jgourlay
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Need some "ancient chemistry" advice
Gents:
I need your help with a couple of demonstrations. First off, I'm going here for real historical accuracy in terms of tools, techniques, materials,
and explanations. What I want to do are a couple of demonstrations about the creation of fake "holy relics", and gunpowder. The period is prior to
1600.
I've done enough reading that I believe I've figured out that with the relic piece the process was to basically generate a sulfur based acid
("vitriol" from "brimstone" or pyrite). Paint it on, and as they say in the music trade, "viola"! So: a book/paper that describes in cookbookish
terms how to create the requisite fluid? Preferably also describing the proper equipment: what comes first, the retort or the calcinator?
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entropy51
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I think you mean Caveman Chemistry
"Browse the Book" gives access to the pdf of the book.
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Mr. Wizard
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I'm not sure about faking Holy Relics but gunpowder of the time consisted of Potassium Nitrate (saltpeter or salt petre which means 'salt of the
earth' or salt of stone), charcoal and sulfur. Saltpeter is found naturally in the soil where urine and animal waste are common. It is a product of
the slow oxidation of nitrogen wastes in urine and animal protein. It could be leached out of the soil or scraped off the stones that often formed
the walls of animal pens, barns and basements. Further refinement with wood ash and filtering greatly affected it's purity and usefulness. Sulfur was
usually collected from volcanic vents . Charcoal was and is very common where metal was refined or worked, since prehistoric times.
The production of sulfuric acid or 'oil of vitriol' I think came from heating iron sulfate or from a mixture of alum and ferric sulfates. Many of the
compounds they used were not exactly pure or exactly known mixtures, which varied with location and time. Many iron sulfate and related alums were
used in dying cloth and tanning.
http://www.facetroughgemstones.com/wikipedia/al/Alum.html
As they say in French, voila, 'there it is'. Let us know how the demo goes.
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Paddywhacker
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Talk of holy relics always reminds me of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Prepuce
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jgourlay
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Paddywhacker: eww.....
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