<azonenberg>
and i have colloidal silica slurry for the final polish
<azonenberg>
I can't machine <111> with KOH but i wanted to use it for testing as its mechanical properties are pretty similar
<azonenberg>
polishing the whole wafer is gonna be tricky buy small pieces should be feasible
<B0101>
azonenberg: kind of both
<B0101>
polishing and growing of the wafer
<B0101>
i mean crystal
<azonenberg>
Growing i'd say is unlikely to be feasible, polishing probably is
<azonenberg>
growing may be doable in an inert atmosphere
<azonenberg>
induction furnace in an argon-purged glove box perhaps
<B0101>
oh my god, what do i do with spilled mercury?
<azonenberg>
B0101: um, that doesnt sound good lol
<azonenberg>
On what?
<B0101>
on the floor...
<berndj>
sweep it up
<berndj>
seriously, i've had this scenario, called the poison info center
<berndj>
how much?
<berndj>
whatever you do, do NOT use a vacuum cleaner (gets heated and volatilized)
<berndj>
soft broom and a pice of paper should do the trick if it isn't too badly dispersed
<berndj>
metallic mercury: not the end of the world.  mercury compounds: run for cover
<azonenberg>
Yeah
<azonenberg>
The metal isnt so bad as long as its not vaporized
<azonenberg>
add a methyl group and boom
<berndj>
i've heard of people chucking a raw egg on it, but the poison info lady poo-pooed that suggestion
<berndj>
but i'd do it anyway just in case after sweeping up all the visible droplets :)
<berndj>
theory is to chelate the metal atoms with an easily-denatured protein
<berndj>
yeah, dimethyl mercury vs chlorine trifluoride - which one do you pick?
<azonenberg>
Depends on how close i am
<B0101>
is away: "mercury spill cleanup"
<azonenberg>
dmm is more likely to be persistent
<azonenberg>
ClF3 as long as you are out of the immediate area isnt so bad
<azonenberg>
it'll react with everything in the area and disintegrate it, release lots of HF and heat in the process
<azonenberg>
but it'll all dissipate pretty quickly
<berndj>
also, even if you DO volatilize some mercury, at normal temperatures the saturation pressure is so low that you'd have trouble getting poisoned
<azonenberg>
Best to not ask for it
<berndj>
you'd have to basically seal the whole house airtight in order to get the whole house saturated with mercury vapour, and then you'd ALSO have to stay there for an insanely long time
<azonenberg>
what you really want to avoid is flying metallic droplets getting inhaled
<azonenberg>
in which case they'd stay in your respiratory tract and gradually get absorbed over time
<berndj>
no, but as it's already happened, it's too late for that :)
<berndj>
yeah
<azonenberg>
i was talkign about vacuum cleaner exhaust
<azonenberg>
emulsified and suspended in the air
<berndj>
hmm, i didn't think of it in terms of emulsified
<berndj>
rather heated from passage over windings and evaporated
<azonenberg>
i was figuring it more as just broken up into droplets
<azonenberg>
like water from a sprayer
<B0101>
is back (gone 00:06:20)
<berndj>
droplets in your lungs would for sure give you a higher dose
<berndj>
but still, it'd help to know how much of a spill
<berndj>
just a thermometer?  pfft, you'll incur greater mortality freaking out and slipping on something as you rush around
<azonenberg>
yeah
<azonenberg>
But if its a 5-pound bottle?
<azonenberg>
Best to be a bit more cautious :p
<berndj>
but you probably do want to open a window or two
<berndj>
lol, 5 pound bottle hey?  yes, emulsifying that could be a problem
<berndj>
but evaporating?  no, not with even a little window open.  (equilibrium contentration vs air change rate calc.)
<B0101>
berndj: I spilled a little bit of mercury
<B0101>
ah but well...
<B0101>
most people (including myself), are afraid of it
<berndj>
i don't mean to be gung ho, but sometimes with these things you can do more damage freaking out and trying to recover than just letting it sit
<berndj>
like many poisons that say "do not induce vomiting" - trying to get it out ends up doing more damage
<berndj>
B0101, my policy re mercury since our own thermometer breakage is: respect mercury, but don't freak out about it
<berndj>
has mercury-based tooth fillings
<B0101>
now just got to wait for the poison control team to arrive...
<B0101>
cannot just dispose it in the thrash...
<berndj>
dispose!  sacrilege!
<berndj>
i'd put it in a jar :)
<berndj>
i'm half expecting your poison control guys to arrive in hazmat suits...
<B0101>
dang, i now need to sleep in the living room
<B0101>
they tell me that i should not enter the room until after 24-48 hours
<berndj>
lol. i wonder if there are laws against displaying warning labels like those when there is NO danger
<berndj>
B0101, i hope i don't sound like i'm mocking your concern (i don't intend to!) but please don't lose too much sleep over it.  they're inculcating a bit of paranoia in you partly to cover their ass
<berndj>
sure, don't lock yourself up in the room, but if you need something?  meh, just get it
<berndj>
for comparison my mom's spill was in the kitchen (food! people! pets!)
<B0101>
berndj: well ok
<B0101>
now i just have to wait... for the bill to come
<berndj>
azonenberg, have you heard of opensourceecology?
<azonenberg>
nope
<berndj>
among 50 other things, they want to build an induction furnace
<berndj>
their ambition is far grander than just building any one device though
<berndj>
actually this is why i was asking you the other day about diy power devices :)
<berndj>
because without the sort of backyard tech capacity you're building, they're still a bit dependent on a very deep stack of industry
<azonenberg>
Yeah
<azonenberg>
interesting
<B0101>
ooooh... man gets arrested for possessing radioactive materials...
<azonenberg>
high activity without a license?
<azonenberg>
or just because the neighbors were paranoid
<B0101>
well, he was trying to split atoms in his kitchen
<azonenberg>
Yeah, but what i mean is
<azonenberg>
are we talking uranium ore?
<azonenberg>
high grade u235?
<azonenberg>
there's a bit of a difference
<azonenberg>
volume as well
<B0101>
the article does not mention of the type of uranium
<azonenberg>
does it even say uranium?
<azonenberg>
thorium and radium arent that hard to get hold of in small amounts
<azonenberg>
americium too
<B0101>
the article says that the man had Americium, radium and uranium
<B0101>
his blog states that he uses natural uranium
<B0101>
sorry, i mean U-238
<azonenberg>
americium = smoke detectors, generally relatively low activity but can be problematic if you have a lot
<azonenberg>
radium = probably old luminous paint
<azonenberg>
definitely dangerous if you have enough\
<B0101>
the question is: where did he get that stuff?
<azonenberg>
americium can be found in smoke detectior ionization sensors
<azonenberg>
radium, find antiques with luminous dials
<B0101>
what about U-238???
<azonenberg>
i've heard of people finding vials of unused radium paint