Just for Julian

Isn't Caesium radioactive? I always thought it spontaneously conbusted in air.

 

That's Francium. Same group, but next one down.

 

Moral of the story - never work with Technobear if you value your life

 

:lol:

I left the chemical industry in 1984 to become a software engineer. Never looked back. Computers are much safer

Although having said that, my last PC did catch fire after I had rebuilt it

 

Did ye wire it with magnesium wire then.

 

I once did a project for honours Chemistry on adamantane (one of the lecturers had a big interest in it - published papers in "Tetrahedron Letters" on it). Now, 30-odd (very) years later, it's back in my life! Adamantane sublimes - goes directly from solid to vapour without passing through a liquid phase (as does CO2, as Hippy will tell you), so therefore of interest in the propagating of fragrances into the atmosphere.

 

Even better was the dimwit in our group, who, having ordered too much potassium cyanide for his reaction, tossed the rest into the lab sink, where it promptly hydrolised to hydrogen cyanide, the Zyklon B of the Auschwitz gas chambers. That was the end of practical work for the day (thankfully only that!)

 

thought co2 went liquid around 4 centigrade?
better not mention the co2 pellets that found there way into the backstage urinalls

 

No it doesn't. Have a look at these:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/fr...tp://onsager.bd.psu.edu/~jircitano/phase.html

One graph shows the triple point (where all three phases are in equilibrium) of CO2 to occur at -56°C and 5.1atm pressure. In other words, to get liquid CO2 at ordinary temperatures, you're going to need more pressure than even stage managers doing "The Music Man" usually generate. 4°C is the point at which water has its maximum density.

("Music Man" has 19 scene changes - it was my first show - I'll never forget it - I was hooked!)

 

cheers for the link tones,ive heard the 4 degrees mentioned a couple of times,as long as its solid its good enough for me

we had to clear the ochastra pit during a dress of scrooge when the sm over filled the basket,it did look impresive though