Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 4K views

    Ceramic Fixative Lab

    Uploaded by

    James Jimmy Kan
    1. The document describes tests conducted on four compounds to identify one that could be used as a fixative for ceramic glaze. 2. Sodium chloride (table salt) was found to best match the criteria of being transparent when dissolved, white when dried, soluble in water but not alcohol, and electrically conductive when dissolved in water. 3. The tests measured melting point, solubility in water and alcohol, color when dissolved and dried, and electrical conductivity when dissolved in water. Sodium chloride met all the criteria based on the test results.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Ceramic Fixative Lab

    Uploaded by

    James Jimmy Kan
    4K views3 pages
    1. The document describes tests conducted on four compounds to identify one that could be used as a fixative for ceramic glaze. 2. Sodium chloride (table salt) was found to best match the criteria of being transparent when dissolved, white when dried, soluble in water but not alcohol, and electrically conductive when dissolved in water. 3. The tests measured melting point, solubility in water and alcohol, color when dissolved and dried, and electrical conductivity when dissolved in water. Sodium chloride met all the criteria based on the test results.

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    1. The document describes tests conducted on four compounds to identify one that could be used as a fixative for ceramic glaze. 2. Sodium chloride (table salt) was found to best match the criteria of being transparent when dissolved, white when dried, soluble in water but not alcohol, and electrically conductive when dissolved in water. 3. The tests measured melting point, solubility in water and alcohol, color when dissolved and dried, and electrical conductivity when dissolved in water. Sodium chloride met all the criteria based on the test results.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    4K views3 pages

    Ceramic Fixative Lab

    Uploaded by

    James Jimmy Kan
    1. The document describes tests conducted on four compounds to identify one that could be used as a fixative for ceramic glaze. 2. Sodium chloride (table salt) was found to best match the criteria of being transparent when dissolved, white when dried, soluble in water but not alcohol, and electrically conductive when dissolved in water. 3. The tests measured melting point, solubility in water and alcohol, color when dissolved and dried, and electrical conductivity when dissolved in water. Sodium chloride met all the criteria based on the test results.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Kathleen Sylva

    Head Researcher
    Ceramic Artisans

    Dear Ms. Sylva,


    My name is James Kan, and on behalf of Reginald Brown, I
    believe that my team and I have identified a compound that matches
    your criteria very well. This substance is transparent when it dissolves
    but white when it dries, has a high melting point, dissolves in water but
    not alcohol, and is electrically conductive when dissolved in water. Out
    of the four compounds we received to test, sodium chloride, or plain
    table salt, was the one that would work the best as a fixative for the
    glaze.
    To come to that conclusion, we went through a number of tests
    with the four compounds. We first tested their melting points by
    placing .5g of the substance into a test tube, then heating it over a
    Bunsen Burner for a minute, and recorded the time it took for the
    substance to melt (if it melted at all during the minute). Then we
    tested the substances’ solubility in water and alcohol. To do that, we
    filled one beaker halfway with water and another with alcohol. We put
    one gram of the substance into each of the beakers, stirred it around,
    and waited. We also noticed if any of the substances were transparent
    when they dissolved, and then smeared a sample of the liquid
    containing the dissolved substance on the tabletop. We waited until it
    dried, and noted the color of it. This was done to see whether the
    substance was clear when dissolved and white when dried. Lastly we
    tested how electrically conductive the substances were when dissolved
    in water, and to do this, we used the help of a probe connected to a
    computer that measured how conductive something was. Once we had
    gathered all the information we needed, we started analyzing it, and
    determined the substance that’s best suited for your need.
    My team and I chose sodium chloride for its high melting point,
    its solubility in water but not in alcohol, its characteristic to be clear
    when dissolved but white when dry, and its relatively high conductivity.
    We started testing with the melting point, and immediately knew that
    either sodium chloride or sodium carbonate was going to be the key,
    because they were the only two that didn’t melt within the minute. We
    tested solubility next, and confirmed that the salicylic acid wasn’t it,
    because it wasn’t soluble in water but soluble in alcohol, the exact
    opposite of what’s needed. Then we did the test for the color of
    dissolved and dry, which sodium carbonate failed because it was white
    when dissolved, when we needed it to be clear. So by now we were
    almost certain that sodium chloride would be it, but we tested the
    conductivity to be sure. We ended up with sucrose and salicylic acid
    being the least conductive, and although sodium carbonate was
    slightly more conductive than sodium chloride, the results of the
    previous test proved that it wasn’t fit to be the fixative. To sum it all
    up, sucrose wasn’t chosen for its low melting point and low
    conductivity, Sodium carbonate for the white color when dissolved, and
    salicylic acid wasn’t chosen for its low melting point, solubility in
    alcohol but not water, and its low conductivity.
    I hope we solved your dilemma and we were of use. Please
    contact us again if there is any further trouble. Also wire the $135,000
    to Mr. Brown’s account, since he was the one who helped us out the
    most.

    Sincerely,

    James Kan
    Researcher at Materials Testing
    CheMystery Labs, Inc.
    52 Fulton Street
    Springfield, VA 22150

    Solubility in Color of
    water and dissolved
    alcohol and dry
    Substance Rank of Wate Alcoho Disso Dry Conductivi
    melting r l lved ty
    points
    Sucrose
    (C6H12O6)

    Sodium
    chloride
    (NaCl)
    Sodium
    Carbonate
    (Na2CO3)
    Salicylic
    Acid
    (C7H6O3)

    You might also like