Subject:
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Re: A question of humidity...
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.geek
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Date:
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Sat, 17 Jul 2004 14:10:02 GMT
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Viewed:
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1205 times
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In lugnet.color, Mark de Kock wrote:
> Pure sodium (the metal) will explode (= react violantly) with water. However,
> the sodium that is in the oceans is not the metal, but the ion - positively
> charged. It is usualy accompanied by a chlorine ion (negative).
> Just like salt that you use in the kitchen.
Well, it's a little more complicated than that. The sodium itself doesn't
actually explode. It oxidizes in an exo-thermic reaction (meaning that it
strips water molecules of their oxygen atoms and produces a lot of heat). The
"waste" products are a cloud of hydrogen and intense heat. That's where the
explosion comes from.
> It would be a spectacular sight when the sodium in the oceans were to
> explode - if watched from outer space :-)
I'm not sure if it would be a single large explosion, a series of small
explosions, or a sustained burn that only starts with a single explosion.
Hopefully we'll never see it proved with practical science...
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: A question of humidity...
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| (...) Pure sodium (the metal) will explode (= react violantly) with water. However, the sodium that is in the oceans is not the metal, but the ion - positively charged. It is usualy accompanied by a chlorine ion (negative). Just like salt that you (...) (20 years ago, 17-Jul-04, to lugnet.color)
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