[TheForge] Orange smoke (was: Petrogen Torch Yak)

[JOHN CHOBRDA]

I can remember when I was working at the European Space Agency Launch Site
in So. America. They would occasionally vent the nitrogen teteroxide (sp?)
tanks and there would be a large bright orange cloud drifting down wind.
They would only do this when the wind blew into the jungle, you could see
where the cloud drifted, everything was dead no vegetation nothing.

John C.

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jerry Frost
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 1:33 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Orange smoke (was: Petrogen Torch Yak)

Makes sense.

Thinking about it I don't believe it stayed orange very long. The demo took
place behind a chainlink fence along a busy street. If there were clouds of
orange smoke drifting across the Old Seward Highway in mid-town I'm sure
there would've been comments, probably traffic accidents. Anchorage drivers
are easily distracted. <sigh>

The vender's building and the one across the street are white, I'm sure
orange residue would've been obvious.

I think you have a most reasonable explanation for the "smoke" color.

Frosty
------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Freeman" <FREEMAB at pt.fdah.com>
To: <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 4:59 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Orange smoke (was: Petrogen Torch Yak)


> For lack of better information, I will speculate that the orange smoke
> was  white particulate matter (fumes) "colored" by nitric oxide - or,
> more precisely, its dimer, dinitrogen tetroxide.  I don't know where the
> nitrogen came from.  Possibly, at the temperatures involved it came from
> the air.  Maybe its formation was catalyzed on one of the hot surfaces.
>
>
> If this be true, then the residue would not be orange.  The nitric
> oxide would remain a gas and dissipate.
>
> Nitric oxide IS VERY orange.  Maybe a slightly brownish orange, but
> intense.
>
> Bruce
> NJ
>

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