months have passed

and this is the first update (since June, actually).

I have been busy, with some days like today, where Logan is underfoot and he distracts me from major projects. But there are three weekdays he’s at daycare, and the many projects I have on my plate are keeping me hopping.

The Aerogel Project,  Ansible Industries, is becoming a business. I lack Ethyl in sufficient quantities, but that shall pass soon.

and a half hour break later (blackberries, and looking at (and poking with long sticks) a Humongous Wolf Spider living under the “step” into the greenhouse.

This is the third time I’ve gotten to this post, and it’s 5:40PM.  I started before noon, and am now closing it prior to 6PM.

121 words in 6 hours… yeah, Logan is my major distraction, but everything is still new to him, and thus the world is a wondrous, magical place, where spiders and worms and sprites may be found in every bush or under every rock.

so, thanks for the patience.

 

updates are hard

when you are looking after a 3-year old. old enough to cause major problems, too little to know not to.

I have news. another batch on the way, etc., but i don’t have time to write it all up like i wannna, so this is yer update.

Ethyl spells death for some plastics

So, Mix B for Batch 10 suffered some difficulties.

This past weekend,  I was helped in creating the second, superior mold type, with a Lexan plate bottom, 3″x3″ Square, 7/16″ Thick. Seattle Engraving inscribed a perfect circular groove into a Dozen Plates for me. I had purchased a 2′ length of 2.5″ Plexiglas (Extruded) Tube I had cut into 11 Sections. These they ground true and fitted to the Plates.

I made another batch and a half, and I took half the Molds to work with. One pair I dipped in Paraffin Wax, a second pair was coated in Petroleum Jelly, and the third pair remained clean. As soon as the Mix was completed in the “Faster” Mixer, I poured it into the molds.

The Plates were fine, as they were Lexan. The Tubes, however, had an interesting reaction to the Ethyl portion of my Alcogel. The Tubes for the Clean pair shattered after 10-15 seconds. Petroleum Jelly coated ones lasted another 20 seconds or so. The Paraffin Wax protected the Tubes for a few minutes, which was more than enough time for the Gels to Set, but they eventually succumbed to the Solvent. Happily enough, the Wax coating was thick enough to actually contain the Gel by keeping the Plexiglas Tube together.

So, all in all, I have 9 Gels, and a paper-towel filled with scrap (capped at both ends with a coffee filter) sitting in the second of 5 Ethyl Baths. Unfortunately, I am out of High-Proof Ethyl at this time, and I must re-dehydrate the ethyl I have on hand now, or purchase more.

Fortunately, I may be able to get the licensing I need soon enough to purchase Scientific Ethyl (200 Proof) from Washington State, as opposed to purchasing Drinking Ethyl (Vodka) and using 3Å Molecular sieve to extract the H2O.  Not just faster, but cheaper too.

Anyhoo, that’s the situation currently. I’ll let you know more as things develop.

Leveraging Technology to Improve the Human Condition.

I am currently posting the beginning of batch #10.

To begin, I have two form designs. The superior method requires waiting until Sunday to create the forms, as I require tools and skills I do not currently have. So, tonight, I used the other method, which requires a sealant. I have multiple options for sealants, so to keep track, I’ll call them Z, Y, X, and so forth as necessary.

The forms are constructed using 2 PVC Rings, a Test cap, and as stated above, some sealant.  The 3″ test cap is PVC. The 1″ tall 3″ diameter Ring fits it snugly, hopefully preventing leakage. The actual monolith form is a section of Outdoor Conduit SCH40 2.5″ diameter PVC Pipe, cut to 2″ lengths.  It has an interior diameter of 2-7/16″ (just under 2.5″). The ‘Clave has a 2.75″ I.D.

I mixed 1.5 batches (320ml, approx). I have four monoliths Poured The above mentioned forms, sealed at the end with material Z, to approx 1″ height. Tomorrow (After I wake up is tomorrow. Ignore the timestamps; no, really. I ain’t sleepin’ yet, so it’s still today!) I will pour four more Monoliths into the same doohickeys (but using material Y as a sealant), after decanting the current batch.

Anyhoo. Take care y’all.

Success needs duplication.

I am currently reworking the process so that I may be able to produce Monolithic Aerogels (as opposed to the fractured pieces created last time).

I have the plans for the new Autoclave, and now I am in the process of finding the cheapest source for 6″ Schedule 80 Stainless Steel Pipe and 3/4″-1″ thick Steel Plate, as either two 12X12 or one 12X24 piece.

Additionally, I need to create the “Cert’ o’ Authentic-ness”. I will be using the Card Printer to produce these, and I want to add holographic images on the card, even if it’s only a single word repeated.  Additionally, I’d like to finish the Logo to grace the Samples “CoA” cards.

Every step I take seems to be bringing more of my plans into reality. Unfortunately, I can only work on the “Pipe Dream” for an hour or so at a time, and none of this crap is Fast. I didn’t need more practice with patience. I am a “Mad” Engineer, not a Doctor.

Thanks for the memories

There is a better alternative than importing Everclear; Buy it from the State Liquor Stores.  I’ll need to get a specific permit, but as a manufacturer of Areogels, this should not be an issue.

Self distillation will need to wait till we need to produce in a shop, as opposed to backyarding it.

Also, there are three promised samples, and they have been delivered. Current plans are to utilize half of the remaining Gels in Testing, which will be posted when we can figure out how to do that, what we want to test, etc.

Again, comments, Idears, and suggestions are welcome, but I gotta unnerstand the message.

KTHXBYE

– Rey

damnit

i gotta find an easier way to get Ethyl, and I thought of it today on my way to work, but I haven’t talked to anyone involved & i hesitate to begin Running & Operating Carriage House NanoTech as a Business prior to completing Planning the Damnable thing.

I have waste Ethyl, but due to the chemistries involved, the Waste Ethyl of Mine should Never, I repeat, Never, contaminate Drinkable Ethyl.  It would render one of the Universe’s Best Gifts useless, and anything less than 199 Proof is too waterlogged for my patience.

Suppose I knew someone who was licensed as a Petite Distillery.   I would not want them to contaminate any of their apparatus or components, but they have the Legal Requirements fixed for operating a Still, which I lack due to local ordinances (I mean, Just because My Lab backs a Public Park where Children Gather… G.D. Ordinances. Ordinance I like, Ordinances I do not.). Anyhoo, I have a Distillation Apparatus, and clean Glass containers, and glass containers full of “Waste Ethyl” (5%~15% H2O,  Alcogel Particulates, Trace Ammonia and Ammonium Fluoride, ~1% Rust, etc.). But I cannot use this apparatus, and thus am screwed out of reusing this ethyl without violating Federal Law. Not A good Idea.

Anyhoo, someone with a Petite Distillery License would be able to run my Waste Ethyl through My Distillation apparatus, as well as any future Failed Brewing Experiments, and with Molecular Sieve(retained by Brass/Copper Wool), the resulting product will be 200 Proof.  The normal properties of Ethyl Distillation allow one to strip all but 4% of the H2O from the Ethyl. Scientists call this 96%Ethyl/4%H2O ratio an Azeotrope, as you cannot get anything better than this with Simple Distillation.  3 Ångström (or, very, very, very small) Molecular Sieve will fix that. It comes appearing as small 4mm-8mm clay Balls or Cylinders, and it has, as best as I can describe it, Teeny,Tiny, itty-bitty li’l holes that are 3×10⁻¹⁰ m across. These Holes are large enough for H2O to enter, and since there is a silica Desiccant inside, it wants to. Of course,  anything H2O likes, Ethyl, like a bigger kid, Likes better. Unfortunately for Ethyl, and good for our purposes, the Desiccant is hidden behind the 3Å  holes like it’s hiding in the ball-pit maze the larger kids can’t get into. Ethyl is significantly larger than the holes, so it the Molecular Sieve Destroys the Azeotrope Ethyl and H20 Share.  Since a Column Still uses Rashing rings, or Copper Mesh, or ceramic disks, or etc, with a Copper-Wool wad stuffed into each end, the column could be filled with these 3Å-Mol. Sieve beads. Since it’ll Adsorb up to 20% of it’s weight in H2O, several liters will be distilled to 200 Proof prior to the Mol. Sieve reaching it’s saturation point. After that, exchange the Mol. Sieve in the column for Fresh or ReFreshed M.S. beads, or just distill to the typical 192 proof & have it soak M.S.Beads for a week prior to use (and filter the beads, and their dust, out, and wait for it to settle, & pour off the Clean,  & repeat, so you know where these thoughts come from.)

Anyhoo, If i knew anyone with a Distillery License, and they were willing for any combination of taking my waste Ethyl and renting or using my apparatus & selling C.H. NanoTech the resulting pure Ethyl, or renting/leasing space in the Distillery’s Floor for the Scientific Ethyl Production (dude, $60-$180/L) etc… I’d definitely need to have a business dinner with the owners to hash things out.  ;)

weird words

“Bumblebee” is the common name for the relatively harmless 250+ species of “Fuzzy” bees with a specific pollen collection mechanism on their back legs. They play an important part of North American Pollination, and many species are endangered or threatened.

But that name is a little ridiculous, don’tcha think? Bumble-Bee, a Bee that Bumbles. A name that invokes the words “Stumble Bum”, and other similar derogatory remarks. Bumble, the Snow Monster from Rudolph, who at first is to be feared, but then later becomes a pitiful laughingstock that has had his “Bite”, and the fear of it, removed.

Also, from http://www.thefreedictionary.com :
bum·ble ¹  (bmbl)

v. bum·bled, bum·bling, bum·bles

v.intr.

1. To speak in a faltering manner.

2. To move, act, or proceed clumsily. See Synonyms at blunder.

v.tr.

To bungle; botch.

[Perhaps blend of bungle and stumble.]

bumbler n

It’s bad enough that we continue to eradicate this much maligned insect (like the myth that Aerodynamics state they can’t fly. Obsolete math, yes, but not modern ideas on the viscosity of gases on an Insect’s scale, or the fluid dynamics their wings exhibit when “buzzing”).

Batch #9 Photos

Here are the Pix. They are most likely out of order. Oh, well.

Success!… Mostly.

I have created Aerogels. They are not the monoliths I poured into molds, but fractured bits & pieces that are mostly beautiful, but relatively useless.

I will be selling the Aerogels in sealed, airtight containers. I will also need to get a display so that I may mount the first Success (Batch #9) for display.

Now I just have to figure out how to make & move them without shattering them…