you would 
probably quit rather than satisfy your curiousity.

Then you have the problem of many libraries simply lacking the basic 
reference works such as the one you cited.  An academic library, 
unless at a school where there has been a lot of DOD or DOE grant 
activity in this field (both monumentally non-PC), would almost 
certainly lack these works.  But then, perhaps your library at Los 
Alamos might lack basic monographs in paint chemistry or cosmetic 
formulation.  If you were curious about one of these topics, why not 
ask on the net?  Often you will get a response from someone who has 
devoted an entire career to the field and can answer your question in 
a few well-chosen sentences.

I don't mind answering questions in my field (provided they are not 
from obvious druggies).  I *do* mind correcting others who post 
misleading or wrong answers.  The "net clutter" problem is due more to 
the answerers than the askers.  (You had the order correct!)  I would 
always hesitate to discourage asking questions. 


--Electric Monk            (Bruce Gaede); 
                            e-mail: bjgaed@ccmail.monsanto.com

"...and then time started seriously to pass."
--Douglas Adams, _Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency_
From: tomas_e@LINK.Physchem.KTH.SE (Tomas Eriksson)
Subject: Re: Heavy water separation
Reply-To: tomas_e@LINK.Physchem.KTH.SE
Organization: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 16:54:17 GMT

In article <4798@equinox.unr.edu>, whitbeck@equinox.unr.edu (Michael Whitbeck) writes:
>In article <1992Nov6.175058.7288@kth.se> tomas_e@LINK.Physchem.KTH.SE writes:
>>The density of ethanol is about 0.8, but I haven't noticed the top layer 
>>of a vodka bottle being noticeably enriched in ethanol compared to the 
>>bottom... :-)
>>
>You must not be drinking it *fast* enough! 
>1) Get a fresh bottle of vodka + one drinking straw
>2) insert straw to within about 1 cm from the bottom
>3) sip about 1 ml of vodka- Feel any effect? Light-headed?
>Euphoric?
>4) Now, *quickly* suck the remainder of the vodka up with the
>straw. Feel any effect now? [CAUTION ADVISED]
>
>*Proof* that the water settles out of the vodka on standing :-),
>leaving nearly 100% ethanol at the top.

You got it all wrong - I'm constantly so highly intoxicated that both 
the ethanol-enriched top vodka and the water-enriched bottom vodka makes 
no difference to me. :-)

>Isn't *science* wonderful?

Oh yes; and ethanol does wonderful things to that scientific creativity 
- not to mention the laboratory safety :-)

Tomas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomas Eriksson                                          tomas_e@physchem.kth.se
            Surface Force Group, Department of Physical Chemistry,
               Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

"These latter-day practitioners of surface chemistry reflect a lingering of the
adventurous spirit of the Enlightment" -- Charles Tanford