Australia's Science Forum

If I had a dollar for every time a student asked do I get to blow things up or what is good for blowing up I could retire today and get myself gold plated within the hour. Do they think of anything else in science? Admitedly when I went through school we had a teacher that had an uncanny knack for d...

Dilute down the sink is fine with PLENTY of water. It only needs to be disposed of in a chemical pick up if it's been run through an engine due to the heavy metals it picks up.

Er, why would he need to know the chemical makeup of plastic explosive? Does he live on a farm and want to blow a stump out of the ground or is he just curious? My younger brother serves with the army and they know not to ask - 11 secret herbs and spices probably involved somewhere. I wouldn't look ...

Nothing wrong with the site(s)- their department supplied internet link is the problem - otherwise they could access any one of the other chemwatch sites. There isn't just one!!!!!!!!!!!

Ladies? There are fellas on this forum! "google" chemwatch under search Australia and the 1st couple of sites will give state contacts for what your looking for but if your having network problems then thats another problem entirely. Thanks "blokes"!

That's right! Vitamin B12 - i.e. Berocca Performance B group tablets in water do glow - helps you pee in the dark also.

Work to your CSIS folder.

I've got a litre bottle of "Horn" aftershave that my girlfriend desperatley wants rid of - she says it makes people think we keep ferrets in the house - owes me $2.50 but I'll give it away if your keen! Great for de-greasing your car engine also and removing rust stains off laboratory glas...

Liquid paper pens? Scorpions glow. Most eye drops will make your eyes glow under UV light. True!! not much use those but bright plastic cups/toothbrushes/bright string/plastic toys/teeth/fishing line etc etc

True, can't agree with you more on that. Availability. Never panic with regards "what If I'm caught short" with regards to MSDS and chemical safety documents. Do the best with what you've got, use your experience and common sense to provide as safe a place of work and study you possibly ca...

What does rated as hazardous mean? Sorry about the longer answer than "yes" but it's not that straightforward. It doesn't have to be a risk for a MSDS needing to be present. If you read MSDS there is other information there also about disposal, spills, storage, flammability, toxicity etc e...

Yes, you are expected to hold MSDS close to hand for everyday items such as detergents, flysprays etc, and also various molarity strengths of solutions. If they come under the same umbrella (i.e. the toxicity etc doesn't change between strengths)and are stored together then a single MSDS will cover ...

Our are stored with the NR - not a regulated dangerous good chemicals on the same shelves.

Yes it is a flammable liquid spray but then again so is Glen 20 and Mortein fly spray. If you walk upright without dragging your knuckles on the ground it is very safe to use within a school. If they banned it every general assistant would walk off the job in seconds.

Brasso is pretty heavy duty which is fine on heavily oxidised metals but for a softer polish use Silvo - both very very good. They work beautifully on the alloy/stainless steel/aluminium on my restored motorcycles I can tell you and I'm a FUSSY bugger! There is also a mag wheel cleaner that comes in...

Sorry, I'll say it again - you would have to use most of the tin of penetrating spray + not wipe away any excess off the tables + not use a relativley inflammable grease afterwards + light the bunsen beside the tap immediately for there to be a even a minute risk of fire. Better just let the GA do i...

See! Shows how out of touch us blokes are! I thought women would find the smell of WD40 well sexy. But plumbers crack? REALLY?!!!!! Doesn't it just remind you to post your tax return or something? If there is such a thing as a "good plumbers crack" I'd really hate to witness a "bad&qu...

OOoh yeh! Let him do that bit. At my old school they liked to put unfolded paperclips in the (live) desk mounted power outlets! They all had MAD hair I can tell you! But really, it would be like getting a plumber out if your garden hose tap was a bit reluctant to turn. WD40 is the blokes answer to E...

Blimey, If I called the general assistant every time something as simple like this happened, a) he'd think I was thick b) he'd quicky get sick of me c) he'd leave me the tools to do it myself. There is nothing in the world simpler than a gas tap. Flammable lubricants (ever tried to light vasoline?) ...

WD40 and a rubber mallet. Squirt the WD using the thin tube supplied around the neck of the tap where it goes into the body. Use the mallet to LIGHTLY tap it in the direction of opening after 1st turning off the gas at the mains or room isolation tap. Work backward & forwards to ease up. Use vas...