On 31 Mar 2005 11:26:41 +0100 (BST), Alan Braggins wrote in
<
[email protected]>, seen in uk.rec.cycling:
> In article <BE708B2D.D470%[email protected]>, David Martin wrote:
[...]
> >Sodium. AN inch cube in a fire bucket was quite sufficient (outside in the
> >car park with everyone standing well back) to demonstrate a vigorous
> >exothermic reaction.
>
> Sadly the "how do we dispose of this big jar of sodium - I know, we'll
> stick it in an empty 40 gallon drum and get the fire engine to spray
> water at it until all the fizzing stops and then keep spraying water
> on it until the hydroxide is really well diluted" incident happened
> the week before I spent a day with the site chemist. I'm told it was
> great fun though. (On site (airfield) fire engine and crew.)
Huh. The best I ever managed had to wait until I started work.
The railway in its wisdom did a handling course for fire
extinguishers. During my training it involved an oil drum in which
paraffin was poured and set alight, with the various trainees playing
with different extinguishers to put it out (or not, depending on the
extinguisher). The oil drum was next to a siding.
The day I did it, there was a freight loco standing on the siding. The
inspector instructing happily waved the paraffin everywhere whilst
wittering to us, most of it going all over the loco and places in
between. We, of course, all stood there watching and didn't say a
word.
You can imagine what happened when he put a light to the barrel...
Certainly instructive. ;-)
--
Ross, in Lincoln
Reply-to address will bounce; replace "junk-trap" with "me" for e-mail
