FrankRizzo Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Just thinkin' ... any reason that I couldn't use E85 as a cheap Solvent for red gum bound stars? Should be 85% Ethanol, 15% gas. Absolutely not; In fact, I do just that and have advocated it's use for some time.
flying fish Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 Sweet. I kinda figured someone else woulda tried it by now. As for the fireball thing...it was only an idea, as I have very little experience with them fireballs. I see the point though. I wasn't sure if the gasoline would brighten it up a little, or alot. I think one of the first things I'll try is dissolving some flame colorants (lithium/strontium chloride, boric acid...) and see how well the colors come through.
NightHawkInLight Posted September 2, 2009 Posted September 2, 2009 I've pulled a green out of gasoline using copper chloride dissolved into it. Granted, it was a rather unappetizing green/orange mix...
Mario1 Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 Quick question- Is it ok to ball mill kno3 and sugar together? Or do they need to be seperate?
Gunzway Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 Quick question- Is it ok to ball mill kno3 and sugar together? Or do they need to be seperate?Yep, you can ball mill them together.
WarezWally Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Anyone local want to buy my 1lb set of Greg Boyd core burner tooling? Looking for around $80
flying fish Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 I've decided to do a little experimenting with water-soluable polymers as binders. The two I have on hand are PEG-8000 and Polyvinyl Alcohol. I already made a small test batch using the PEG, now waiting for them to dry...
scarbelly Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 So I recently began applying to colleges, and I was thinking that for questions like "What is something you do for the fun of it?" I would put pyro. I don't know if this is a good idea though... Any advice? Thanks!
andyboy Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 So I recently began applying to colleges, and I was thinking that for questions like "What is something you do for the fun of it?" I would put pyro. I don't know if this is a good idea though... Any advice? Thanks! Well, if you put "pyro" it can and will be negatively read but amateur pyrotechnist will probably sound better.
scarbelly Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 (edited) well yeah of course. These are essay questions, so If i do include it, I will try hard to make it sound like I'm not just a kewl who likes bombs. I just wanted to know if colleges would like it included at all... Also, I'm in CA, so I'm applying to most of the UC's. I'm also applying to MIT, Rice, and Cornell. Anybody have any thoughts about other places to apply? Edited September 6, 2009 by scarbelly
mike_au Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 Anyone local want to buy my 1lb set of Greg Boyd core burner tooling? Looking for around $80 Quite possibly, I will have to check the size of the tubes I've got sitting around at home first. What does the tooling consist of? Spindle and a couple of rammers?
Mumbles Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 Well, what are you planning on going for? You probably mentioned it not too long ago, but I am drawing a blank. That has much more to do with good fit than the reputation of the school. I actually was interested and applied at several of the schools you mentioned. I looked into Colombia, University of Chicago, several Big 10 schools.
scarbelly Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 Well I'm planning on chemistry, but if I end up changing, it will probably be to engineering. I know that's hard at some places, but others don't make it too hard.
WarezWally Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 Quite possibly, I will have to check the size of the tubes I've got sitting around at home first. What does the tooling consist of? Spindle and a couple of rammers? Spindle and 3 rammers. I'll throw in a box of tubes I have for $10.
mike_au Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 Spindle and 3 rammers. I'll throw in a box of tubes I have for $10. Sold.
Swede Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 I've decided to do a little experimenting with water-soluable polymers as binders. The two I have on hand are PEG-8000 and Polyvinyl Alcohol. I already made a small test batch using the PEG, now waiting for them to dry... Very cool, I love stuff like this. How did they turn out? It's time to leave wheat paste, SGRS, dextrin, and other primitive glues and binders in the dust where they belong! People aren't rigging ships with hemp rope, it's nylon or polyester. Glues aren't animal hide and hoof, they're now polyurethane or epoxy. Pyrotechnology is rooted in the romance of tradition. Nothing wrong with that, but I think we can do better.
Mumbles Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 PVA generally means Polyvinyl alcohol, thought I've seen it abbreviate Polyvinyl acetate too. I've seen a few formulas using the alcohol as a binder. I'd like to see more. I believe the few I've seen were for rockets. I'd be interested in using it in comets and stars. From what I've read, it would be a good binder, yet retain some filming properties to make them slide easily from the pumps.
Mumbles Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 The list you have are all great for grad schools, which generally apply to undergrad universities as well. One other major selling point is the experience, over just the academics. All of those schools will give you a great education, but you will want to enjoy yourself in the process. Make a list of things that are important to you in a school, and it may help to break some ties, or weed out a few schools. Given your rather abitious list, you probably should have your choice as to which school to attend. Girl to guy ratio, sports teams, greek life, student organizations, recreational facilities, is it a college town, is it localized or spread out, living costs, etc. The real deciding factor for me was the on-campus visits. Some schools will just feel right, and some wont. I can't describe it.
flying fish Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 Very cool, I love stuff like this. How did they turn out? It's time to leave wheat paste, SGRS, dextrin, and other primitive glues and binders in the dust where they belong! People aren't rigging ships with hemp rope, it's nylon or polyester. Glues aren't animal hide and hoof, they're now polyurethane or epoxy. Pyrotechnology is rooted in the romance of tradition. Nothing wrong with that, but I think we can do better. The PEG-8000 didn't really work. The stars could be easily broken by hand. I gave the stars a few days of drying time in the sun, so I'm pretty sure they were dry. The amount added to the formula was about 5% by weight; it was dissolved in water and then mixed into the comp (which was something very similar to "reaper silver"). I'm not sure if it might have been more effective in higher quantities... I haven't had the chance to try the PVA yet, I'll get around to it eventually.
scarbelly Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 The list you have are all great for grad schools, which generally apply to undergrad universities as well. One other major selling point is the experience, over just the academics. All of those schools will give you a great education, but you will want to enjoy yourself in the process. Make a list of things that are important to you in a school, and it may help to break some ties, or weed out a few schools. Given your rather abitious list, you probably should have your choice as to which school to attend. Girl to guy ratio, sports teams, greek life, student organizations, recreational facilities, is it a college town, is it localized or spread out, living costs, etc. The real deciding factor for me was the on-campus visits. Some schools will just feel right, and some wont. I can't describe it. alright thank you. That's mostly what I had been thinking. when you applied to schools, did you talk about pyrotechnics?
Mumbles Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 I actually did a little bit in one of them. Nothing too exciting. Something along the lines of chemistry being a passion, not just an academic interest. I think I focused on creation of a cannon or something like that. University of Chicago has some weird essay questions. Mine was "write an essay inspired by super huge mustard". Guess what got shot out of said cannon.
TheEskimo Posted September 8, 2009 Posted September 8, 2009 Blegh...Why am I such an over-achiever? I decided to take trig, calc, chem, and physics this year, while having to take the SAT, PSSA's, do my graduation project, and start applying to schools. I think I hate myself.... But I just got back from my grandma's pool, so it doesn't seem so bad right now I dislike essay questions for like the PSSA, or schools, or for a class. They're so silly sometimes; or ask you to write about the most inane subjects.
Swede Posted September 8, 2009 Posted September 8, 2009 Scarbelly, it's not fair, but I'd be REALLY cautious talking about pyrotechnics. The chances of meeting a kindred spirit in an interview or similar, and having improve your chances... I'd say its like 5% But 95% are going to think and wonder in a negative way. If it was me, I'd stay very neutral. Be enthusiastic for chemistry, but couch in neutral terms. You'll know best, just watch out for the herd of idiot chemophobes that run most schools.
scarbelly Posted September 9, 2009 Posted September 9, 2009 Yeah that's probably a good idea. Thanks swede!My parents seem to think it's a good idea, but I don't think they understand the nature of the beast as much as most of you guys so I figured it was best to check. If I end up mentioning it at all, I think I'll probably just say rocketry or something like that, because it is true, I did get my start by learning about rockets, and that sounds much better to the masses.
flying fish Posted September 9, 2009 Posted September 9, 2009 (edited) Scarbelly, it's not fair, but I'd be REALLY cautious talking about pyrotechnics. The chances of meeting a kindred spirit in an interview or similar, and having improve your chances... I'd say its like 5% But 95% are going to think and wonder in a negative way. If it was me, I'd stay very neutral. Be enthusiastic for chemistry, but couch in neutral terms. You'll know best, just watch out for the herd of idiot chemophobes that run most schools. I agree that you have to be mighty careful, but some of the companies I've talked to found it as a HUGE positive. My current job I got due to an insider reccommendation, but my boss said that had I brought up pyro during the interview, he'd of hired me on the spot! GRANTED, that's because he identifies with me... As a kid him and his friends were constantly playing with KCLO3/Sugar, and other dangerous explosive cocktails, pyro gadgets, BP, firearms, etc. Not exactly responsible pyrotechnics, but in his day the government (and parents) apparently had no problem letting kids play with explosives. He says they were the most entertaining years of his life. That's where he lost all of his high frequency hearing! He tells me "If I could choose between being able to hear correctly, and playing with explosives, I'd prolly do it all over again!" This company is an integrated optics/ micromachining company, but they also do some bio/ chem related research/product development stuff, especially relating to optical bio sensor components. In another interview, the company (A Federal Mogul Research facility) counted it as a huge plus because of my pyro-related experience with mixing chems, performing basic research tasks, and handling dangerous materials. The hiring manager said that my mention of pyro was the primary reason why he picked me as the prime candidate. I ended up not getting the job, but I believe it was because they didn't have the funds... Edited September 9, 2009 by flying fish
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