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Sodium usability as torch


6T6_

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I’m a noob when it comes to things chemistry. Is the burning point of sodium metal (s) and H20 (l) enough to melt through certain objects? Like a door of wood. Since capillary action doesn’t happen with metals that don’t absorb.... could a design using spit amounts of water  on top of raw sodium metal to form a sort of blowtorch. I’m not sure when oxidation comes into play with the metals.... can someone explain?

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1 hour ago, 6T6_ said:

I’m a noob when it comes to things chemistry. Is the burning point of sodium metal (s) and H20 (l) enough to melt through certain objects? Like a door of wood. Since capillary action doesn’t happen with metals that don’t absorb.... could a design using spit amounts of water  on top of raw sodium metal to form a sort of blowtorch. I’m not sure when oxidation comes into play with the metals.... can someone explain?

I think the water will carry the heat away as it's heated.

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4 hours ago, StringJunky said:

I think the water will carry the heat away as it's heated.

Using minuscule amount of it as a reactant to prevent a go to completion so that some of the sodium remains...wouldn’t that work then as it would reheat the remaining sodium oxide.

H2O(l) + Na2O(s) yields(heated) H2O(l) + Na2O(s) through a double displacement reaction right? If I were to use amount of it to superheat the sodium or a surrounding conducting metal, wouldn’t that work? The fact that water evaporate though would pose problems so another compound of 1+ or 1- valence would be used.

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