Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Dissolving a Tungsten Filament

AJKOER - 25-8-2019 at 08:58

Per a recent thread (see http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=153266 ), I suggested a galvanic cell approach based on employing H2O2.

That apparently does not work with dilute H2O2. So, for certain, Tsjerk was right on this point.

However, I have found a process that apparently does largely dissolve a tungsten filament (see pictures, before and after below).

Pending reproduction of the results and a more complete understanding of the underlying chemistry, I will comment further.

In the meanwhile, enjoy the pictures!

Suggestions on sources of W that are less expensive and available, for more expanded testing, would be appreciated. I suspect that the tungsten filament employed here is wire W, heated in some air, resulting in a W2O coating.

[Edited on 25-8-2019 by AJKOER]

AJKOER - 25-8-2019 at 09:02

Starting Tungsten and graphite rods

20190824_154937.jpg - 457kB



20190824_155306.jpg - 191kB

[Edited on 25-8-2019 by AJKOER]

AJKOER - 25-8-2019 at 09:05

Now you see the filament and then, not so much (look hard).

20190824_163128.jpg - 337kB

20190825_074756.jpg - 189kB

[Edited on 25-8-2019 by AJKOER]