ee5001ae@charon.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) (12/22/88)
For the electrodes, carbon rods are best (you CAN still get C-Zn cells, Bucky), but electrical solder will work quite well. Fuse some insulated Cu wire into one end of your solder electrodes, and cover ALL the Cu with silicone sealant, Shoe Goo II, or something similar. Keep that copper away from the solution! For the electrolyte, use sodium or potassium hydroxide (Drano or Liquid Plumber). You don't need a lot, but treat the resulting solution as both poisonous and caustic. Keep it the hell out of your eyes. We're dealing with a low-voltage, high-current operation. I had a lot of suc- cess using auto batteries as a power source for this stuff. I recall one day (junior high school, excuse me, MIDDLE school days) when I had a jar full of water electrolyzing so fast it looked like it was boiling. I picked up the jar and YEOW!---CRASH! It WAS boiling.... Hey, you know, that was fun. I think I'll set up a rig to do it some more! Coal in your stockings, ;^) d -- Don't believe everything you read into. Duke McMullan n5gax nss13429r phon505-255-4642 ee5001ae@charon.unm.edu ^(through mid-Dec,'88)^