[Jaques]

Hi, I'm new in the forums. I accidently fell on the forums, found it really interesting and well here I am.

Introduction aside. I was wondering if it was possible to melt nickle at home and basically fool around with it making interesting shapes and such.

I tried this with a Penny, and well I did get it to melt, but little did I know that a penny consisted with two different metals, so that didn't turn out that well since it was the inner metal that was melt and not the outside.

Then I moved into Nickel, this I found out has a higher melting temprature. Is there a way to lower that? If not, is there a specific way that you would reccomend doing this?


Much thanks.

And I hope there is no legal implications if I were to do this.. if there is please let me know.  

[constant thinker]

Ni melts at around 2,647°F (1,453°C). That is a pretty high melting pointing. Cu melts 1,983°F (1,084°C). I don't know of a way to lower the melting point unless you can somehow lower the air pressure surounding your sample.

If you want to melt these 2 elements at home try...
A. a thermite reaction
B. really high voltage
C. a really, really hot fire

If you just want to mess around with molten metals try aluminum. It melts at a much lower temperature 1220°F (660°C). It's fairly common in the house also. I did this at my house with a large flower pot (without a hole at the bottom) and a cast iron pot. I drilled some small holes in the large pot for ventilation and added a blower (an electric fan with a sheet metal funnel) to increase the rate of combustion. This melted the aluminum inside the pot.

[billnotgatez]

I would not have suggested Thermit since it is very dangerous stuff.

By the way, I overheard some water cooler lawyer’s state that it was a crime to destroy currency unless you were authorized to do so.

[Jaques]

Ahh. Aluminium.

That's a good idea, I might try that.  And the thing about melting currency. Thanks for the heads up, heh. I Didn't know about that.

Well now that the weekend's over, can't really do much. I'm going to try doing the aluminium melt thing next weekend. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Pictures of couse .


Oh before I go, if I were to make a mold, that I can pour the Metal into (so that when it solidifies it would turn into a specific shape) . Do you think using a ceramic mold would do the job?

[billnotgatez]

This is a FAQ page from a site devoted to this topic

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/faq.html

[constant thinker]

billnotgatez, you're right. I should have put a warning. It's a legitimate way to do it albeit somewhat dangerous.

Here is the warning.

Thermite burns extremely hot. I've seen videos of it melting through car parts. Thermite will catch fire if heated or a spark hits it. Be very cautious if you try the thermite path. I personally have no experience with it, but it does burn really hot.

[mike]

Constant thinker: Do you mean thermite using the oxides of nickel or copper?

I did the thermite reaction a couple of times last week, albeit under very controled conditions and on relatively small scale < 5 grams (although this was still enough for the thermal shock to blow apart the flower pots the reaction was in).

Thermite is highly exothermic as you said, I think temperatures are recorded at about 2500 C.

[constant thinker]

That's insane. I'm just refering to putting the thermite on the metal lighting a fuse and seeking cover. I honestly have no expierence with thermite and a limited knowledge on it.

I would love to get my hands on it though and do some expirements with it.

[Jaques]

OH. wow, I'll stay away from thermite then. And Well come what may, It looks like I'll be unable to do this. Because supposedly there's a law or somthing going on in my area that doesn't allow fire. I was talking with my teacher, and he told me because the weather was to humid or somthing (did not pay full attention) because of that I shouldn't. *sigh*

that is a real dissapointment, I even got all the equipment ready. Well I did do another experiment to make up for this though!

I'll make another thread for it or somthing. It is still in the process though.

[billnotgatez]

What equipment did you get ready

[Jaques]

nothing much. I got a crucible from school, Two long aluminium bars, and coal and such. I was going to try making the flowerpot furnance thing, but I didn't buy the book, so I was just going to try making a "controlled fire" in  my backyard, using this metal thingamabob.

And well, I just did somthing I should've done before thinking up the idea. I asked my parents, and well haha.. You know what happened. Yep. Well at least I have another Experiment to fool around with.

[niertap]

you could zinc, it melted easily on my 5th burner. and a cool thing with pennies is, you can nick the edge and expose a little zinc, then toss it in some HCl and it will eat away the zinc and leave you with a penny shell.

[jdurg]

I would not have suggested Thermit since it is very dangerous stuff.

By the way, I overheard some water cooler lawyer’s state that it was a crime to destroy currency unless you were authorized to do so.

Well those lawyers don't know their laws very well then.  There is absolutely no law that says you can't destroy currency.  The only law out there states that you cannot alter currency and attempt to pass it on as something else.  (I.E. you can't take a coin, alter it to look like another coin, and try and pass it off as that coin).  If altering/destroying currency was against the law, then all those novelty coin engravers you see at fairs and rest stops on the highways would be highly illegal.  (You know, the things that put pipes in Lincoln's mouth on a penny?).

[billnotgatez]

I never trust those people hanging around the water cooler anyway.

I would like to point out that many laws are broken and no one enforces them unless they want to get you on a technicality.

In any case here is a web site that answers the question, but you are going to have to interpret it. My mental faculties are not up to it.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=77334

jdurg – if you are wrong I hear crow is tasty when you put salt and pepper on it. Maybe it tastes like chicken

[jdurg]

The basis of the law regarding altering U.S. currency, I believe, is based on an instance when the U.S. still made gold $5 coins and made the, now infamous, 'V' Nickels.  'Improper' people would gold or brass plate the V nickels and pass them off as $5 gold coins because the design was virtually the same.  That is a case of fraudulently altering a coin in order to pass it off as something else.