From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.pyrotechnics
Subject: Re: Sodium Metal
Message-ID: <20124@rsiatl.Dixie.Com>
Date: 26 May 91 03:16:17 GMT

sr2s+@andrew.cmu.edu (Seth Malcolm Redmore) writes:


>Hi y'all,

>I managed to get my hands on some sodium, and it is kinda fun.  I did
>discover that the fireball is no myth, after dropping a big (a cube 1.5 cm on
>a side) into my toilet.  Smaller chunks just fizzed and popped with an
>occasional spark, but i believe this one liberated enough hydrogen, in a
confined space (the toilet bowl :) ), to cause an explosion.  I figured with an
>open top, the porcelain would be strong enough to withstand an above
>water explosion.

What works even better is to spear the ingot of sodium with a steel
rod, such as a welding rod, and toss the assembly into a large body
of water.  Assuming the sodium has a decent coating of oil on it,
the assembly will sink to some depth before the fireworks start.
The results are spectacular and really should be done outdoors.

This is a show with sodium but it is awsom with potassium.

John