10-29-03 10:18
No 467589
So ning was wondering if ning's newly upgraded understanding of metal reductions is real. Let's see:
Mercury and copper are both below hydrogen on the ox/red series, right? And Aluminum and Zinc, etc. are both below.
So what my little book said/implied, is that when you make an amalgam or couple, it basically forms an electrolytic battery, where the aluminum or zinc oxidizes, and, if there was copper or mercury salts in solution, they would reduce. However, there aren't, so the cathode (Hg or Cu) reduces whatever else requires less volts than it cell has to reduce, to keep the ions flowing. Ning supposes that it's a little bit like dipping a copper plate and a zinc/aluminum/magnesium plate in the solution with a wire connecting them, right? Except also the coating helps deactivate the surface of the Zn/Al to prevent it from reacting too fast, also, right? And since it forms a cell instead of just a metal dissolving, the Cu/Hg layer forms a reverse voltage that prevents any more of the Zn/Al from dissolving until it reduces something, and if the voltage is right, it can't quite break water apart, so it won't waste all of it's reducing power breaking up water into H2.
Does ning understand?
So we have Zn/Hg, Zn/Cu, Al/Hg, and Al/Cu?
If ning's understanding is correct, could we make aluminum copper couple? That would be super-otc.
Ning dreamed of rolling some balls of aluminum foil, putting them in dilute NaOH solution till they bubbled well, then rinsing them twice and pouring in CuSO4 crystals and stirring, and watching with glee as the balls coated with an orange-brown layer of copper.
Can this work? Does ning understand correctly the operation of amalgams/couples?
(Hive Bee)
10-29-03 14:15
No 467655
Yeah, me 2. I wanna know what that black highly exothermic reaction emitting smoke is when I add Cucl2 powder to Al and add a drop of water to the two.