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Path: utzoo!decvax!tektronix!orca!alanj
From: alanj@orca.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Dangerous Colors & Noise (was: Jacob's Ladders)
Message-ID: <2185@orca.TEK.COM>
Date: Wed, 15-Oct-86 12:48:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: orca.2185
Posted: Wed Oct 15 12:48:07 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Oct-86 08:53:04 EDT
References: <1188@ncr-sd.UUCP> <609@athena.UUCP> <2051@saber.UUCP> <16051@mordor.ARPA>
Reply-To: alanj@orca.UUCP (Alan Jeddeloh)
Distribution: na
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville, OR
Lines: 37

>Use about a tablespoon of alcohol, roll the bottle around to distribute it 
>and drop in a match.  With care and experience you can get a nice oscillating
>flame propagation front with neat sounds.  Get stoned first.
>
>Need I add a disclaimer that this may be dangerous?  Wear eye protection.
>Kaleidescopic scuba masks are trendy.

When I was considerably younger I had a chemistry set (didn't we all?) and
was always running out of alcohol for the alcohol lamp.  So my older brother
went out a bought a gallon of cheap anti-freeze.  This was in the days when
cheap anti-freeze consisted of plain methanol.  (There may have been some
rust inhibiters in it but that is not germane to my story.)  The stuff came
in a 1-gallon tin can with soldered seams.

I punched a couple holes in the lid using a bear can opener and decanted the
stuff into a gallon jug (so I could stopper it tightly and prevent evaporation).
At this point I remembered the neat "foop" noise an empty alcohol bottle
made when I lit the fumes inside.  Now, I was doing this out in the back yard
so any spillage won't do any harm other than killing some grass.  Big brother
was in the house --- what trouble can little brother get into in just five
minutes???

The explosion blew the gallon can across the back yard.  The lid of the can
was folded into a tent and blown off the can.  The lid _had_ been folded and
crimped the the can and soldered.  The blast tore the solder joint apart
and neatly unfolded and uncrimped the seam.  The bottom seam held but the
bottom of the can was bowed out.

I was lucky in that the lid bounced off my thumb knuckle instead of my
face.

	Y'all be careful out there!

	Alan Jeddeloh
	Tektronix 
	Wilsonville, OR
	tektronix!orca!alanj