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Re: copper oxide



Original poster: "Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <acmq-at-compuland-dot-com.br>

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<RQBauzon-at-aol-dot-com>
> 
> For my sci. project, I hooked a copper anode to a TIC and made a grounded
brass
> anode.  They were dipped in a saltwater solution.  The anode bubbled
furiously
> as a result of electrolysis and the cathode developed a pink growth
instead of
> the desired green copper oxide.  What could the pink stuff be?

While the topic is here, some comments:
Copper or brass electrodes in a salt water solution. This was probably
the very first scientific experiment that I made. What happenned was not
very interesting. The bubbling is hydrogen, good for some explosive 
experiments. 
The other side (the anode, positive, not the cathode), is corroded by
the chlorine. The pink color is just corroded copper, not a deposit, 
maybe with some compound added. 
For something much more interesting, that I soon discovered, use
graphite
rods as electrodes (from a hard pencil). Connect them to insulated wires
an seal the junctions completely with something as paraffin (maybe hot 
glue?). The anode will now produce chlorine gas, that you can collect in
a
tube. Not dangerous in -small- amounts, but you will not like to breath
it.
Removes the colors from printed material, kills insects immediately, and 
should explode when mixed with hydrogen and exposed to light (although I 
never could make this work).

Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz