[TheForge] RE: Fact or urban myth?

[Mike Spencer]

Lon> i cant see using hydrogen gas being any more dangerous than
Lon> accetlane

Speaking as a once and former chemist: Hydrogen -- H2 -- is a
relatively low energy molecule which will combine with happily with
oxygen and release some heat.  Ho hum.

Acetylene is, in the molecular energy world, a stupendous bad-ass.  It
harbors a large amount energy that can be released very rapidly,
i.e. explosively, under conditions not predicted by intuition or
common sense.  Moreover, it is pathetically eager to combine
spontaneously with other substances.  Some of the combinations --
copper acetylide come to mind -- are highly explosive and impact
sensitive.

One of the documented risks of the old acetylene generators --
essentially a copper tank with some water in the bottom into which
calcium carbide was dribbled by a simple mechanical widget -- was that
copper acetylide formed in the seams of the tank. The tin- or
blacksmith who was called on to repair a leaky generator could get
into um... very *sudden* trouble.

Just off hand, I can't think of any reaction between acetylene and
hydrogen itself that would be a problem.  You just get ethylene or
ethane, neither of them notably dangerous.  But I would still respect
any accumulated wisdom regarding possible acetylene reaction residues
that might be inside hoses or even other parts of the system.

Indeed, "accumulated wisdom" often includes numerous chunks of totally
false or mostly false assertion but, if one lacks the means to verify
(or falsify) each pearl of alleged wisdom, either by experiment or by
reference to truly authoritative literature, one is usually better off
following the accumulated wisdom than not doing so.

> oh yea never ever use a accetlane bottel while its lying on its side 
> ....BULLSHIT do it all the time...

Yeah, well, I did that, too, when I was young and ignorant. Twenty
below F. in a snow bank and the torch was spitting acetone.  I didn't
think it was s'posed to do that but what did I know?  When I went and
read up on why it was doing that, I smartened up and didn't do that no
more.


- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^