the guy

I'm afraid I don't have the necessary temperatures at my disposal. I may just keep it as it is. The last couple of times I've used it were for preparing Ca(OH)2 anyway, so for this purpose it will still suffice. And a modicum of CaCO3 contamination shouldn't be a problem...

Hello all. I'm in a bit of a quandary with my tub of calcium oxide. I can only assume that at some point I have failed to seal the lid properly, or have dislodged it a bit when moving it. Whatever the cause, I discovered earlier today that the contents have swelled and lifted the lid to precarious new heights, and the resulting powdery tower looks worryingly delicate. I have two options at this stage. I can either order a new, larger sealable tub to house it - though since the purity has obviously been compromised it will have limited uses - or I can attempt to dispose of it. Should I wish to dispose of it, what would be your suggestions on the best way to do this? It is quite a substantial amount and, of course, not a very pleasant chemical. I have dismissed my initial impulse of slowly dissolving it in an enormous container of water and waiting for it to convert to CaCO3 - not least because of the temperatures this might reach if I dissolve it too quickly, or the consequences should the container be upset - and would welcome any suggestions on how to go about this responsibly. In the meantime, I will attempt the nerve-racking task of moving the container into a bucket without bespattering the rest of my belongings with quicklime...

I keep reading that medium chain triglycerides have a laxative effect, but I can't find an explanation for this anywhere. What actually causes this? Thanks in advance for any help

But if the calcium chloride is dissolved in the ethanol first, and then the water is added?

So I know that the dissolution of calcium chloride in water is exothermic. I also know that calcium chloride can be used to 'dry' organic solutions by removing water, indicating that it still has a high affinity for water over other solvents. What I was wondering is whether the reaction with water is still exothermic when it is already dissolved in another solvent. And if so, is it lessened at all? I.E if I added water to a solution of calcium chloride in anhydrous ethanol, would an exothermic reaction occur? And, if so, would it be less exothermic than the addition of water to the solid salt? (Forget the fact that the extra liquid in the ethanol example might make the heat effects less measurable, I'm largely interested theoretically) Thanks in advance for any help

What sort of temperature would be optimum for hot iron oxidation? Nothing speaks against Liquid Nitrogen in terms of use, in fact it would be ideal. What you don't seem to understand is that, at least where I live in the North of England, it is not at all easy to get a hold of. It's just not around. I've read all over the internet about welding supply stores stocking the stuff but they don't here. I don't know if it's just an American thing or if I'm just unlucky, but that's the case. There are no nearby cryogenic medical supply places or anything of the sort and, aside from ordering delivery of a minimum of 5 gallons of the stuff, it appears it is out of reach. I have been writing to various Colleges in the area but I'm not getting my hopes too high since, even if they do happen to have such facilities, I highly doubt they'll hand it out willy-nilly to any old DIY nerd who sends a polite email. Don't get me wrong, I'd be delighted to be proven wrong, I'm just stating my experience so far... I did toy with the idea of carbon-based combustion to remove oxygen, since CO2 is relatively easy to remove, but I am aware of the by-production of CO at the low oxygen levels in question and I would rather avoid this since it is not so easily removed. Not to mention the obvious health risks. If anyone can think of a variation on this/ a safe method for CO removal, please let me know.

John Cuthber - hmm, slow may not be good enough. Unfortunately it's not just oxygen-free air I need, or I'd be using bicarb and vinegar or yeast. As it happens I am returning to an old problem, producing a stream of pure nitrogen - http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/70338-preparation-of-nitrogen/ Since I am struggling to find a purchase-able nitrogen canister that isn't the size of my mother, and liquid nitrogen isn't as easy to come by as everyone seems to be making out. I was hoping that an efficient oxygen absorber in tandem with sodium hydroxide to remove CO2 might be an option, but it's starting to look dim also... Sensei - I've had a quick internet search (admittedly only on my phone) and can't seem to find any literature on this, or even a mention, could you point me in the right direction?

Evening all. Basically my intention is to remove the oxygen from a stream of air, either cheaply or preferably with the materials I have to hand. After doing a bit of research and writing off expensive options like pyrogallol, I think I have put together a design which might work. I wonder if you might give it a once-over for me? Basically it would be a cylinder filled with steel wool and finely powdered calcium chloride, well packed and interspersed within the wool. The idea is that the calcium chloride will remove moisture from the air (a handy side-effect) and, in doing so, provide the moisture and concentrated electrolyte environment to allow the iron in the steel wool to oxidize easily. Maybe with the introduction of some particularly moist air (such as from breath) to start with, just to get things going. I don't need the air to be perfectly void of oxygen but as close as oxygen-free as possible is desirable. Unfortunately, since I have nothing like pyrogallol to test the oxygen content, I will have no way of knowing how successful it has been, so could you let me know whether or not you think this will be sufficient? As always your input is very helpful, thank you in advance.

Apologies, I should have been more specific. I was meaning a pulse as might be generated by a large non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse device, such as an explosively pumped flux capacitor or the such like

Just a plot point that needs verifying for something that I'm writing. To cut a long story short, warfarin is secretly cut with cocaine and administered to a (drug-using) victim in this way. I would just like to confirm before I include this that it would actually work; i.e. can warfarin be absorbed into the blood in this manner? Thanks in advance for any help

For the purposes of a sci-fi story, what would be the effects of a large nearby electromagnetic pulse on a car, and what would it take to get it running properly again? Thanks in advance for any help

I would like to do a small experiment with calcium chloride. I happen to have some in my possession but it is in the form of little flakes, and I need it to be in a very fine powder form. I'm assuming that the reason for the flakiness lies in its water-absorbing properties. Would I be right in thinking this and, if so, would 'baking' it in the oven on a high temperature dehydrate it enough for it to be finely powdered? Thanks in advance for any replies.

I have read that carrageenan solution causes swelling/ oedema upon subcutaneous injection. I was wondering, could it cause swelling/ oedema upon contact with mucous membranes such as the lining of the mouth/ respiratory tract, in high concentration?

In the case of hypothyroidism (at least those cases which result from iodine-deficiency) I am confused as to why it lowers levels of growth hormone. I would expect, since there is a lack of iodine and therefore thyroid hormone, that thyroid stimulating hormone levels would rise. But for this to happen there would have to be lowered levels of somatostatin which would, in turn, result in high levels of growth hormone. This is is evidently not the case though, since iodine-deficiency induced hypothyroidism is shown to cause stunted growth. Can someone please help me explain this?

Actually, the reason I wanted the copper hydroxide is for the synthesis of the ammonia-copper complex. So if I were to dissolve the mixture in ammonia, would it be easy to separate this from the CaSO4?

I wanted to buy some Bordeaux mixture (as in the solution of copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide) so that I could precipitate the copper out of it as copper hydroxide (using sodium hydroxide). The Bordeaux Mixture that is on sale here is in powder form, and says 'tetra copper tricalcium sulfate'. In my head it sounds like this is just the dehydrated form, forming a complex, and that it will dissociate into the respective ions again in solution. Since I cannot find any information to confirm or deny this, however, I would just like to ask for some confirmation before I buy it...? Thank you in advance

Ok, I think that makes sense! Thank you kindly. Mellinia - when I said 'magnet wire' I meant the colloquial name for copper wire with an insulative varnish coating, used in electromagnets, not magnetic wire. Sorry for the confusion!

That's not what I mean. For example: If a long piece of thick iron wire, tightly wound with magnet wire along its entire length, is then coiled into a helix. What would happen to the magnetic field when current was applied to the magnet wire?

What happens to the magnetic field when the helix of a solenoid is, itself, bent into a larger helix shape?

I found this spider and its egg cocoon in a bunch of grapes which my Mum bought from the co-op. Unfortunately the spider had been partially crushed by the grapes by the time I found it. I have attached pictures of the spider and the egg cocoon, and would be grateful if anyone could help me to identify it to satisfy my curiousity. (I apologise for the picture quality).

I've heard it raises the operating speed and increases electron flow in the camera, eventually leading to physical dependence, and camera withdrawal symptoms such as jerkiness of the panning motion and slow frame-rate if one stops spraying...

Really? Even on indoor plants?

I have been thinking of alternative ways of ridding my house-plants of aphids and it occurred to me that nicotine is a widely used insecticide. Having seen many of the stop-smoking nicotine mouth sprays 'Nicorette Quickmist' on sale in pharmacies, I began to wonder whether, in this form, it would make an effective insecticide mist spray. Any advice/ thoughts on the matter would be welcome.

The truth is, the exact cause of conditions such as bipolar disorder is not known. The reason being that they are mental disorders. Huge leaps and bounds in the name of discovery have been made in the field of psychology; but when compared to other fields of medical science they are minuscule. Our understanding, and therefore treatment in, psychology is extraordinarily basic. Though we can look at and understand the mechanisms and chemical interactions involved in neurological activity, we can no more use this to understand the workings of the human mind and consciousness than an understanding in electrical semi-conduction can make one proficient in computer programming. This is simply because the human mind is so vastly complex and so much of it is, for want of a better word, 'virtual', that scientific investigation of it is extraordinarily difficult. The very fact that there is so much to the mind, and each 'section' of the mind is so intimately related, connected and affected by every other part, makes pinning down the exact point(s) of origin of a 'virtual' outcome in such a vast web of interconnected 'virtual' processes practically impossible. The fact is, bipolar disorder may be caused by one distinct 'pathological error' or point of damage to the neurological make-up; or several; or slight emotional and cognitive anomalies; or, more likely, a multitude of seemingly unrelated problems of all kinds which, when acting together, produce the outcome of what is known as 'bipolar disorder'. In such a vastly complicated system, any one outcome could have countless possible combinations at its source. Manic depressive symptoms in one sufferer may well, indeed, be the result of some brain trauma whilst in another, it may be the result of a combination of chemical imbalances and life experiences.

I don't know if you still need the advice, but it strikes me that a lot of the answers here are names of symptoms, rather than help in describing the experience. As someone who suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, I have had my fair share of mental breakdowns in the past. I am also a writer myself and so may be able to word things in a more 'writable' and relate-able manner. If you wish for advice then message me personally or reply to this post (I shall keep an eye on it) and I will be happy to help