197 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
197 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
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THE HOMEMADE HYDROGEN REPORT
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COPYRIGHT 1984 THE TELEFLITE CORPORATION
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For the purposes of filling and launching small balloons, plastic trash
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bags, and other lighter than air devices it is possible to produce homemade
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hydrogen gas quickly, simply, and inexpensively from common materials and
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supplies you'll find around the house or at the local supermarket.
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When the metal, aluminum, comes into contact with a solution of sodium
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hydroxide (commonly called "LYE") and water, a rapid chemical reaction
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occurs that results in the formation of sodium aluminate and free hydrogen
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gas according to the following chemical equation:
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2AI + 2NaOH + 2H20 = 2NaAlO2 + 3H2 + HEAT
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FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY PLEASE NOTE THE LAST TERM OH THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE
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EQUATION! The chemical reaction in question generates enough heat to boil
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the water in the immediate vicinity where the reaction is occurring. If
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you allow the reaction to proceed too rapidly, the container will become
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too hot to touch, COULD SHUTTER, or could boll over, splattering HOT,
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CAUSTIC LYE solution all over you and the chosen work area.
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LYE CAN CAUSE SEVERE CHEMICAL BURNS TO THE SKIN AND EYES, and should an
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accident occur, you should IMMEDIATELY flood the affected parts of the
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body with cool water and KEEP RINSING until ALL TRACES of the caustic
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solution have been washed away. All commercially marketed containers of
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lye display a caution and warning label, and you should READ, UNDERSTAND,
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and FOLLOW the advice given on these labels before proceeding.
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Hydrogen gas is itself EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE! W WOT SMOKE IN THE PRESENCE OF
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HYDROGEN GAS! It was hydrogen that exploded and brought down the
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Hindenburg. The following procedures should NEVER be attempted indoors.
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Find a picnic table or a suitable spot in the back yard and keep a garden
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hose or bucket of water nearby as a safety precaution for use in the event
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of a chemical burn. ONLY when you have read and understood the above safety
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precautions should you proceed with the following instructions.
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We'll discuss the quickest, cheapest, and simplest method first. If you
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don't already have them, go to the supermarket and purchase the following
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items (See Figure 1).
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ONE small container of LYE
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ONE empty GLASS soda pop bottle (one quart capacity)
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<OR>
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ONE "fifth" or one "litre" of Champagne (the heavy thick bottle
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makes a safer, more durable hydrogen generator)
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ONE roll of the cheapest aluminum foil you can find
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ONE package of LARGE toy balloons
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At the time of this printing lye could be purchased in twelve ounce plastic
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containers for about a dollar. Whatever bottle you choose for a hydrogen
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generator must WOT be made of plastic. The heat generated during the
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chemical reaction will soften and melt the more popular plastic ones.
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Champagne bottles are best (enjoy the champagne and save the bottle for
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even loftier purposes).
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Since the solution of lye and water will dissolve any organic matter, you
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DON'T need clean, new aluminum foil. You can save the greasy, useless
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looking stuff from your last roast turkey or Bar-B-que and use that. ANY
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used kitchen aluminum foil or pie pans will work, and you DON'T have to
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wash them before use.
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Buy the LARGE size toy balloons. You fill each one by stretching it over
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the neck of your pop bottle hydrogen generator, and the smaller balloons
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have such SMALL necks that they will usually tear when you attempt to do
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this. Besides, as we all know, bigger balloons are better balloons, and the
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larger ones are much more fun to fly.
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Wash out your empty pop or champagne bottle and fill it about HALF FULL
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with TWO CUPS of clean tap water (See Figure 2). The LYE that you purchase
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at the supermarket will come in the form of crystals, flakes, or little
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beads. Measure out 1-1/2 tablespoons of LYE; use plastic measuring spoons
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NOT aluminum ones), and pour it through the neck of the bottle into the
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water via a plastic kitchen funnel (See Figure 3). Try to avoid letting any
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of the LYE stick to the inside of the bottle neck, and if it does, rinse it
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on down with a little extra water.
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Reach into the bottle with a stick (See Figure 4) and stir the solution
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until the lye is thoroughly dissolved. Tear about one and one half square
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feet of aluminum foil into two pieces and rumple each one with your hands
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into a rough pellet shape (See Figure 5) small enough to fit through the
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bottle neck, open your package of balloons, and get ready for action.
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Drop both aluminum pellets into the bottle (See Figure 6), and stretch a
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balloon over the bottle neck (See Figure 7). Chemical reactions proceed
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more rapidly at higher temperatures, and since the solution is cold, the
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reaction will begin slowly. The aluminum pellets will fizz ,just like
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Alka-Seltzer tablets, and the hydrogen gas generated will buoy them up in
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the water. They will float on the surface, and since heat rises also, the
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heat generated by the reaction will also remain on the surface, rapidly
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increasing the temperature in the immediate area where the reaction is
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occurring.
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As the temperature rises, so will the reaction rate, and in a matter of one
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minute or so things should be cooking right along (See Figure 8). Be
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careful about touching the bottle while the reaction is taking place. The
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glass in the area of the reaction will be quite hot to the touch, and as we
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stated before, the heat COULD be enough to cause a thin glass bottle to
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crack. It is best to simply stand back and watch what's going on from a
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safe distance. In a matter of five minutes or so, your balloon will be full
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(See Figure g), and you can reach over and pinch its neck between the thumb
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and forefinger of one hand. With the other, carefully release the rolled
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edge of the balloon nipple from the bottle neck, and tie it as you would
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any normal balloon. It's lighter than air now, and if you release it into
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the atmosphere, it will continue to rise until the hydrogen in the balloon
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expands enough to cause the balloon to burst.
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Once the aluminum pellets are consumed you can add more. Since the solution
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is already hot, the new reaction will begin immediately. If the reaction
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seems too slow to suit your tastes, add either more aluminum or more lye.
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If the reaction proceeds too fast, cut back on each of the two reaction
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components.
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As the lye in the solution gets used up, the sodium aluminate combines with
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the lye remaining in the solution and any soap created by the reaction of
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the lye with any grease or organic matter on the dirty aluminum foil and
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forms a slimy, slippery "GOO". This "GOO" can form HOT, slimy bubbles that
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may fill the top half of the bottle and work their way up into the balloon
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itself.
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These bubbles contain any caustic components remaining in the lye solution
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and can cause chemical burns to the skin and eyes. When your hydrogen
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generator begins to behave in this way, it is best to empty out the
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contents and start over with clean water and fresh ingredients.
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A nine inch diameter balloon can be filled in about five minutes using this
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apparatus. Enough aluminum can be placed in the solution to generate the
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required amount of gas at an acceptable reaction rate without having to
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remove the balloon to add more aluminum.
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A sixteen inch balloon can be filled in about 20 minutes, but you'll have
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to add fresh aluminum three or four times during the process, and removing
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and replacing the balloon without losing the gas can get a little tricky.
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To conveniently fill larger balloons you should make yourself a larger
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generating container, and in the next few pages we'll show you how to make
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one from an empty paint thinner can and some common items you'll find at
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your local hardware store.
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SOME SIMPLE BALLOON MATH
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One ounce of scrap aluminum dropped into a lye solution will generate about
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one cubic foot of hydrogen gas. One cubic foot of hydrogen gas has a
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buoyancy in air of approximately one ounce, and in larger balloons buoyancy
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of the gas volume is roughly equated with lifting capacity. If one ounce of
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aluminum generates enough gas to provide one ounce of lift, one pound of
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aluminum will produce enough gas to provide one pound of lift.
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Balloon volume goes up with the cube of the diameter as balloon surface
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area goes up with the square. For this reason larger balloons have a larger
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buoyancy to weight ratio than smaller ones. As we said before, bigger
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balloons are better balloons, and one with a full pound of lift is capable
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of lifting a camera or even a radio controlled glider. The table below will
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provide you with some statistics on balloon volume and lifting capacity as
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related to balloon diameter.
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DIAMETER VOLUME LIFT
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---------------------------------------
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9" 0.22 CU FT. 5 GMS.
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11" 0.40 CU FT. 1/3 OZ.
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16" 1 1/4 CU. FT. 11/4 OZ.
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36" 14 CU. FT. 14 OZ.
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60" 65 CU. FT. 4 LBS.
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm)
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Jeff Hunter 510-935-5845
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The Salted Slug Strange 408-454-9368
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408-363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510-527-1662
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 415-583-4102
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Tomorrow's 0rder of Magnitude Finger_Man 415-961-9315
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My Dog Bit Jesus Suzanne D'Fault 510-658-8078
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New Dork Sublime Demented Pimiento 415-566-0126
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