Of all the technological advances of the 19th century, few capture the imagination quite like railway locomotive. Steam-powered, they heralded a new era in transportation, allowing people to travel further and to places previously hard to reach by other means, and goods to be carried in greater amounts, which of course led to bigger profits. Writers of the time paid homage to the new mode of travel in poem and prose, but not everyone was enamored with the train’s hold on the public’s imagination. Nevertheless the locomotive was here to stay, and rail lines stretched across continents. The use of rail as a means of transport exploded in the States during the 1830-40′s, expanding from seventy five miles of track to two thousand eight hundred miles in just ten years. Rail opened up a new world to the Americans, showing them places far beyond their own town or city. At first, the States imported British engines, but soon it was doing its own business in design of locomotives. By 1880 it was producing more than a thousand trains a year. Trains were also being used in Europe to transport soldiers to war regions and the rest of the world was beginning to benefit from the advantages of a rail link-up with neighboring nations. Russia began building their Trans-Siberian Railway in 1891, a major arterial line which crossed central Asia and cost almost one and a half billion rubles to build. In 1914, around the same time as the Trans-Siberian Railway was finished, California began building its own version, the NorthWestern Pacific Railroad. When it was completed in October that year, crowds in their hundreds turned up to celebrate the exciting new mode of travel. The Railway was christened with Californian wine wrapped in an American flag. It was a moment of patriotic pride and great optimism, and was captured on film for posterity. The Redwood Empire Special in Sacramento was another line expected to do marvelous things for the economy, as it carried massive amounts of timber to 21 states. The Magical World of Trains also examines the romance of the railway; The Great Train Robbery which was immortalized as a film, and introduced the world to Butch Cassidy and his gang, known as the Wild Bunch, who blew up a safe on a mail train. Other famous train robberies followed; most notably Britain’s biggest heist on the Royal Mail train in August of 1963. Films and plays began to spring up featuring trains heavily in their plot, including one of the world’s earliest “talkies”, which had a couple stranded in their car on a railway line. It was a setup that was repeated countless times over the years. Alfred Hitchcock used trains in two of his movies — Strangers on a Train and North by Northwest. These days, trains are used as glamorous billboards to promote blockbuster films, such as the DaVinci Code. Today, train travel is one of the most widely used modes of transport and also, at least domestically, one of the most affordable. Trains are getting faster and more efficient — most notably Japan’s Bullet Train, which can travel at around 190 to 250km per hour, handy when you’re in a rush! Japanese bullet trains are well known for their punctuality, and have moved from diesel engines to electric power. Even as modern rail travel is getting faster, there are still relics of the old steam engines in use around the world, mainly for the benefit of train enthusiasts and those with a romantic spirit, who want to relive the past.
How to hack flashlight batteries and a fire brick, into a desktop arc reaction chamber. …For hobby metal melting, and for science!
Some quick links to a few of the materials I used:
[✓] Lantern battery: https://amzn.to/2cgnKxN
[✓] Forstner Bit: https://amzn.to/2c1Ja3V
[✓] 3/8 Drill bit: https://amzn.to/2cgl6rL
Endcard Links:
Micro Welder: https://goo.gl/ZmccT9
Laser Blowgun: https://goo.gl/lu3o0M
Magic Mud: https://goo.gl/5dtyXP
Matchbox Rockets: https://goo.gl/jguunj
See What Else I’m Up To:
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WARNING:
Risk of electric shock, fire hazards, and toxic fumes depending on what material you’re working with. Dust from refractory brick should never be inhaled, as it can damage lungs and cause long term respiratory challenges. This project can reach temperatures in excess of 3,000ºF (1,648ºC) which is well beyond the melting point of hobbyists. Caution, care and expert planning are required to mitigate risks. Have fun, but always think ahead, and remember that every project you try is at your own risk.
Music By: Scott & Brendo (“Photographs” – Instrumental) https://bit.ly/ScottBrendoiTunes
Project Inspired By:
This project was originally inspired by Theo Grey and his book, “Mad Science”. After seeing the concept, I couldn’t find any information anywhere on the internet or in libraries about arc furnace experiments, so I set out on my own to achieve these results.
Project History & More Info:
If you’re wondering where you can get fire brick locally, try a quick Google search for “refractory materials” in your city. I called a couple of companies near me and asked if they’d sell to the general public. All of them said yes.
If you can’t find anything locally, try searching major hardwares stores online. They usually have inventory online that they don’t carry in the stores.
The insulating fire bricks I got were the 3” x 4.5” x 9” Alumina-Silicate Brick variety. I got a box of 10 for $33, effectively making them around $3.30 each. I went one step further and designed the furnace so that 2 of them could be made from one brick, cutting the cost in half, making each furnace a pro-rated $1.65 each!
They’re extremely lightweight, and capable of withstanding the temperatures used in steel working, but soft enough you can cut and carve them with kitchen utensils if you need to.
In reading and studying history a bit, I learned that some of the earliest forms of light were made using carbon arc lighting. Large amounts of electricity were pumped through carbon rods, making a bright arc and providing light.
To scavenge carbon electrodes, I took a lesson from NurdRage (youtube.com/NurdRage) a couple of years ago I saw his video on what could be scavenged from a carbon-zinc lantern battery (https://bit.ly/IBNurdRageBattery). It’s useful to know what common everyday materials are made of, and these heavy duty batteries are containers packed with carbon rods, zinc metal, and manganese dioxide. I tucked the information in the back of my mind until now.
In this project I tried melting the zinc casings from the lantern batteries, and casting them into a small ingot, formed with a mini muffin tray. Be cautious of the zinc oxide fumes produced. I haven’t personally suffered any ill effects from working with it, but some people claim it can give flu like symptoms, or a fever if inhaled in large quantities.
Zinc has a relatively low melting point 787.2°F (419.5°C), so the Arc Furnace is able to melt each casing into liquid zinc in around 5-10 seconds. That’s amazing!
I don’t have an exact purpose for the zinc yet, but it’s an easy metal to work with, easy to cast, and great to have on hand for a future projects. It’s also one of the main metals used for making a simple carbon-zinc battery.
The black stuff pulled out of the battery casings is manganese dioxide. It’s a useful chemical for experiments with hydrogen peroxide, so it’s worth hanging onto.
Although I haven’t verified it, I believe any stick welder can be used to power the mini arc furnace, and for most hobbyists, that would definitely be the easier and safer way to go. I just don’t own a welder, so I used the one I made instead. You can see how to make it here: https://goo.gl/H0FWxE
The longest I’ve run the unit continuously is around 3-4 minutes, and the electrodes get so hot at that point they can seriously burn your hands, or melt your gloves. I wouldn’t recommend running it any longer than that.