01-25-2009, 01:41 AM
Matt,
I agree that they had experience. However, what I was trying to point out was that their experience came from trial and error not because they knew "chemistry" in the manner in which it is known today. Anyone who is not a chemist can mix stuff together and observe something interesting that may be useful. Then, if necessary, the steps are repeated hopefully with the same measurments and results.
Materials do not just "boil away". There are considerations in a liquid mixture such as partial vapor pressures of a relative concentration of each metal. Liquid solutions based on their realtive quanitites and through molecular interactions can change how they behave. Two compounds can in fact behave nearly as one.
They just said "take a handful of this and mix it with a handful of that or they would have used some balance to measure a mass for reproducibility.
I am not taking anything away from the Romans. I agree they were good and knew their stuff. However, I would also like to point out that even if the knowledge of working with copper was known for eons, it does not necessarily mean that the Romans were privy to all the techniques especially in their begining and did not have to experiment. In human history, wether something is known or not, most people will reinvent the wheel.
To make the alloy, one should melt zinc in one pot and copper in another. Then add the zinc to the copper. In adding you must mix or agitate the solution for maximum contact between the two substance. The contact leads to cetain molecular interactions and bonds that yield the alloy. Adding to liquified substances automatically increase surface area and contact. Melting Copper and then throwing solid zinc into it causes a delayed reaction since the zinc has to melt. Even thought it will melt, time has to pass. As something slowly melts the little that is extruded from the solid each time is insignficant and it is this that causes the majority of low boiling substance to vanish.
I agree that they had experience. However, what I was trying to point out was that their experience came from trial and error not because they knew "chemistry" in the manner in which it is known today. Anyone who is not a chemist can mix stuff together and observe something interesting that may be useful. Then, if necessary, the steps are repeated hopefully with the same measurments and results.
Materials do not just "boil away". There are considerations in a liquid mixture such as partial vapor pressures of a relative concentration of each metal. Liquid solutions based on their realtive quanitites and through molecular interactions can change how they behave. Two compounds can in fact behave nearly as one.
They just said "take a handful of this and mix it with a handful of that or they would have used some balance to measure a mass for reproducibility.
I am not taking anything away from the Romans. I agree they were good and knew their stuff. However, I would also like to point out that even if the knowledge of working with copper was known for eons, it does not necessarily mean that the Romans were privy to all the techniques especially in their begining and did not have to experiment. In human history, wether something is known or not, most people will reinvent the wheel.
To make the alloy, one should melt zinc in one pot and copper in another. Then add the zinc to the copper. In adding you must mix or agitate the solution for maximum contact between the two substance. The contact leads to cetain molecular interactions and bonds that yield the alloy. Adding to liquified substances automatically increase surface area and contact. Melting Copper and then throwing solid zinc into it causes a delayed reaction since the zinc has to melt. Even thought it will melt, time has to pass. As something slowly melts the little that is extruded from the solid each time is insignficant and it is this that causes the majority of low boiling substance to vanish.
"You have to laugh at life or else what are you going to laugh at?" (Joseph Rosen)
Paolo
Paolo
