As 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 dif…
Uranium Chemistry (2008)
21–29 of 29 posts
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#22Just don't try to fly anywhere in the USA for a while after playing around with this stuff.
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#23> I add bleach, stir, and repeat, dodging the cloud of chlorine gas wafting out of the bucket. and he lived to write about it...
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#24Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#25Is 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.
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#26Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#27Earlier 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!
That fluorescence will kill you (depending on how you handled it).
Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#28Re: Uranium Chemistry (2008)
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
When it decays, it also releases radon, which causes additional problems.
Are there worse things? Sure. Is it safe to be around Uranium dust? No.
https://web.evs.anl.gov/uranium/guide/ucompound/health/index...