Occasional Happiness

[Mumbles]

http://www.apcforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=625&st=0

 

As far as the irridienden (I know the spelling is terrible), I have no idea about that one. I know how some of them work, but that is not one of them.

[Apollofrost]

Yes! I got to keep him! Though I have a sneaking suspicion that he's really a she but it'll be a while before I know for sure. Basically the landlord said that as long as it doesn't try and eat her dog it's fine to have.

 

The conversation with the other house mate was a little different,

 

Me: Say... you wouldn't happen to have a fear of snakes would you?

S: Yeah actually... wait... you have a snake, don't you?

Me: Yeah.

S: well as long as it doesn't go slithering around the house I'm fine.

Me: You're worried about Mr. Mittens?

S: Yeah i'm worried about Mr. Mittens.

[oskarchem]

I posted my thing in the wrong thread... Anyway, I know I have to make my own decisions and I do make them...You guys are probably right, if she can't love me for the fact that I do pyro, well then, skrew her...Pyro will never get out of me, well maybe it will have to, when I'm going to be doing my commercial airline pilot license, because I wonder what people would think if they got on board a plane knowing that their capitan dose pyrotechnics.

[Mumbles]

I think you're over exagerating. Just don't let the passengers know that you make pyrotechnics, and even if they somehow found out, why would they care? It in no way affects them as long as you're not pasting shells from the cockpit. I'd be more worried about the pilot with the drinking problem.

 

I must agree with the girl though. It is obviously a large part of my life. I've dated some crazy girls, and if they think they have any chance at getting me to drop it for them, they belong in a padded room. If someone wants to try to change to that much, they're obviously not happy with the way you are. Now, I'm not saying that you need to be complely stone about this one, and not even consider compromise. Plus you're young. If she's trying this shit now, just think about what's next. She wont want you riding a motor bike, flying airplanes, or other dangerous things. You'll end up with a desk job, and driving a minivan.

[oskarchem]

Yeah, I'm not so concerned about the passengers that would know, but more about the company that would hire me. I could probably change a lot of things in my life, it would be very very hard to stop pyro, but if anyone would want me to stop flying, well...Let them go to hell...ANy way thanks for clearing up my mind of this, because today, on my flying lesson I practically fainted because I was pulling a couple of negative G's..

[OneEyeCharlie]

You'll end up with a desk job, and driving a minivan. biggrin2.gif

 

Oooooooooooooff! Man, I think Mumbles just hit me below the belt. Thanks a lot Sparky. BTW, has anyone seen my red stapler? I need to collate some TPS reports.

[hst45]

today, on my flying lesson I practically fainted because I was pulling a couple of negative G's..

On purpose? I don't have my licence, but back in the day I logged a few hours in the left-hand seat of a Cessna 150-T, (a high-wing, really slow, really easy trainer). A buddy of mine was taking his lessons in a "traumahawn" (Piper Tomahawk) and took too sharp a turn while climbing and stalled one wing. He flipped it, and went inverted and lived to tell about it. Thank Christ that his instructor was on the ball, or else he they would have both been sharing the same grease spot.

 

So oskar, give with the details of the "Immelman manuver." Inquiring minds want to know....

 

Fast-forward 10 years into the future.........

 

(Pilot keys microphone) "Hi, My name is Oscar and I'll be your pilot today. I want to thank you for flying "Dead-Duck" airways. We're settling in at our cruising altitude of 31,000 feet. I'm taking off the "fasten seat belts" sign and you may move about the cabin. I've been with "Dead-Duck" nine years, I've logged 127,000 accident free miles, I have over 3100 hours in flight time as a senior Captain, and my life's passion is making homemade fireworks........"

 

There are some things that go best left unsaid.

[Mumbles]

I apologise to anyone who may indeed have a desk job and cruise about town in a minivan. I realise it may have struck a bit too close to home.

 

*prays I don't get hit by a cannonball*

[justanotherpyro]

Yes! I got to keep him! Though I have a sneaking suspicion that he's really a she but it'll be a while before I know for sure. Basically the landlord said that as long as it doesn't try and eat her dog it's fine to have.

 

The conversation with the other house mate was a little different,

 

Me: Say... you wouldn't happen to have a fear of snakes would you?

S: Yeah actually... wait... you have a snake, don't you?

Me: Yeah.

S: well as long as it doesn't go slithering around the house I'm fine.

Me: You're worried about Mr. Mittens?

S: Yeah i'm worried about Mr. Mittens.

I think Mr. Mittens is quite possibly the best name for a snake I have ever heard. As far as happiness goes. I was approached by a Prof a month or so ago and he asked if I wanted to get on board for a two year research project if he got the $50,000 in grant money which he did. I assumed I was going to assist him or something or other, but then he kinda filled me in casually that " Oh no, its YOUR project." Don't get me wrong its really cool and I'm psyched that I got a 50,000 grant to do chem research, but it sort of adds a lot more weight on the shoulders and definitely a lot more prayin that the chemistry works out in the end.

[oskarchem]

Well no the negative G's were not on purpose, anyway, to anyone that has taken flying lessons or knows some stuff about flying here are the details:

 

When you turn a plane, if you don't want to stall it you have to conserve a flying simetry, so you have to give it some rudder whilst turning, anyway, my instructor told me to make a 30° bank to the left until heading 180° (we were heading 360°) , and at 100kts, so I start the turn, give it rudder and all that, and than at 270° I feel light headed, my instructer tells me to level out, didn't hear the guy, so I continue banking, and then, I realised that I was a bout to black out so I got out of the turn..

 

BTW; just read that for my flight training, Oxford Aviation Training, send all of their students for 21 weeks to Pheonix, to fly at Goodyear airport ( so that they can fly with good weather since it is in the middle of the desert).

[hst45]

he kinda filled me in casually that " Oh no, its YOUR project." Don't get me wrong its really cool and I'm psyched that I got a 50,000 grant to do chem research, but it sort of adds a lot more weight on the shoulders and definitely a lot more prayin that the chemistry works out in the end.

Congrats! It's always kind of scary to have the whole weight of something like this on your shoulders, but that's when your best work comes out. When there is no safety net you simply don't have the luxury of failure. It's like working 220V live; funny how the screwdriver NEVER slips! You simple HAVE to bring your "A" game, so you do. You'll do fine.

 

 

Oskar, what are you flying for a trainer? I wish that I had the cash to get my private ticket, and by the way to buy a V-tail Bonanza. (old guy likes old aircraft, what a surprise) And by the way, if you were banking into the turn, weren't you pulling positive G's? Negative G's would be dumping the yoke over the top, n'est pas? I'm not picking, just trying to think this through.

[flying fish]

Neat stuff with the grant money and all. Is the research of a somewhat open-ended nature, or some specific problem that has to be solved to specifications?

 

I've worked in both situations (the former with a Prof for a University and the Latter for a small start up company that has government grant money). I don't know how much money was in the University project (I doubt it was as high as 50K, but I have no idea honestly), but it was very interesting, and I became quite proficient with an electron microscope!

 

The company project is equally interesting, but there's a lot more pressure - since ultimately the survival of the company is resting on my shoulders. "But no pressure!" they say...

[justanotherpyro]

Is the research of a somewhat open-ended nature, or some specific problem that has to be solved to specifications?

Yes it is somewhat open ended. Here is a super simplification of what I'm after. Two commonly produced compounds acrolein and acrylitrile are made from propylene. The catalyst is a bismuth-molybdenum oxide system, but they are unsure how this exactly works. The goal is to make a compound similar enough in chemistry to work as the catalyst, but different enough so that we can figure out the mechanism. Basically there are Bi-O -Bi bonds and Bi-O-Bi bonds which can do two things: act as the catalyst and secondly these systems can bond with several organic ligands and then the respective properties and potential reactions can be investigated. It is specific in its goal, but it also opens the door for a ton more reactions with the Bi/Mo/ligand reactions with other things, particularly olefins is what I'll look into.

 

Yeah I'm not worried about it. I'm more honored that he holds me in such high regard. Today he told me that I can get going without his help much earlier than the other 2 research students he has because he is confident in my abilities.

 

Good times

[flying fish]

Nice! I won't pretend to completely understand all that, but I imagine some more in depth chemistry theory would be helpful even in what I'm doing. We're working on using various methods, including Hydroxide Catalysis (which according to the theory produces short siloxane chains) to bond some unusual glass materials. We've had problems with bonds failing on the finished devices when stressed from internal pressure, even when they looked very well sealed from an optical standpoint.

 

My boss, being a physicist, just doesn't believe in Chemistry theory! But when it comes to optics, he's talking about how 7 different types of scattering come into play and such...

[justanotherpyro]

I'm a physics minor and I hate every class I have to take for it so I can understand on the opposite side of the spectrum. What I'm hoping is that the chemistry works out so that I can get published in a journal or two which is almost guaranteed IF I'm successful.

 

As far as what you're doing flying fish, is it similar to using the siloxane as a polymer stabilizer to form longer more stabilized chains of the glass material?

[flying fish]

Well...my chemistry vocabulary is not so good, so I don't really understand what you mean by that.

 

From my limited understanding...What the hydroxide catalysis does is cause "short" (whatever that means) siloxane chains to protrude from the surface of the glass /glass-ceramic/ or ceramic material. As the water evaporates from the interface, the siloxane chains begin to polymerize with the closest substrate (if there is one close enough) that is "chemically compatible" with the process. Ideally that is the other substrate that you are trying to bond. The trouble is that the short chains require very stringent surface conditions in order to actually reach across to the other substrate which we were not able to meet. So we "improved" the process by adding a filler colloid to fill in the imperfections. With recent mechanical failures of bonded pieces, I'm thinking maybe all we were doing is hiding the problem...or maybe the PH level is to low to allow sufficient polymerization. Of course, when there is no interference pattern we just assume it is well bonded, but perhaps we were mistaken. Then again, in theory the colloid particles should help the chains REACH the other substrate which was supposedly the main issue in the first place. Ugh....I don't know!

 

Of course, while I'm trying to think of a semi-intelligent explaination for what is happening, my boss is looking at the vials of bonding mixture and saying... "so THAT's what we are putting between the substrates?" "I really don't know about this!"

 

Anyway, at the same time as I'm trying to improve the Hydroxide catalysis process, I'm also looking into thermal techniques like frit bonding. Playing with ovens is fun.

[oskarchem]

hst45> I'm flying a Robin DR400/120. You could probably be right, I allways get mixed up with the -/+ G's.

 

This is a photo of the plane I'm flying: http://www.orix.ch/aviation/a_img_ann/f-gdkj.jpg

[justanotherpyro]

Well...my chemistry vocabulary is not so good, so I don't really understand what you mean by that.

 

From my limited understanding...What the hydroxide catalysis does is cause "short" (whatever that means) siloxane chains to protrude from the surface of the glass /glass-ceramic/ or ceramic material.  As the water evaporates from the interface, the siloxane chains begin to polymerize with the closest substrate (if there is one close enough) that is "chemically compatible" with the process.  Ideally that is the other substrate that you are trying to bond.  The trouble is that the short chains require very stringent surface conditions in order to actually reach across to the other substrate which we were not able to meet.  So we "improved" the process by adding a filler colloid to fill in the imperfections.  With recent mechanical failures of bonded pieces, I'm thinking maybe all we were doing is hiding the problem...or maybe the PH level is to low to allow sufficient polymerization.  Of course, when there is no interference pattern we just assume it is well bonded, but perhaps we were mistaken.  Then again, in theory the colloid particles should help the chains REACH the other substrate which was supposedly the main issue in the first place.  Ugh....I don't know!

 

Of course, while I'm trying to think of a semi-intelligent explaination for what is happening, my boss is looking at the vials of bonding mixture and saying... "so THAT's what we are putting between the substrates?"  "I really don't know about this!"

 

Anyway, at the same time as I'm trying to improve the Hydroxide catalysis process, I'm also looking into thermal techniques like frit bonding.  Playing with ovens is fun.

The question I was asking was if the reactions you were carrying out were similar to step growth polymers basically if in your case you were forming bonds like so: Si-glass-Si-glass-Si-glass etc....which it sounds like you are basically doing except that its more like

 

Si-Si-Si-Si

Si glass Si

Si-Si-Si-Si

 

if that makes sense. At any rate, sounds like some interesting chemistry.

[flying fish]

Something like that. I think they call them siloxane chains because the go like this: Si-O-Si-O-Si, right? But I'm not 100% sure that is correct (I'm a physics major ).

[justanotherpyro]

You're right in that siloxane chains are Si-O-Si bonds. I believe that they would be bonded to the glass material and have an extra bond available to bond to another glass molecule(G) so something like

 

Si-O-Si-O-Si

G----G----G

Si-O-Si-O-Si

 

but I'm not sure.

[tentacles]

One spot of happy here tonight, I just bought 20-25lbs of steel ball bearings for $10. Brand new in boxes, these guys had ordered them (for whatever) and they were sent the wrong size. So they got a new box and were told to keep these, brought em in as scrap.

 

EDIT: I got home and weighed the bearings, looks like I was WAY off, it's only 43 pounds They're .712" so a bit big, but not so bad with 8" jars.

[FrankRizzo]

You lucky SOB.

[asilentbob]

Lucky! I keep watching eBay for steel balls for milling metals and such.

[Mumbles]

I'm just thinking out loud here. Flying fish, we talked about something like that in one of my classes. A similar process is used to make special silica packings. Silica beads are made from silica gel (hydrated silica), so it may not be completely compatable with what you're doing.

 

What they did was react chlorosilanes with the glass surface. This formed siloxane chains.

 

Si-OH + SiCl®3 ---> Si-O-Si-®3

 

In the specifica instance I'm talking about, the R groups were long chain alkyl groups. It is used to make reverse phase packing. IE Non-polar stationary phases. Because the alkyl groups are so bulky, Chlorotrimethylsilane was used to sort of fill in the gaps. What I was thinking is that a more managable group, say a propyl or butyl or something could replace the long chain alkane group, and a second chlorosilane be place on the other end. I'd imagine 1 long chain, and the rest filled by methyl groups would be the most stearicly adventageous. The second end could then perhaps be bonded to the second piece of glass that you were trying to seal. Additional chlorotrimethylsilane could also be used to fill up any gaps.

 

It is probably not of any use, but I had been pondering this for a few days, and thought I'd throw it out there.

[flying fish]

Neat! Thanks. Another reason why I love wikipedia (cause otherwise that would be way over my head). I was going to take organic Chem as an elective next term, but of course it interfered with one of the classes that I needed...

 

That being said, organics are usually a problem for us, because they tend to have high autofluorescence....And the microfluidic chips we are manufacturing are used to make fluorescence-based sensors (like flow cytometers, which are used to automatically count and analyze cells/ microbes/ etc). If autofluorescence wasn't a problem, we would have probably just used standard optical UV cure epoxy.

 

I was going through the list of potential bonding methods I found from an internet search with my boss, and we came across one that was "HF Steam method." That one we really cracked up at and quickly crossed off. Then again, it must be pretty good if it warrants working with steaming HF...