----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 12:57
PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] AD:Not a happy
'Campo'
Hi
Howard, et. al.,
>
Most Pure ethanol still has 4% water. Why not use 99%
isopropanol,
> for the money probably the best buy.
I
think denatured alcohol is higher than 96% ethyl alcohol; however,
the
impurities put in to make it undrinkable (and thus comparatively
cheap
since it isn't taxed like liquor) remind me that I should look into
what
those impurities ARE. Could be that when denatured alcohol
evaporates,
it
leaves behind the sticky residue of whatever those impurities
happen
to
be, and that might not be so good for meteorites.
I'd
be surprised if isopropanol was any cheaper per gallon than
denatured
alcohol -- always seems pretty expensive at the drugstore. And if
you're
using either ethanol or isopropanol as a soaking solution with
sodium
hydroxide, you're going to have to add water anyway -- I don't
think
NaOH
is very soluble in either one.
--Rob
