I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

Many thanks

Sunbeam

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

http://www.goodfellow.com/csp/active...pdateParam=1~~
It sounds very expensive.

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

Many thanks

Sunbeam



www.bdh.com, or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

In article ,
"Smudger" smudger@here writes:

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

www.bdh.com, or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

Back when I was at school, you could go into any chemist and order
chemicals, and they could get them same day or next day with their
regular drug deliveries. Actually I still have some of them left.
I haven't tried doing this for ~30 years, and nowadays it would
probably get you instantly arrested as a terrorist threat...

--
Andrew Gabriel
Consultant Software Engineer

On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 07:57:57 +0100, "Sunbeam" wrote:

I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tem=3841813073

"Mike Harrison" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 07:57:57 +0100, "Sunbeam" wrote:

I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tem=3841813073

I nearly said eBay as a joke when I read the post originally - it really is
turning into the place where you can buy anything isn't it!

"Mike Harrison" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 07:57:57 +0100, "Sunbeam" wrote:

I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern
barometer.

Good grief, that's a lot to be still swilling round your kitchen floor
;-)

Any ideas for a supplier please?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tem=3841813073

Interesting that he quotes a Royal Mail delivery price - Meadows &
Passmore
www.m-p.co.uk
say that they have to use a carrier as Royal Mail won't accept mercury.
Theirs is 18.80gbp plus VAT for 175g.

Clock Spares (Specialist Supplies Ltd) of Dereham sell it, too, and I
expect H S Walsh do. Then there are the two barometer repair places in
Devon - google finds them.

I got my last lot from the local pharmacist - once I'd convinced him I
wasn't going to make tilt switches with it.


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. )***
Car Transport by Tiltbed Trailer - based near Derby

"Sunbeam" wrote in message ...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

Many thanks

Sunbeam

I have about 250ml of mercury that I want to find a good home for.
Assuming it isn't very valuable, you are welcome to have it if you can
collect it from Watford.

Please contact me on:

laws (at) cambridge.oilfield.slb.com

Robert

"Robert" wrote in message
om...
"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

Many thanks

Sunbeam

I have about 250ml of mercury that I want to find a good home for.
Assuming it isn't very valuable, you are welcome to have it if you can
collect it from Watford.

Mercury IS valuable (well it is all relative I guess).
At a wild guess I say you have 100quids worth.



Please contact me on:

laws (at) cambridge.oilfield.slb.com

Robert

"Autolycus" wrote
| I got my last lot from the local pharmacist - once I'd convinced
| him I wasn't going to make tilt switches with it.

Tilt switches for setting off car-bombs like you can easily get from
Maplins? (the tilt switches that is, not the car-bombs).

Owain

In message , Autolycus
writes

"Mike Harrison" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 07:57:57 +0100, "Sunbeam" wrote:

I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern
barometer.

Good grief, that's a lot to be still swilling round your kitchen floor
;-)

Any ideas for a supplier please?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tem=3841813073

Interesting that he quotes a Royal Mail delivery price - Meadows &
Passmore
www.m-p.co.uk
say that they have to use a carrier as Royal Mail won't accept mercury.

Most couriers won't either, except by special £££ arrangement


--
geoff

In message , Robert
writes
"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

Many thanks

Sunbeam

I have about 250ml of mercury that I want to find a good home for.
Assuming it isn't very valuable, you are welcome to have it if you can
collect it from Watford.

Oohh I'll take some of that off your hands if you're in Watford

Email me your address and I'll pop round

--
geoff

In message , Des Higgins
writes

"Robert" wrote in message
. com...
"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

Many thanks

Sunbeam

I have about 250ml of mercury that I want to find a good home for.
Assuming it isn't very valuable, you are welcome to have it if you can
collect it from Watford.

Mercury IS valuable (well it is all relative I guess).
At a wild guess I say you have 100quids worth.

Bloody hell

--
geoff

On
I got my last lot from the local pharmacist - once I'd convinced him I
wasn't going to make tilt switches with it.

Did'nt he know you can buy them ready made ?

Dave
--

Some people use windows, others have a life.

"Smudger" smudger@here wrote in message
.. .

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

I think it's now a restricted substance. A whole generation won't know the
fun of seeing how many times you can divide a globule of the stuff with your
fingernail :-)

G&M wrote:

"Smudger" smudger@here wrote in message
.. .

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

I think it's now a restricted substance. A whole generation won't know the
fun of seeing how many times you can divide a globule of the stuff with your
fingernail :-)

You can use gallium/indium alloy as a substitute.
Comparatively non-toxic, and can be rolled around in your hands.

Sodium/potassium alloy is much cheaper, but has the disadvantage that
it'll burst into flames when you do that.

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
G&M wrote:

"Smudger" smudger@here wrote in message
.. .

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern
barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

I think it's now a restricted substance. A whole generation won't know
the
fun of seeing how many times you can divide a globule of the stuff with
your
fingernail :-)

You can use gallium/indium alloy as a substitute.
Comparatively non-toxic, and can be rolled around in your hands.


Sodium/potassium alloy is much cheaper, but has the disadvantage that
it'll burst into flames when you do that.

That was a restricted (to teachers only) substance when I was young !!!!!

G&M wrote:

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
G&M wrote:

"Smudger" smudger@here wrote in message
.. .

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern
barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

I think it's now a restricted substance. A whole generation won't know
the
fun of seeing how many times you can divide a globule of the stuff with
your
fingernail :-)

You can use gallium/indium alloy as a substitute.
Comparatively non-toxic, and can be rolled around in your hands.


Sodium/potassium alloy is much cheaper, but has the disadvantage that
it'll burst into flames when you do that.

That was a restricted (to teachers only) substance when I was young !!!!!

Sodium/potassium, or indium?
I've got both indium, gallium from ebay.

In article ,
"G&M" writes:

"Smudger" smudger@here wrote in message
.. .

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

I think it's now a restricted substance. A whole generation won't know the
fun of seeing how many times you can divide a globule of the stuff with your
fingernail :-)

The History of Chemistry lessons must be quite strange...

First there's the period when there of lots of substances which
you can play around with, but they just aren't well understood.

Then you move into the period when they are understood, and so
playing around can be done in the context of demonstrating their
properties.

Then you move into the last period where they're all banned
substances and you can only read about them.

I'm jolly glad I went to school in the second period. My first
chemistry lesson at age 11, the teacher was off sick (hum,
maybe something to that now;-). Anyway we sat at the benches
and got out some homework to do from a different class instead.
After a while, people got bored, and started pinging the tiny
ball bearings around which were on the benches. Then we discovered
that if two of them touched, they joined into a bigger ball
bearing. Of course, these were tiny globules of mercury someone
had spilt in an earlier class. I wonder how many of todays school
kids have the slightest feeling for the real physical behaviour of
mercury, rather than what they read in a book? Does it matter?
I wonder if we've banned all discussion of fast exothermic
reactions in schools now too?

--
Andrew Gabriel

Owain wrote:
"Autolycus" wrote
| I got my last lot from the local pharmacist - once I'd convinced
| him I wasn't going to make tilt switches with it.

Tilt switches for setting off car-bombs like you can easily get from
Maplins? (the tilt switches that is, not the car-bombs).

Though they do sell tanks with working guns.

"G&M" wrote
| I think it's now a restricted substance. A whole generation won't
| know the fun of seeing how many times you can divide a globule of
| the stuff with your fingernail :-)

Nowadays the kids practice dividing up other restricted substances on a
mirror with a razorblade.

Owain

On 24 Sep 2004 22:40:34 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:



I'm jolly glad I went to school in the second period. My first
chemistry lesson at age 11, the teacher was off sick (hum,
maybe something to that now;-). Anyway we sat at the benches
and got out some homework to do from a different class instead.
After a while, people got bored, and started pinging the tiny
ball bearings around which were on the benches. Then we discovered
that if two of them touched, they joined into a bigger ball
bearing. Of course, these were tiny globules of mercury someone
had spilt in an earlier class. I wonder how many of todays school
kids have the slightest feeling for the real physical behaviour of
mercury, rather than what they read in a book? Does it matter?
I wonder if we've banned all discussion of fast exothermic
reactions in schools now too?

They're all pussies these days. I don't think that they even show
the effect of a piece of sodium or potassium dropped into a dish of
water any longer.

That simple experiment demonstrated exothermic reaction to the point
of ignition and the use of litmus paper all in one go. The old
school of teachers were able to get a whole load of information out of
a fairly simple experiment and made the whole thing interesting.

Some were not that bright though. I had one student chemistry
teacher who decided that it would be worth showing flowers of sulphur
being dissolved in carbon disulphide. Why, I have no idea, because
it isn't that interesting. IIRC the purpose would be to crystallise
sulphur out in a different form.
At any rate, he was doing this in a fume cupboard in a mortar and it
wasn't dissolving quickly enough for him, so he decided that warming
it on a bunsen would be a good idea. It wasn't. Carbon Disulphide
is highly flammable and in his surprise as it caught fire, he jerked
his arm up and the whole conflagration went down his front.
Fortunately none of us were injured, or I expect that there would have
been all hell to pay, but he spent several weeks in hospital.




..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Andrew Gabriel wrote:

I'm jolly glad I went to school in the second period. My first
chemistry lesson at age 11, the teacher was off sick (hum,
maybe something to that now;-). Anyway we sat at the benches
and got out some homework to do from a different class instead.
After a while, people got bored, and started pinging the tiny
ball bearings around which were on the benches. Then we discovered
that if two of them touched, they joined into a bigger ball
bearing. Of course, these were tiny globules of mercury someone
had spilt in an earlier class. I wonder how many of todays school
kids have the slightest feeling for the real physical behaviour of
mercury, rather than what they read in a book? Does it matter?
I wonder if we've banned all discussion of fast exothermic
reactions in schools now too?

Yes, it's all very sad. For an interesting thread on this subject
started by one bright youngster see
http://www.google.com/groups?hl=en&l...rlin.de&rnum=1

--
Andy

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...

I'm jolly glad I went to school in the second period. My first
chemistry lesson at age 11, the teacher was off sick (hum,
maybe something to that now;-). Anyway we sat at the benches
and got out some homework to do from a different class instead.
After a while, people got bored, and started pinging the tiny
ball bearings around which were on the benches. Then we discovered
that if two of them touched, they joined into a bigger ball
bearing. Of course, these were tiny globules of mercury someone
had spilt in an earlier class.

Ok nostalgia time..
I remember chatting to the science teacher and idly nudging the balls
of mercury together that were kicking about his desk.
He went ape-**** shouting the odds as to the dangers of handling liquid
mercury,
no mention of his responsibility for having it laid about where children
could handle it.
Ahh! the best days of your life eh.

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 00:24:10 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

They're all pussies these days. I don't think that they even show
the effect of a piece of sodium or potassium dropped into a dish of
water any longer.

Thats a good one, start with Calcium and work up. Boring to hey! Our
Chemistry teach got the amount of Potassium just a little to large and
it fizzed violently for a few seconds then exploded cracking the large
glass dish that held the water.

I wonder how they teach distillation these days? We where told to
bring in alcoholic beverages... very interesting Technical Drawing
lesson after that particular double Chemistry. B-)

The various states of Sulphur was good as well, you could hardly see
across the lab for fumes. And the look and exclamations of disgust
from other pupils when they passed the open windows was a picture.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article ,
Andy Hall writes:
On 24 Sep 2004 22:40:34 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:
I wonder if we've banned all discussion of fast exothermic
reactions in schools now too?

They're all pussies these days. I don't think that they even show
the effect of a piece of sodium or potassium dropped into a dish of
water any longer.

No?
Well, we did that for ourselves in the class.
The textbook said never drop them in acids, so we asked
if we could try it from some distance. Supervised by the
chemistry teacher, we rigged up a remote control to drop
a lump of sodium (and it wasn't tiny) into medium concentrated
hydrochloric acid, out in the middle of the field. This was
quite interesting. At first it fizzed with the odd spark
coming out. Then it switched into a roman candle type mode
with a constant stream of sparks shooting out a couple of
feet. After some further time, it exploded onto a 30 foot
flame like a rocket going up, except there was no rocket.
Thinking about this afterwards, I suggested the first phase
was when the sodium was a solid bobbing on the surface of
the acid, and it might still have had some oil covering (it
is stored under oil to prevent reacting with air). The
second phase it had probably melted into a globule on the
acid, or maybe several globules. In the third phase it
vapourised and reacted with the vapour or spray from the
boiling acid (there was little acid and no sodium left in
the container afterwards).

Come to think of it, we all made a test tube of TNT in
practical chemistry when we were covering it. ISTR we had
to keep the test tube running under a cold tap to ensure
it didn't heat up. At the end of the class, it was poured
down the sink. Someone's TNT exploded when it was poured
into the sink -- there wasn't enough to do any harm, but
it sure got everyone's attention. In discussing it afterwards,
the teacher suspected there was a trace of some other
chemical in the sink which had triggered the "rapid
decomposition of tri-nitro-toluene" as he referred to it.

Some were not that bright though. I had one student chemistry
teacher who decided that it would be worth showing flowers of sulphur
being dissolved in carbon disulphide. Why, I have no idea, because
it isn't that interesting. IIRC the purpose would be to crystallise
sulphur out in a different form.
At any rate, he was doing this in a fume cupboard in a mortar and it
wasn't dissolving quickly enough for him, so he decided that warming
it on a bunsen would be a good idea. It wasn't. Carbon Disulphide
is highly flammable and in his surprise as it caught fire, he jerked
his arm up and the whole conflagration went down his front.
Fortunately none of us were injured, or I expect that there would have
been all hell to pay, but he spent several weeks in hospital.

I recall a few incidents, but the only hospitalisation I recall
was a colleague who, during his real A-level practical where
you are given a compound and have to work out what it is,
managed to be looking down the test tube at the same moment he
was heating it and it spat out into his eye. This must have been
down to pressure of the exam as we'd done this loads of times
before, and no one in the class would normally be silly enough
to do that. He was rushed off to hospital by a teacher, but he
was back before the end of the exam with an eye patch and was
allowed to carry on.

--
Andrew Gabriel

In article ,
Andy Dingley writes:
On 25 Sep 2004 09:46:36 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

Come to think of it, we all made a test tube of TNT in
practical chemistry

MNT or DNT possibly, but not TNT.

Maybe -- I don't now recall enough of the details of what we did.
It was certainly exposive though...

--
Andrew Gabriel

Maplins? (the tilt switches that is, not the car-bombs).

Owain

Not sure you would want a tilt switch on a car bomb, most use timers.

Dave

--

Some people use windows, others have a life.

In message , Andrew Gabriel
writes

Come to think of it, we all made a test tube of TNT in
practical chemistry when we were covering it. ISTR we had
to keep the test tube running under a cold tap to ensure
it didn't heat up. At the end of the class, it was poured
down the sink. Someone's TNT exploded when it was poured
into the sink -- there wasn't enough to do any harm, but
it sure got everyone's attention. In discussing it afterwards,
the teacher suspected there was a trace of some other
chemical in the sink which had triggered the "rapid
decomposition of tri-nitro-toluene" as he referred to it.

I thought TNT being a high explosive required percussive ignition.
According to my grandfather, who was an industrial chemist, it's quite
stable stuff otherwise.
--
geoff

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 00:24:10 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:


They're all pussies these days. I don't think that they even show
the effect of a piece of sodium or potassium dropped into a dish of
water any longer.

I had that one for GCSE about 10 years ago.


I wonder how they teach distillation these days? We where told to
bring in alcoholic beverages... very interesting Technical Drawing
lesson after that particular double Chemistry. B-)


Again about 10 years ago, fractional distillation of crude oil, and
comparing features like colour, viscosity and ease of ignition of the
various fractions.



--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with blueyonder dot co dot uk

On 25 Sep 2004 11:18:53 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Andy Dingley writes:
On 25 Sep 2004 09:46:36 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

Come to think of it, we all made a test tube of TNT in
practical chemistry

MNT or DNT possibly, but not TNT.

Maybe -- I don't now recall enough of the details of what we did.
It was certainly exposive though...

We did the TNT synthesis too, and I'm sure it was tri-, not mono- or
dinitrotoluene (at least that was what "chalky" our teacher claimed we
were making, and the reaction theory backed it up). It could be that
his intention was to terrify us, and if so he was successful as we all
were very wary after being told to be careful not shake it in case it
exploded.

Phil
The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/
Remove NOSPAM from address to email me

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 19:28:13 GMT, Phil Addison
wrote:

On 25 Sep 2004 11:18:53 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Andy Dingley writes:
On 25 Sep 2004 09:46:36 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

Come to think of it, we all made a test tube of TNT in
practical chemistry

MNT or DNT possibly, but not TNT.

Maybe -- I don't now recall enough of the details of what we did.
It was certainly exposive though...

We did the TNT synthesis too, and I'm sure it was tri-, not mono- or
dinitrotoluene (at least that was what "chalky" our teacher claimed we
were making, and the reaction theory backed it up).

I wonder if teachers still have nicknames that last for generations.

I guess that "chalky" was because his name was "White"?

I had a number of teachers who had been at the school that I went to
and its predecessor for most of their working lives and I have elderly
relatives who were taught by them and knew them by the same nicknames,
so the names had stuck for a good 30-40 years.



..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 01:36:01 GMT, raden wrote:

In message , Andrew Gabriel
writes

Come to think of it, we all made a test tube of TNT in
practical chemistry when we were covering it. ISTR we had
to keep the test tube running under a cold tap to ensure
it didn't heat up. At the end of the class, it was poured
down the sink. Someone's TNT exploded when it was poured
into the sink -- there wasn't enough to do any harm, but
it sure got everyone's attention. In discussing it afterwards,
the teacher suspected there was a trace of some other
chemical in the sink which had triggered the "rapid
decomposition of tri-nitro-toluene" as he referred to it.

I thought TNT being a high explosive required percussive ignition.
According to my grandfather, who was an industrial chemist, it's quite
stable stuff otherwise.

From http://www.ordnance.org/tnt.htm
"In a refined form, TNT is one of the most stable of high explosives and
can be stored over long periods of time. It is relatively insensitive to
blows or friction. It is nonhygroscopic and does not form sensitive
compounds with metals, but it is readily acted upon by alkalies to form
unstable compounds that are very sensitive to heat and impact."

Is 'refined' the key to this?

Phil
The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/
Remove NOSPAM from address to email me

Andy Hall wrote:

They're all pussies these days. I don't think that they even show
the effect of a piece of sodium or potassium dropped into a dish of
water any longer.

That simple experiment demonstrated exothermic reaction to the point of
ignition and the use of litmus paper all in one go. The old school of
teachers were able to get a whole load of information out of a fairly
simple experiment and made the whole thing interesting.


Same here. My first-ever chemistry lesson showed us how a chemical
reaction creates a completely new compound, with its own properties that
are quite different from those of the original reagents.

"Pongo" Hemingway did this by first demonstrating the unpleasant
properties of conc hydrochloric acid and of conc sodium hydroxide. Then
he very carefully titrated them to equivalence - and passed the beaker
of salt solution around for us all to taste.

Mind you, he was still probably thinking much the same as we're thinking
now: "When I were a lad, we started from real sodium and chlorine..."


--
Ian White
Abingdon, England

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
G&M wrote:

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
G&M wrote:

"Smudger" smudger@here wrote in message
.. .

"Sunbeam" wrote in message
...
I want to obtain about 40ml mercury to refill an open cistern
barometer.
Any ideas for a supplier please?

or if you know someone who works in a secondary school, they
might be able to help.

I think it's now a restricted substance. A whole generation won't
know
the
fun of seeing how many times you can divide a globule of the stuff
with
your
fingernail :-)

You can use gallium/indium alloy as a substitute.
Comparatively non-toxic, and can be rolled around in your hands.


Sodium/potassium alloy is much cheaper, but has the disadvantage that
it'll burst into flames when you do that.

That was a restricted (to teachers only) substance when I was young
!!!!!

Sodium/potassium, or indium?
I've got both indium, gallium from ebay.

Sodium/potassium.

In message om, Dave
Liquorice writes
On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 00:24:10 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

They're all pussies these days. I don't think that they even show
the effect of a piece of sodium or potassium dropped into a dish of
water any longer.

Thats a good one, start with Calcium and work up. Boring to hey! Our
Chemistry teach got the amount of Potassium just a little to large and
it fizzed violently for a few seconds then exploded cracking the large
glass dish that held the water.

Phosphorus, now I remember that was interesting


I wonder how they teach distillation these days? We where told to
bring in alcoholic beverages

I remember making wine in Biology (many years ago)

--
geoff

In message , Phil Addison
writes
On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 01:36:01 GMT, raden wrote:

In message , Andrew Gabriel
writes

Come to think of it, we all made a test tube of TNT in
practical chemistry when we were covering it. ISTR we had
to keep the test tube running under a cold tap to ensure
it didn't heat up. At the end of the class, it was poured
down the sink. Someone's TNT exploded when it was poured
into the sink -- there wasn't enough to do any harm, but
it sure got everyone's attention. In discussing it afterwards,
the teacher suspected there was a trace of some other
chemical in the sink which had triggered the "rapid
decomposition of tri-nitro-toluene" as he referred to it.

I thought TNT being a high explosive required percussive ignition.
According to my grandfather, who was an industrial chemist, it's quite
stable stuff otherwise.

From http://www.ordnance.org/tnt.htm
"In a refined form, TNT is one of the most stable of high explosives and
can be stored over long periods of time. It is relatively insensitive to
blows or friction. It is nonhygroscopic and does not form sensitive
compounds with metals, but it is readily acted upon by alkalies to form
unstable compounds that are very sensitive to heat and impact."

Is 'refined' the key to this?

Probably

Apparently during the war, they used to send it around the factory in a
molten state through pipes

--
geoff

"raden" wrote
[TNT]
| Apparently during the war, they used to send it around the
| factory in a molten state through pipes

That was so Hans Blix wouldn't see them pushing it about in wheelbarrows.

Owain

Many thanks to each and all for the responses.
I had no idea that my little message would provoke such an interesting
thread.
It recalled some of my own experiences in chem labs at school and later in
life.
I'm still looking for a small qty of mercury though.

Thanks

Sunbeam

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 22:21:31 +0100, "Sunbeam" wrote:


Many thanks to each and all for the responses.
I had no idea that my little message would provoke such an interesting
thread.
It recalled some of my own experiences in chem labs at school and later in
life.
I'm still looking for a small qty of mercury though.

Hi,

How small and what for? One or a few mercury tilt switches might have
enough, or try:

http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3A.uk+mercury+barometer+repairs

cheers,
Pete.