ok, so i constructed a Birkeland Eyde apparatus and everything has been working normally, I'm using a small NST but what can you do the bigger ones
are very difficult to find. Anyways, as I run my apparatus for extended periods of time, a white substance appears to deposit on the wall of the glass
chamber in which the electric arc resides. The longer I run it the more deposit forms. I would like to try and figure out exactly what this compound
is. My apparatus is designed in such a way that the only elements this compound could be formed from are Nitrogen, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Chromium, Iron.
I'm fairly sure that it couldn't be the chromium and and iron from the stainless steal electrodes as I have previously tried this with copper
electrodes and the same deposit formed. I don't believe that CO2 in the air could have contributed to the making of the compound but there
could be that was well.
If any of you have experienced this before or have any theories as to what this compound could be please let me know.
Thank you.
[Edited on 24-3-2019 by uraniumtungstenuranium]Vomaturge - 24-3-2019 at 13:17
Welcome to Sciencemadness!
I've seen alumina insulators(in a high power worklight with a bad terminal) and possibly really hot glass depositing white coatings on stuff-is it
possible glass or ceramic are in/near the arc?
Also tungsten. Power up a light bulb with a cracked glass envelope and there's a powdery white coating and smoke. Unlikely here, unless the electrodes
were actually tungsten (e.g. for TIG welding)phlogiston - 24-3-2019 at 13:38
Is it soluble in water?uraniumtungstenuranium - 24-3-2019 at 13:41
i am not sure of solubility, i will get back to you once i have collected enough of the residue. My electrodes are stainless steel not tungsten,
however i probably should be using tungsten. Also there is no glass or ceramics near the arc.
[Edited on 24-3-2019 by uraniumtungstenuranium]hissingnoise - 25-3-2019 at 02:37
Quote:
If any of you have experienced this before or have any theories as to what this compound could be please let me know.
I used Al electrodes to prepare NO2 for nitric acid synth ─ under confined jacob's ladder conditions, aluminium electrodes don't overheat
or react with formed NO2or O3.
Your mystery compound is obviously some reaction product from the electrodes...though one would not expect Cr or Ni compounds to be white?
Oh well, Byrkeland-Eyde is sooo pre-1908 Felab - 25-3-2019 at 07:00
Are you sure that your electrodes exclusively contain iron and chromium?
Some types of stainless steel contain nickel, copper, molibdenum or niobium. Where did you get them from?
Also, use a microwave oven transformer and 2% thoriated tungsten electrodes. The MOT provides much more current than the NST, but at a much lower
voltage so you need the thoriated tungsten rods to start the arc easily. If you manage to get an MOT, be carefull with it as it can very easily kill
you. uraniumtungstenuranium - 25-3-2019 at 13:01
I was thinking of using an MOT but apparently something something resonance and I would need two capacitors for current regulation and good arcs.Felab - 31-3-2019 at 08:16
I was thinking of using an MOT but apparently something something resonance and I would need two capacitors for current regulation and good arcs.
When I made my Byrkeland-Eyde reactor I didn't use a resonant MOT.
If you want the arc to be larger and easier to strike use two MOTs with their primaries conected in parallel and their secondaries in series. Although
a singel MOT works just fine if you strike the arc by hand.
I found out that resonant MOTs tend to heat up a lot, are noisy and they are not much more eficient than just plain MOTs without capacitors attached
to them.
Also if you want to improve the eficienty of your reactor, put a magnet below the arc. This will make it cover a larger volume of gas, and therefore
make it more eficient.
[Edited on 31-3-2019 by Felab]Metacelsus - 8-4-2019 at 11:33
N2O5 is a white solid. It possibly could be that (although the air would have to be quite dry).hissingnoise - 9-4-2019 at 07:40
Quote:
N2O5 is a white solid. It possibly could be that (although the air would have to be quite dry).
Though the requirements for N2O5 are certainly there, the compound is so unstable and moisture-sensitive that its formation is
highly unlikely...
