Australia's Science Forum

What does everyone do with burning of Mg ribbon?

I know that it gives off UV and may cause eye damage as per CSIS APPENDIX D but has anyone bought UV safety glasses or not?

Im intersted to know.

Give them little bits and get them to look away, or watch the reflection in the windows, as it burns.

The fun-suckers have already taken away so many pracs, we have to do something to thrill their little hearts and minds.

Yep - we just tell the kids to look away when it starts to burn. You can usually still see it out the corner of your eye. If your bunsens are hot enough you can light it in a crucible and the crucible glows a very bright white as well, which is safe to look at (as far as I know) and gives a really good idea of just how bright burning magnesium is.

Get hold of some uv beads that change colour in uv light and have them nearby.

Dear All - On the subject of burning magnesium in crucibles - anyone have a sure-fire way of removing the magnesium from the bottom of the crucible? I have tried acids (e.g. hydrochloric, oxalic) also napisan and elbow grease! Cannot get the crucibles back to their lovely porcelain white - am I being ridiculous and expecting too much? Judy

Crucibles are cheap as, so I consider them disposable. Costs less to replace them than the chemicals to clean them!! Not to mention time wasted... Nitric acid worked on a few one time when I did try cleaning them, but I don't think it worked on all of them... I think I read somewhere here on Chemtalk a while back about people keeping the lids, smashing them up and using them as boiling chips. I just have an accumulation of lids in a drawer which one day I will do something about, but we have no shortage of boiling chips so I don't think that will be their final destination. Anyone out there need lids?

Don't waste time trying to get out the stain. They will just burn mg in them again so it doesn't matter.

Yeah, right on, dime. I have a set that are used for burning Mg only.

Once, when some naughties were on detention, one of the teachers handed out steel wool and got them to clean the crucibles as much as they could. Imagine my expression when he returned the crucible to me saying, "I had some little scrubbers working on these for you..."

WHAT! You're not allowed to say such things in a nice Catholic school!

I promptly rolled around the lab floor laughing while the teacher reflected on what he'd just said!

Smiley, I soo don't want to admit it but I dont get it Maybe cause I am Swedish, never heard that expression before.. please explai to little dumb me

Sass

OK Sassi,

The expression started with cattlemen, who would bring in the low quality stock from the bush, known as "scrubbers" for a quick kill or to eliminate the poor quality breeders from the herds.

The obvious Australian expression that evolved from that was in reference to low quality females, usually with poor fashion sense, dodgy makeup, dubious morals, and often an "easy kill". Therefore it is an uncomplimentary remark, not to say potentially offensive, and certainly designed to denigrate the subjects, and definitely not a nice term to be heard in a nice school.

Hope that makes things clearer!

Hi K and Sassi
I also heard the expression "scrubbers" said by a man (Paul Hogan) referring to himself and another man in the movie "Strange Bedfellows". The implication being that they were down from the "scrub" (country) and a bit "rough".
Regards
Sue G

Ohhh I just love this site, I learn so many interesting things, although I am a very nice girl so I am not sure I will ever get the oppurtunity to use this new word, buuuut I shall keep it in the back of my mind it might be useful one day

Sassi - 6 weeks to gooooooooooooo