zking786

I've used eFunda.com It has some good tutorials and generally provides consistent and reliable information.

Wow, thanks for all the information and guidance. Though it doesn't make complete sense (probably due to my inexperience), I at least now understand the complexity of the reactions and the gist of the processes that are occuring. While I'm reperforming the NaOH experiment, I'll try to wear gloves and goggles. It didn't occur to me that the fats of my skin could be undergoing suponification. I guess that's why it felt a bit smooth. Luckily, though, I didn't get any burns and washed the areas where I felt a tingling sensation. When reperforming the experiment, how would you recommend I deal with any NaOH accidents? Would putting dilute acid (N/10 HCl) on affected areas work?

Could you post the reaction equation for the Al + HCl + CuSO4, for clarity. The balanced equations make the reactions seem so much simpler. So, is the murky solution and the black-coated aluminum the NaAlO2 and AlCl3 from the reactions?

That's interesting... So the hydrogen produced is from the hydrogen in NaOH? I thought it was from the water in the NaOH solution. Also, is the Na in ionic or elemental form (does it gain an electron in the mentioned reaction)? Are you sure that your reaction is correct? I've heard of Al forming a compound with an OH group, not an oxide.

Thanks for that explanation. It makes sense now. So, what happens in the NaOH reaction?

So what exactly is being used up? Is it the HCl or the Al. From your previous response, it seems that the CuSO4 is a catalyst (and is therefore not being consumed). If I wanted to produce hydrogen constantly, how would you reccommend I proceed. What should be added to the mixture? I've got a cooling setup in place, so that won't be a problem.

I've done both experiments and find the 10% HCl+CuSO4+Al to work best. I have some questions, though. 1. What is the brown-black residue? 2. What does the CuSO4 do? 3. Why does the reaction slow down even when I add more Al? It only seems to speed back up when I add 10% HCl. I thought HCl was a catalyst.

I touched my NaOH-water mixture and it wasn't that bad. Initially, I couldn't really feel anything. Later, it burned a bit and I had to wash it with water, soap, and N/10 HCl. It still feels a bit powdery, so I might still have some on my hands.

Maybe if I had raised the lighter a bit higher, I would have had a high enough oxygen concentration to ignite the hydrogen?

Interestingly, when I did the NaOH experiment, it got hot (warmer than I'm comfortable touching), but not "very hot". Is this normal? Why wouldn't hydrogen in excess NOT ignite? Not enough oxygen around it to create an explosion?

I've continued my hydrogen production experimentation, and am now re-trying some of the techniques I've been told... 1. Mix NaOH and Al foil in water to produce hydrogen gas. Unfortunately, though I get rapid bubbling (some times even minor explosion when contained), I can't ignite the produced bubbles. I'm using a gas-stove lighter and I can't even hear the slightest 'pop'. What could be going wrong? 2. I was told that HCl + Al in water will produce hydrogen gas. Is this true? It doesn't make sense to me. Should it, or do I have to add CuSO4 or CuCl to the mixture? Also, I've been wondering how I can remove the oxide coating that forms on Al. If I could, perhaps, recoat it with something that dissolves in water, but prevents the formation of an oxide on the surface, then I could create a non-corrosive, safe hydrogen-production setup.

I'm unaware of any studies which suggest that lack of sleep can lead to brain damage. While many types of psychologists have investigated sleep, their results are far from conclusive. I am pretty sure that lack of sleep does NOT kill neurons.

I know, which is why none of this makes sense. Since the generator definitely can't be 30,000W or 30W, I'm just messing around with numbers. Any ideas? Is this a standard system for specifying the power? I would have expected watts or some measure of max current draw.

Back to the stick example... What if we had the system set up so that the long rod was held in a hinge set up by a long rod of great strength. ______ | | | --------------------------- When we drop the rod, assuming the mass increases infinitely, wouldn't the rod exceed the speed of light? In this case, the infinitely increasing mass aids in the rotation. Am I missing something?

I'm looking to buy a generator. At the store, the guy (who barely speaks English) tells me that the generator is 30kV. I'm wondering what this equates to in terms of watts. Do I divide by 120/240V?