Burning Blunders

11/17/12

Heather wasn't here today, so I spent the day with Daniele as we began our first experiment. Daniele had made a power point for me explaining our experiment which would be taking a closer look at the diffusion of different isotopes of sulfer through pyrite. Instead of pyrite, we are going to be using a mineral associated with pyrite called sphalerite. Since geological processes take so long, the movement of the molecules have to be measured on the molecular scale in nanometers. Daniele mentioned a machine at SUNY Albany that uses an ion beam that can make very specific measurements and give us results for our data. Daniele has used the machine several times and even suggested that we could take a trip down there one week to analyze our data.
After Daniele went over the power point with me, we went to the lab to make another capsule, this time containing the sulfer and sphalerite we would be using in our experiment. After I cut the silicon tube into an appropriate length, Daniele and I walked over to the furnaces to get one heated up to the appropriate temperature for our experiment. The furnaces reach the desired temperature by heating up and then shutting off, which causes them to often overshoot and then undershoot the temperature you want. This means it takes a while for them to settle on a temperature. Daniele and I set the furnace to a measly 700 degrees Celsius and then headed back to the lab to finish making the capsule. I sealed the end of the silicon tube like a pro and then placed the tube in a drying oven to remove some of the moisture from the tube. If there is moisture within the tube when you are sealing the other end, the heat from the flame combined with the evaporated liquid can cause an explosion, bursting the capsule and causing an overall unpleasant experience. After the tube dried out, I hooked it up to the vacuum. While we were waiting on the vacuum, Daniele and I walked back over to check on the furnace which was feeling rather fickle and refusing to settle on a temperature. We headed back to the lab to finish the capsule. I turned on the Bunsen burner and was feeling a little overconfident apparently because to my horror, as I tried to pull the end of the tube away to create a sealed vacuum, a discouraging pop echoed through out the lab as I compromised the vacuum. Not only did I pop the vacuum, but the capsule of hot molten glass sprung out of my tongs and went flying across the table. Luckily, I did not burn RPI to the ground and Daniele was more than forgiving. We agreed to finish the capsule next week when the furnace might be feeling more agreeable and my capsule abilities would hopefully improve