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from the cue-a-new-generation-of-experimenters dept.
Back in 1947, the US government had some surplus metallic sodium they were trying to dispose of, but they were unable to arrange transportation to deliver it to any potential buyers. Where "some" amounted to 20 tons of the highly reactive material. So they did the obvious thing. Well, obvious back then; today there would likely be environmental impact statements, OSHA regulations, etc. What they did is dumped it in dead -- contained no living creatures -- Lake Lenore in the state of Washington. It was a simple matter of rolling these 3,500 pound (1,600 kg) ingots down the steep sides and into the lake. To say the results were spectacular would be an understatement as sodium reacts violently with water. It is an exothermic reaction which liberates sodium hydroxide and copious amounts of hydrogen. Ka-Boom! This is covered nicely in the Hackaday story story at Hackaday which contains a link to this newsreel video on YouTube.
That sets the stage for a more recent development pertaining to how to actually make metallic sodium. The conventional process to create sodium metal is to heat sodium chloride (table salt) to about 800°C and then run a current in the kiloamp range through it. Again at Hackaday, they present a short piece entitled Common Chemicals Combine To Make Metallic Sodium:
Thankfully, there’s now a more approachable method courtesy of this clever chemical hack that makes metallic sodium in quantity without using electrolysis. [NurdRage], aka [Dr. N. Butyl Lithium], has developed a process to extract metallic sodium from sodium hydroxide. In fact, everything [NurdRage] used to make the large slugs of sodium is easily and cheaply available – NaOH from drain cleaner, magnesium from fire starters, and mineral oil to keep things calm. The reaction requires an unusual catalyst – menthol – which is easily obtained online. He also gave the reaction a jump-start with a small amount of sodium metal, which can be produced by the lower-yielding but far more spectacular thermochemical dioxane method; lithium harvested from old batteries can be substituted in a pinch. The reaction will require a great deal of care to make sure nothing goes wrong, but in the end, sizable chunks of the soft, gray metal are produced at phenomenal yields of 90% and more. The video [YouTube link] walks you through the whole process.
Caution: concentrated sodium hydroxide (aka lye) is terribly nasty if it gets in your eyes never mind on any other sensitive parts of your body (such as skin); do not attempt without a full face mask and other protective equipment.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ElizabethGreene on Friday March 01 2019, @07:50AM (3 children)
The NurdRage method takes ~30 hours to complete the menthol-catalyzed reduction, and another half hour to purify. Forgive my ignorance; is it possible to remain drunk for that long and not die?
The solvent used in the purification step at the end is flammable and a probable carcinogen. The rest of the process is relatively safe, other than being hot as bejeezus.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by AthanasiusKircher on Friday March 01 2019, @11:31AM (1 child)
I take it you've never met the typical denizen of an Irish pub?
Or, whenever I think of how insane quantities of alcohol consumption can get, I remember an interview with actor Richard Burton and how he knew he had problem with alcohol -- he says the revelation came to him when he realized he had to start on his THIRD bottle hard liquor to get him though a day. (This was when he was doing a lot of his acting in classic films.)
Consider this was apparently someone who consumed two bottles of hard liquor regularly. He'd often consume an entire bottle of whiskey during a single night's stage performance.
Yes, he died at age 58, but considering he started drinking at age 12, even massive alcohol consumption can apparently take a long time to kill you.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @04:13PM
Scarily true,
Some of us, being the good lord's/FSM's most chosen of people, the Scots, are blessed with the curse of a similar tolerance to our Irish near relatives, some of us being doubly blessed here by also having an Irish Great Grandparent who was a scion of a teach mór lost through their drinking (and gambling...though gambling when drunk was the final nail...).
I have this family curse/failing/blessing. Though I've got it under control now, there are several periods of time in my past where I've been constantly drunk for weeks..I have many gaping voids in my memory, I have reports of my behaviour during some of these voids...the only comment I ever got on one two week bender was 'oh, you mad, mad drunken hippy bastard!' said with the weirdest evil smirk I've ever seen. There are allegedly photos, 30 years on, I've never been shown them (I've seen some from other episodes..thank fuck I'm invisible as far as social media is concerned..)
Have I ever nearly killed myself with the stuff?, yes..was once in a coma for something like 28 hours, that was after a couple of days of constant heavy drinking without sleep, the coup de grâce being downing a bottle of Vodka in 10 minutes, in half pint measures drunk in a oner.
A bottle of Whisky now lasts me months..though the old habits can be partially reignited by Absinthe or Ouzo (or any other spirit with a strong taste of aniseed), though I now stop when the bottle's empty, usually after a couple of hours..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @11:40AM
Yes, it is possible. The hangover-while-drunk can onset and persist though, and the pair is ugly.
For different reasons (including bets, clubs, groupthink, and, for one person, missing the alcoholase enzyme) I've seen people do it. I would recommend against, unless you're a hedonist and wish to experience it once.