On Sun, 30 May 2004 21:30:17 GMT, John Bachtel
wrote:

A lump of sodium might make one eligible for a Darwin Award
jrb de nr4jb

Oh, for heaven's sake. Sodium is easily handled if you are familiar
with the stuff. Keep it under Kerosene.

Don't get it near water and do not get it against bare skin.

OTOH I've taken *small* pieces/slivers of it and dropped it on water
as a demonstration. They skate around as if they were on ice, but
popping like tiny firecrackers.

Larger chunks into water would not be smart. It generates heat,
Hydrogen, and Oxygen. The Sodium is hot enough at the water interface
(at least to start before it gets hot) to ignite the Hydrogen/Oxygen
mix making the popping sounds with the little slivers.

In high school chem lab we used to get to play with Sodium and
Phosphorus. Now days they wouldn't even do the demos and as kids we
were able to do them ourselves.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com



AB2RC wrote:

On 2004-05-25, cva wrote:


.


absolutely nothing....

but asked the following question in the subject header
"Where can I get a lump of Sodium?"

I don't even want to know why you would want a lump of soduim, but look here

http://www.labdepotinc.com/chemical_...pid~S1100.aspx