THE HOMEMADE HYDROGEN REPORT COPYRIGHT 1984 THE TELEFLITE CORPORATION For the purposes of filling and launching small balloons, plastic trash bags, and other lighter than air devices it is possible to produce homemade hydrogen gas quickly, simply, and inexpensively from common materials and supplies you'll find around the house or at the local supermarket. When the metal, aluminum, comes into contact with a solution of sodium hydroxide (commonly called "LYE") and water, a rapid chemical reaction occurs that results in the formation of sodium aluminate and free hydrogen gas according to the following chemical equation: 2AI + 2NaOH + 2H20 = 2NaAlO2 + 3H2 + HEAT FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY PLEASE NOTE THE LAST TERM OH THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE EQUATION! The chemical reaction in question generates enough heat to boil the water in the immediate vicinity where the reaction is occurring. If you allow the reaction to proceed too rapidly, the container will become too hot to touch, COULD SHUTTER, or could boll over, splattering HOT, CAUSTIC LYE solution all over you and the chosen work area. LYE CAN CAUSE SEVERE CHEMICAL BURNS TO THE SKIN AND EYES, and should an accident occur, you should IMMEDIATELY flood the affected parts of the body with cool water and KEEP RINSING until ALL TRACES of the caustic solution have been washed away. All commercially marketed containers of lye display a caution and warning label, and you should READ, UNDERSTAND, and FOLLOW the advice given on these labels before proceeding. Hydrogen gas is itself EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE! W WOT SMOKE IN THE PRESENCE OF HYDROGEN GAS! It was hydrogen that exploded and brought down the Hindenburg. The following procedures should NEVER be attempted indoors. Find a picnic table or a suitable spot in the back yard and keep a garden hose or bucket of water nearby as a safety precaution for use in the event of a chemical burn. ONLY when you have read and understood the above safety precautions should you proceed with the following instructions. We'll discuss the quickest, cheapest, and simplest method first. If you don't already have them, go to the supermarket and purchase the following items (See Figure 1). ONE small container of LYE ONE empty GLASS soda pop bottle (one quart capacity) ONE "fifth" or one "litre" of Champagne (the heavy thick bottle makes a safer, more durable hydrogen generator) ONE roll of the cheapest aluminum foil you can find ONE package of LARGE toy balloons At the time of this printing lye could be purchased in twelve ounce plastic containers for about a dollar. Whatever bottle you choose for a hydrogen generator must WOT be made of plastic. The heat generated during the chemical reaction will soften and melt the more popular plastic ones. Champagne bottles are best (enjoy the champagne and save the bottle for even loftier purposes). Since the solution of lye and water will dissolve any organic matter, you DON'T need clean, new aluminum foil. You can save the greasy, useless looking stuff from your last roast turkey or Bar-B-que and use that. ANY used kitchen aluminum foil or pie pans will work, and you DON'T have to wash them before use. Buy the LARGE size toy balloons. You fill each one by stretching it over the neck of your pop bottle hydrogen generator, and the smaller balloons have such SMALL necks that they will usually tear when you attempt to do this. Besides, as we all know, bigger balloons are better balloons, and the larger ones are much more fun to fly. Wash out your empty pop or champagne bottle and fill it about HALF FULL with TWO CUPS of clean tap water (See Figure 2). The LYE that you purchase at the supermarket will come in the form of crystals, flakes, or little beads. Measure out 1-1/2 tablespoons of LYE; use plastic measuring spoons NOT aluminum ones), and pour it through the neck of the bottle into the water via a plastic kitchen funnel (See Figure 3). Try to avoid letting any of the LYE stick to the inside of the bottle neck, and if it does, rinse it on down with a little extra water. Reach into the bottle with a stick (See Figure 4) and stir the solution until the lye is thoroughly dissolved. Tear about one and one half square feet of aluminum foil into two pieces and rumple each one with your hands into a rough pellet shape (See Figure 5) small enough to fit through the bottle neck, open your package of balloons, and get ready for action. Drop both aluminum pellets into the bottle (See Figure 6), and stretch a balloon over the bottle neck (See Figure 7). Chemical reactions proceed more rapidly at higher temperatures, and since the solution is cold, the reaction will begin slowly. The aluminum pellets will fizz ,just like Alka-Seltzer tablets, and the hydrogen gas generated will buoy them up in the water. They will float on the surface, and since heat rises also, the heat generated by the reaction will also remain on the surface, rapidly increasing the temperature in the immediate area where the reaction is occurring. As the temperature rises, so will the reaction rate, and in a matter of one minute or so things should be cooking right along (See Figure 8). Be careful about touching the bottle while the reaction is taking place. The glass in the area of the reaction will be quite hot to the touch, and as we stated before, the heat COULD be enough to cause a thin glass bottle to crack. It is best to simply stand back and watch what's going on from a safe distance. In a matter of five minutes or so, your balloon will be full (See Figure g), and you can reach over and pinch its neck between the thumb and forefinger of one hand. With the other, carefully release the rolled edge of the balloon nipple from the bottle neck, and tie it as you would any normal balloon. It's lighter than air now, and if you release it into the atmosphere, it will continue to rise until the hydrogen in the balloon expands enough to cause the balloon to burst. Once the aluminum pellets are consumed you can add more. Since the solution is already hot, the new reaction will begin immediately. If the reaction seems too slow to suit your tastes, add either more aluminum or more lye. If the reaction proceeds too fast, cut back on each of the two reaction components. As the lye in the solution gets used up, the sodium aluminate combines with the lye remaining in the solution and any soap created by the reaction of the lye with any grease or organic matter on the dirty aluminum foil and forms a slimy, slippery "GOO". This "GOO" can form HOT, slimy bubbles that may fill the top half of the bottle and work their way up into the balloon itself. These bubbles contain any caustic components remaining in the lye solution and can cause chemical burns to the skin and eyes. When your hydrogen generator begins to behave in this way, it is best to empty out the contents and start over with clean water and fresh ingredients. A nine inch diameter balloon can be filled in about five minutes using this apparatus. Enough aluminum can be placed in the solution to generate the required amount of gas at an acceptable reaction rate without having to remove the balloon to add more aluminum. A sixteen inch balloon can be filled in about 20 minutes, but you'll have to add fresh aluminum three or four times during the process, and removing and replacing the balloon without losing the gas can get a little tricky. To conveniently fill larger balloons you should make yourself a larger generating container, and in the next few pages we'll show you how to make one from an empty paint thinner can and some common items you'll find at your local hardware store. SOME SIMPLE BALLOON MATH One ounce of scrap aluminum dropped into a lye solution will generate about one cubic foot of hydrogen gas. One cubic foot of hydrogen gas has a buoyancy in air of approximately one ounce, and in larger balloons buoyancy of the gas volume is roughly equated with lifting capacity. If one ounce of aluminum generates enough gas to provide one ounce of lift, one pound of aluminum will produce enough gas to provide one pound of lift. Balloon volume goes up with the cube of the diameter as balloon surface area goes up with the square. For this reason larger balloons have a larger buoyancy to weight ratio than smaller ones. As we said before, bigger balloons are better balloons, and one with a full pound of lift is capable of lifting a camera or even a radio controlled glider. The table below will provide you with some statistics on balloon volume and lifting capacity as related to balloon diameter. DIAMETER VOLUME LIFT --------------------------------------- 9" 0.22 CU FT. 5 GMS. 11" 0.40 CU FT. 1/3 OZ. 16" 1 1/4 CU. FT. 11/4 OZ. 36" 14 CU. FT. 14 OZ. 60" 65 CU. FT. 4 LBS. X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm) & the Temple of the Screaming Electron Jeff Hunter 510-935-5845 The Salted Slug Strange 408-454-9368 Burn This Flag Zardoz 408-363-9766 realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510-527-1662 Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 415-583-4102 Tomorrow's 0rder of Magnitude Finger_Man 415-961-9315 My Dog Bit Jesus Suzanne D'Fault 510-658-8078 New Dork Sublime Demented Pimiento 415-566-0126 Specializing in conversations, obscure information, high explosives, arcane knowledge, political extremism, diverse sexuality, insane speculation, and wild rumours. ALL-TEXT BBS SYSTEMS. Full access for first-time callers. We don't want to know who you are, where you live, or what your phone number is. We are not Big Brother. "Raw Data for Raw Nerves" X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X