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evil_lurker
National Hazard
Posts: 767
Registered: 12-3-2005
Location: United States of Elbonia
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Mood: On the wagon again.
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Dear god... I have a LOT of sodium metal.
I managed to aquire 2 nice sized ingots weighing an estimated (will get around to actually weighing them later) 1.5kg each.
Amazingly they were shipped double wrapped in two plastic bags (with full hazmat shipping) and it appears they have never been immersed in oil... I
guess they form an oxide coating on the outside that protects them from further reaction.
I'm off to see if I can't find a couple gallons of kerosine (hopefully it will be fairly dry) or other suitable solvent and a couple gallon jars to
store them in.
Should be an interesting adventure this evening... will try and get some pics.
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Eclectic
National Hazard
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Hey! I got 4 of those from the same guy off Ebay a few years back. Is he selling them again? If you look closely you should see a film of heavy
mineral oil in the inner bag.
It's probably safest to store them as you received them. What if your glass jar of kerosene and sodium gets broken? My ingots are still fine after
more than 4 years in the bags. 
[Edited on 4-2-2007 by Eclectic]
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evil_lurker
National Hazard
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Yeah, its probably the same guy... I've asked myself over and over again no tellings how many times "Whose penis did he have to suck and how many
times to get those?" The price is simply amazing to @ around $35 a pound.
I guess tonight I need to get out in the lab and do some cleaning, make sure my MSDS binder is in order, and all chemicals are stored correctly in
case my order has drawn some unwanted attention.
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Eclectic
National Hazard
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You got those round ingots? Mine were rectangular bricks from a big steel drum, and purchased long enough ago that they could be mailed USPS ground
if less than 12.5 lbs with no special hazmat fees.
When you throw some on water, be aware that chunks bigger than 1CC WILL explode, especially if there is a bit of peroxide coating wet with oil. 
[Edited on 4-2-2007 by Eclectic]
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bio2
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.......chunks bigger than 1CC WILL explode........
My science/chemistry teacher in grade school loved to
demonstrate this to the kids. He had an aquarium on
the front table near the blackboard.
One time he threw in a piece of Na that was a little too big
and pow the aquarium glass was broken with water flying
everyware. Luckily no one was hurt.
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not_important
International Hazard
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Registered: 21-7-2006
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Back when I had a drum of sodium, it came dry - no oil at all. Nice elastomer seal in the lid, whenever you opened the drum there was a little inrush
of air.
A half brick in a large body of water was a good way to celebrate a holiday, although it was a bit tamer if it was cold and windy.
(sigh)
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Sauron
International Hazard
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Got you both trumped.
Qty 12
500 g Na metal in paraffin oil
Panreac, Spain.
Total 6 Kg.
I bought entire stock of local agent a few years ago
Also a small qty of Li wire maybe 500 g
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XxDaTxX
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Hah! Speaking of getting trumped! I buy 25lbs worth of sodium a month! .... I am such a good customer that they throw in an equimolar amount of Cl
for free!
I throw mine in the water too .... nuts huh?
***Note for the particularly slow: Read post below for punchline.
[Edited on 6-4-2007 by XxDaTxX]
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12AX7
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UPS must have a field day when they ship that combination -- or the plant where they are assembled, in any case!
:rolleyes: 
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Fleaker
International Hazard
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| Quote: | Originally posted by XxDaTxX
I am such a good customer that they throw in an equimolar amount of Cl for free!
[Edited on 3-4-2007 by XxDaTxX] |
OMG, monoatomic chlorine?! 
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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BeanyBoy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by XxDaTxX
Hah! Speaking of getting trumped! I buy 25lbs worth of sodium a month! .... I am such a good customer that they throw in an equimolar amount of Cl
for free!
I throw mine in the water too .... nuts huh?
[Edited on 3-4-2007 by XxDaTxX] |
Not nuts, just a little SOFT in the head, maybe due to something leaching your minerals out...
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Maya
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<<< I throw mine in the water too .... nuts huh? >>>
What a waste!
Don't you have/ know anything better to do with it? DUHHHhhhhhhhh!
\"Prefiero ser yo extranjero en otras patrias, a serlo en la mia\"
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MadHatter
International Hazard
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eBay
There's a guy on eBay selling 6.6 LBS(3 KG) for $130 + $72 shipping. That works out to a
little less than $31/LB. Not the best price, but far from the worst. I may have to order just
for some experiments and a little fun time !
When I was in 6th grade science class, me and other aspiring, 11 year old pyros had a
teacher named Mr. Dahl(No puns please !). Anyway, Mr. Dahl was not Mr. "Dull". He liked
explosives like many of us do. One of his "neatest" bombs was the sodium metal depth
charge. He would place some Na in the bottom of a bottle and fill the rest of the bottle
with dry sand. He would drop the bottle in a 5 gallon bucket of water. It didn't take too long
for the bottle to explode with some of the smaller bits of Na flying around, burning, and
popping at the surface.
I was always fascinated by many of his demonstrations. That was 1969. Sadly, I haven't
seen any science teachers like him since. Those were days when science teachers had
little to worry about from "Big Brother" and they certainly had more balls than the current
crop.
From opening of NCIS New Orleans - It goes a BOOM ! BOOM ! BOOM ! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !
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UnintentionalChaos
International Hazard
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I had a science teacher just a few years ago (9th grade) who had been teaching for around 50 years and he still was very reminiscent of the old style
chemistry teachers. First day of class involved a hydrogen fireball on his desk and for state changes he plunged test tubes of boiling paraffin wax
into ice water, which makes nice little fireballs blow out of the tube (it also destroys the tube) and sprays burning wax about. For another class he
acidentally used an erlenmeyer and it left a nice patch of soot on the ceiling (think rocket engine being held at arms length with short tongs). He
told us about an old demonstration with sodium that they aren't allowed to do anymore. It inevitably involved a column of flaming hydrogen and water
being blown out of one of those very large graduated cylinders.
I had a 7th grade biology teacher named Mrs. Dahl. Go figure.
Department of Redundancy Department - Now with paperwork!
'In organic synthesis, we call decomposition products "crap", however this is not a IUPAC approved nomenclature.' -Nicodem
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not_important
International Hazard
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Maya
<<< I throw mine in the water too .... nuts huh? >>>
What a waste!
Don't you have/ know anything better to do with it? DUHHHhhhhhhhh! |
Didn't seem like a waste when one had 30some bricks of it...
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XxDaTxX
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Maya
<<< I throw mine in the water too .... nuts huh? >>>
What a waste!
Don't you have/ know anything better to do with it? DUHHHhhhhhhhh! |
Ok for those that didn't, and still haven't gotten the sarcasm.
I said I get 25lb bags of sodium, with equimolar Cl thrown in free ..... NaCl..... I throw it in the water ...... water softener.
NUTZ HUH!?!
.....you guys crack me up.
[Edited on 5-4-2007 by XxDaTxX]
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alancj
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Well, if "deerhead40" is the guy you guys are talking about then he must be at it again. He has a 6.6 pound ingot of sodium for sale... $130 + $72
S&H. He also seems to want you to believe that he manufactures the sodium in his very own 2 million dollar facility.
| Quote: | http://cgi.ebay.com/Sodium-metal-6lb-ingots-salt-lab-chemica...
We are selling a 6.6 pound ingot of Sodium ( made from salt ) which is manufactured under the most stringent U.S. conditions and regulations. This
sodium is not made in someones' home or basement (or over seas)! We manufacture this in a 2 million dollar facility. In fact, we are one of the
leading distributors of sodium in the world! GM, Ford, etc. use our sodium! You may bid in confidence and read our feedback from our customers who
have purchased sodium from us. We didn't just "jump" into this market last week! |
Sounds like an incredible moron if you ask me. Ok, dearhead40 I believe that FORD buys from YOU, and pick up taxidermy parts for the
executives while they are at it.
-Alan
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evil_lurker
National Hazard
Posts: 767
Registered: 12-3-2005
Location: United States of Elbonia
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Who the hell knows. All I know is that I have my sodium.
DHL lost my first shipment (think someone stole it), seller promptly sent off another shipment.
Guy may be fibbing in the description, but he did come thru, responds to emails quickly, and was a great ebay seller in my book.
And most importantly my door still hasn't gotten kicked in as of yet (knock on wood).
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ordenblitz
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I got the same story about DHL losing the shipment as well. Never got the tracking number either for the first shipment. Must be some delay game but
why is unknown.
It did finally come it and was very nice material although the packing technique was less then desirable. Simply stuffed the logs in the DHL plastic
shipping bag. Actually had a hole in it when it arrived where you could see a nice white log.
Talked to this guy on the phone and he told me that they make the sodium for engine valve filling. Might be true.. after all someone has to make it.
Possibly he is an employee and leaves every day with a log in his pants.
Hopefully they pack it better when shipping to Ford.
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Mumbles
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For my sorta AP chem class we had a professor who did some demos I really doubt he was supposed to do. Something tells me dissolving white P in CS2,
soaking the soln onto a filter paper and placing this over a large graduated cylinder(glass) isn't kosher with the school board, or just about anyone.
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Fleaker
International Hazard
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Ah, the barking dog demo! As far as I know, that's still standard fare in introductory chemistry classes. But to do it in high school, especially with
the toxicity and "regulated nature" of phosphorus...wow. I don't even think he was supposed to have carbon disulfide on the premises.
edited due to nitpicking.
[Edited on 27-4-2007 by Fleaker]
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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Eclectic
National Hazard
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Please don't claim that something is illegal unless you can quote the relevant statute. AFAIK, there are NO CRIMINAL elements.
Regulated, yes. Illegal, no.
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MagicJigPipe
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I too had a science teacher (who at the time had been teaching for decades, he taught my father) in 8th grade that was like that. We did the
potassium + water experiment. At first he did it inside and ended up nearly catching the ceiling on fire. Then he did it outside with a bigger chunk
in a metal bucket.
I can't really remember any other "good" experiments that we did but he was an excellent teacher.
Remember, this was only 10 years ago.
However, if he's still teaching, I bet he's not doing anything fun or entertaining in class anymore...
"There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry ... There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any
question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors. ... We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it and
that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. And we know that as long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think,
free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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7he3ngineer
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It was three years ago since I was at high school, but I had (and a younger brother of mine now has) a couple of teachers like this. Sodium, calcium
and pottasium in water... hey everyone's been there. But I'm glad to here from my younger brother, that there are some fun experiments still being
done that push experiment guidelines a little... like the local (Italian) chemistry teacher bringing in some of his homemade wine to teach students
about distilation (and most significantly allowing a couple of students a taste at the end!)...try and see how that would meet their guidelines
(remember 17 yo's).
Josh
Engineers aren\'t boring people, we\'re just interested in boring things!
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MagicJigPipe
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Oh my god. That would never pass in the US. The parents would cause such an outrage that the teacher would be fired, arrested and charged with
endangering the welfare of a child or furnishing alcoholic beverages to a minor. I would be willing to bet that the teacher would serve time.
"There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry ... There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any
question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors. ... We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it and
that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. And we know that as long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think,
free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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