Jan video (nearly!)
Added 2025-01-31 11:32:58 +0000 UTCHello all,
My quest to post a monthly video remains elusive, but I am getting better I think!
I’m nearly done with the ‘Jan’ video, which is making Er-Yb doped Yttrium oxide. I’ve got an IR laser so tomorrow we will finally see if all my work has paid off and we can see the ‘Upconversion fluorescence’ from it. I’m confident!
I was mostly concerned about the anneal step, which needed 2 hours of 800 degrees C. For this, I bought a metal melting furnace (pictured)- I wasn’t really sure if it would survive being hot for 2 hours but it did survive!!! So hopefully the video will be out next week.
Also, I had a friend over and we churned through some bromine synthesis, making 600ml in a day… about 300ml of that was donated to “science” (violent demos) so I’m now left with 300ml towards our large scale cubane synthesis. Fantastic!!
Tom
Comments
Fear not, we can fix that. Message left on the last post, a bucket arc furnace seems like no problem. Let me know if you want a sketch. Thinking of refractory for 1400 C you could make it with bauxite and phosphate based cement, if you want to 100% home brew it.
Richard Pruen
2025-02-12 22:21:28 +0000 UTCThought I should join, because it is better when you breathe the chlorine or HCl or whatever, than when I do it… I’m 100% with you on the yellow thing, my sodium went yellow, and now it has been banished to outside.
Richard Pruen
2025-02-12 21:09:27 +0000 UTCThat is an absurd amount of bromine! How many distillations did it take?
Gavin Riehl
2025-01-31 16:19:14 +0000 UTCI would love to get some yttrium oxide monocrystals. Yttrium is used as a stabilizer in CZ though, and occasionally there is actually more yttrium than zirconium in them which would almost count.
Gems of Science
2025-01-31 14:46:19 +0000 UTCJust gotta up the jank and take off all the casing and most of the electrical so you can power it directly. Use a box fan and shitty plastic tote for cooling and covering
Alexander Dupree
2025-01-31 13:42:01 +0000 UTCEvery time you've used it I've been surprised by the efficacy. Imagine spending > $5000 for a "microwave furnace" when you can get one from the shed! smh my head
Ryan Moser
2025-01-31 12:42:30 +0000 UTCThe microwave furnace has always worked so well!! I feel like it’ll be used again, for glasses and such. But for keeping something hot for 2 hours… the microwave would definitely blow up
Explosions&Fire
2025-01-31 12:19:11 +0000 UTCI already miss the microwave furnace 😅 It's service will never be forgotten 🫡
Roland Warmerdam
2025-01-31 11:56:00 +0000 UTC
