Is this a joke? "Go find an old uranium mine" and DIY high PH acid chemistry without precautions and proper equipment. Sounds totally safe. Beware of idiots reading this, making yellowcake and selling it to a regular Sheldon Cooper.
Uranium Chemistry (2008)
11–20 of 29 posts
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#12This entire blog is very interesting radiation-wise. Right on the front page it has nice photos of Chernobyl reactor, which are refreshing (mainstream pics are usually garbages of clothes/tables/etc, but this guy is addicted to tech and highlights devices and reactor rooms instead).
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#13As a chemist I really enjoy this. It only gets scary where he details that you can buy HF hydrofluouric acid over the counter... That is interesting to say the least. Can't buy that anywhere here...
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#14As a chemist I really enjoy this. It only gets scary where he details that you can buy HF hydrofluouric acid over the counter... That is interesting to say the least. Can't buy that anywhere here...
He didn't purchase lab grade HF, it's "just" commercial "Whink Rust Stain Remover". In all countries, buying customer chemical products is always a way to bypass the regulation and get otherwise hard-to-obtain chemicals, as long as you know where they can be found.
Though, selling chemicals in general is less regulated in the U.S, getting the same "Rust Stain Remover" in other parts of the world is certainly more difficult.
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#15Alternative title: how to get an FBI file just by visiting one webpage
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#16Alternative title: how to get an FBI file just by visiting one webpage
How will the FBI know what websites I visit? Does HN sell them the onclick data?
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#17Jeez, his back patio must be crazy radioactive. For those at home, you probably don’t want to be grinding up large quantities of uranium ore on your back porch with zero PPE and no cleanup methodology at all.
Uranium isn’t all that radioactive, though.
Yeah. If it didn't have a half life of a billion years it wouldn't still be around for us to mine, and all things being equal radioactivity is inversely proportional to half life.
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#18> I add bleach, stir, and repeat, dodging the cloud of chlorine gas wafting out of the bucket. and he lived to write about it...
this is the point where this page went from "Ok, this guy is comfortable taking risks" to "Ok, I'm out" for me.
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#19Is this a joke? "Go find an old uranium mine" and DIY high PH acid chemistry without precautions and proper equipment. Sounds totally safe. Beware of idiots reading this, making yellowcake and selling it to a regular Sheldon Cooper.
It reminds me of the 1950s science kit which advised kids to "follow in the footsteps of Madam Curie"
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
You might wish to get into the pottery business. Uranium glazes give striking oranges and reds. If you are into decorative glass, uranium salts give beautiful yellow and green shades. And it's fluorescent!
It also apparently leaches out in contact with acidic foods.
Not good for a toxic heavy metal.