I too am appalled by the this demo! I have not looked at all of the entries in this thread, but I have difficulty believing that it was liquid methane. Methane boils at ~-161 deg C at atmospheric pressure. Was there any discussion of first condensing the methane with liquid nitrogen?
Is it possible that it was methanol or some other methane derivative? That may not make it any less dangerous, but we should try be accurate in our descriptions of this dangerous demo.
David Crumrine
-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Laurence Doemeny
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2015 3:15 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Liquid methane experiment in class
I am with you Ken. This is something the safety community can learn from. What possessed the teacher to perform this demonstration? Simply knowing that would be the real lesson learned.
-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List
[mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Ken Simolo
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2015 11:55 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Liquid methane experiment in class
Other than as an example, there is little value in punishing the person. It is much better to educate people in the error of their ways and turn them into advocates for safety. I do not know the individual involved but my guess is that he is a popular, dedicated teacher who has nothing but the best of intentions. Would I ever do what he is doing? No, I would not. But he has likely seen numerous examples of this being done and is not thinking about the potential ramifications of his actions, not just to his class but to others who see it and repeat it. I would feel differently if the person insisted what they were doing was safe and continued to do it. What he is doing is one of those examples of an act where you might get away with it hundreds of times before something goes horribly wrong.
Ken
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post