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To: amorphous

When I was at GE once upon a time, a team on another floor was working on sodium-sulfur batteries. These contained molten sulfur and molten sodium in a long steel pipe; the two reactants were kept separated by an alumina tube that was really a very deep cup. If the alumina cup cracked, it was a good idea to be elsewhere. I forgot to mention that the whole thing had to be at about 400 degrees C in order to work.

One day the cup cracked on a fully charged battery. The ensuing high-speed chemical reaction caused a blast of flame to shoot out of the end of the tube, whereupon it cut through the (steel) lab wall and flared out into the hallway.

Shortly after this, the battery group was moved to Malta, NY, where there were concrete bunkers left over from WWII.


12 posted on 10/02/2019 1:50:31 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrat's John Dean])
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To: Steely Tom
Shortly after this, the battery group was moved to Malta, NY, where there were concrete bunkers left over from WWII.

GE tested rockets in Malta, they built a housing community there. Good thin they don't have wells.

15 posted on 10/02/2019 1:54:12 PM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: Steely Tom
The ensuing high-speed chemical reaction caused a blast of flame to shoot out of the end of the tube, whereupon it cut through the (steel) lab wall and flared out into the hallway.

Whoa!

... the battery group was moved to Malta, NY, where there were concrete bunkers left over from WWII.

Good move! :-)

33 posted on 10/02/2019 2:23:56 PM PDT by amorphous
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