Author Topic: Chemistry yay: alkali metal explosions  (Read 1797 times)

Glaurung

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Chemistry yay: alkali metal explosions
« on: January 26, 2015, 08:34:50 PM »
Another one in my steady stream of posts about BBC News articles...

This one is about some new research on explosions when alkali metals (sodium, potassium, etc.) hit water - specifically on the very early stages (1 millisecond or so), and why they go "bang" and not "bubble". There's a nice quote from one of the researchers: "We went through quite a lot of kit before we worked out how to do it safely."

TTG4

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Re: Chemistry yay: alkali metal explosions
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2015, 10:15:34 PM »
That's pretty cool! And a fairly reasonable explanation as far as I can tell.