Sciencemadness Discussion Board

lead metal and sodium nitrate

jock88 - 28-12-2012 at 05:49


Once upon a time I read in a publication that a 'very powerful' mix could be make by mixing finely divided lead metal + Sodium Nitrate.
I presume it needed a detonator.
Is that correct.

Adas - 28-12-2012 at 06:37

Quote: Originally posted by jock88  

Once upon a time I read in a publication that a 'very powerful' mix could be make by mixing finely divided lead metal + Sodium Nitrate.
I presume it needed a detonator.
Is that correct.


Probably not. Plus, you don't want to poison the air and everything with lead, I suppose. Don't work with heavy metals.

barley81 - 28-12-2012 at 09:29

Molten lead can be used to reduce sodium nitrate to nitrite. Some members have produced nitrites in this way (search for the thread)

Ral123 - 28-12-2012 at 10:30

Lead cant be powerful reducer, or give high vods and I haven't heard of the idea of mixing lead azide with oxidizers, I'd more likely mix it with boron. I've heard lead is pyrophoric, can there be uses for powdered lead like exotic fuses or something?

Swede - 31-12-2012 at 09:19

I'm just not getting why so many people recently want to be putting huge quantities of lead/Pb compounds and vapor into the air.

They outlawed leaded automobile gasoline for a reason, and the tetra-ethyl lead in petrol was a tiny fraction. Now we are talking about grams, tens of grams, kilograms of Pb going up in smoke, to be inhaled and to land on (and contaminate) surfaces, the environment, hands, etc.

There are so many other interesting energetics that don't come with the dangers of large amounts of lead.

Metacelsus - 1-1-2013 at 16:14

Tin is a good replacement for lead in many chemical applications. It shares most of lead's properties, and is significantly less toxic.

AndersHoveland - 1-1-2013 at 23:51

Quote: Originally posted by Cheddite Cheese  
Tin is a good replacement for lead in many chemical applications.

While it might be a satisfactory replacement in some reactions, there are also quite a few significant differences:
Tin dissolves in hydrochloric acid, whereas lead is not attacked. Lead dissolves in nitric acid, whereas tin is only dissolved with great difficulty (due to protective coating of meta-stannic acid that forms on surface hindering further reaction). Stannous salts are reducing agents, and under alkaline conditions can reduce Bi+3 salts to bismuth metal. An alcoholic solution of Tin(II) chloride can spontaneously ignite after prolonged exposure to air. Solutions of stannous nitrate are unstable, and such solutions can be hazardous in concentrated form. Plumbic oxide, PbO2, is an oxidizer, it reacts with hydrochloric acid to release chlorine.

[Edited on 2-1-2013 by AndersHoveland]

jock88 - 2-1-2013 at 11:07


It appears that lead is still used in aviation fuel.
lead makes for paranoia . If you 'made your own' leaded fuel by adding 2.5 grams of the lead compound to pure gasoline most people watching you make it would then refuse to handle the (leaded) fuel or go near an aeroplane that was burning the stuff.

You should of course avoid lead as much as possible. If lead is a bad as people make out ALL YOUR PARENTS (if not yourselves, depending on how old you are) ARE semi-brain-dead zombies.

wiki

TEL remains an ingredient of 100 octane avgas for piston-engine aircraft. The United States Environmental Protection Agency and others are working on an economically feasible replacement for leaded avgas. The current formulation of 100LL (low lead) aviation gasoline contains 2.12 grams of TEL per gallon, half the amount of the previous 100 octane avgas (at 4.24 grams per gallon),[16] but far more than the 0.1 gram per gallon permitted in automotive leaded gasoline or the 0.001 grams per gallon in automotive unleaded gasoline sold in the United States.[17]



[Edited on 2-1-2013 by jock88]