Melvin

Take one mole of Ca(OH)2, mix it into water and add one mole of Na2CO3, you will get NaOH and CaCO3. The CaCO3 will sink to the bottom while the NaOH remains in solution. Mix the CaCO3 with vinegar to get calcium acetate. (I like this method because it gives me NaOH as well.)

I can't remember where I heard about it. I think it was on a TV show or something.

Potassium hydroxide is very dangerous!

I understand that you aren't building it for mad purposes. I'm just saying that it isn't really necessary. Hot sodium vapor will react with molten potassium chloride to form potassium vapor and sodium chloride. Sodium can be produced from borax by heating it with carbon to 1000 C. Na2B4O7 + 7C --> 2Na + 4B + 7CO This probably isn't a very practical method to make it though

I've heard that there is a solar plant in Nevada (US) that uses hundreds of mirrors to focus sunlight on a tower full of salt. The salt melts and absorbs heat, which is passed through water to vaporize it. The steam powers a generator, which supplies power for 10,000 homes.

I'm not sure about gallium. I know iron, in the form of steel wool, can burn easily in air after being lit with a match. Also, according to Wikipedia, excessive gallium exposure has been connected to dermatitis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium

I think you're crazy. There are many easier ways to make little bombs without potassium. I agree with YT, your professors will be impressed if you bring in a homemade sample of potassium even if it isn't part of a bomb.

Does ebay sell it just as "potassium permanganate" or is it in a specific product?

Does anyone know how to make potassium permanganate (KMnO4) or a good source of it?

Sir Humphry Davy, who discovered potassium, made it by the electrolysis of potassium hydroxide (KOH). I'm not really sure about all of the details, so you'll have to do some research.

I've tried that method before. I suspended a copper endcap with the NaNO3 and sulfur inside a 3-liter soda bottle (2-liter should work just as well). I put about a cup of water in the bottom. I used a propane torch to light the S/NaNO3 mixture a placed the endcap into the bottle and screwed the cap on tightly. The bottle filled up with SO2 and NO2 gas. After about two hours, I removed the liquid and tested the pH, getting somewhere around a 2.

Doesn't SO2 usually come from coal-fired power plants?

I'm pretty sure atomospheric nitrogen refers to N2. However, acid rain is formed from nitrogen oxides, not by atmospheric nitrogen. When nitrogen dioxide (NO2) reacts with water, you get nitric acid (HNO3) and nitrous acid (HNO2). H2O + 2NO2 --> HNO3 + HNO2