Too good to let go by

[wstrass at eastman.com]

To: DIY     --INTERNET DIY

From: Wayne Strasser (CED Polymer Development)
*** Resending note of 08/12/97 05:21
_______________________________________________________________________
Subject: Re: Too good to let go by
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> > Wait a minute.  I thought hydrogen was a metal.

Hydrogen is a Group 1-A element, together with lithium, sodium, etc.  The
"light metals" begin with lithium and beryllium, downward through the
periodic table.  Hydrogen is not classified as a metal because does not
form a solid containing mobile electrons.

A SOLID PHASE IS NOT REQUIRED TO EXIST TO BE A METAL (MOLTEN IRON IS STILL
METAL), BUT I DO AGREE WITH THE CHARGE DELOCATLIZATION (MOBILE ELECTRONS).

> Only under the physical parameters that make it a metal. Is glass a
> solid?

No, it's a supercooled liquid.  It has a viscosity (very high, of course).
If you measure the thickness of an old window pane, it will be measurably
thicker at the bottom.  It also changes its internal structure over time.
New glass cuts very easily, while old glass tends to shatter.

WE CALL IT A SUPERCOOLED LIQUID, BUT IT IS REALLY AN AMORPHOUS SOLID.  OLD
COMPOSITIONS OF WINDOW GLASS HAD THEIR GLASS TRANSITION TEMPERATURES TOO LOW.
A NORMAL HOT DAY WOULD ALLOW MOLECULAR DIFFUSION AND WOULD THEREFORE SAG.
I GUESS THE GLASS MANUFACTURES HAVE DONE SOMETHING (SOME KIND OF DOPE OR
OTHER IMPURITY) TO ALLOW THE GLASS TO BE SLIGHTLY MORE CRYSTALLINE AND HAVE
A HIGHER GLASS TRANSITION AS NOT TO SAG.  THE "DOPE" OR OTHER IMPURITY WOULD
ALLOW NUCLEATION SITES FOR THE COOLING GLASS DURING MANUFACTURE.

THERE SEEMS TO BE ALOT OF INTEREST IN TERRY'S HYDROGEN PROPOSAL. I
LOOKED IN SOME RESOURCES, INCLUDING THE WEB, AND FOUND THAT IN THE 80'S
LIQUID METALLIC HYDROGEN WASNT EVEN CONSIDERED FEASIBLE...ONLY SOLID
METALLIC HYDROGEN.  NOW, I GUESS, WITH MORE SPACE EXPLORATION AND LAB
EXPERIMENTATION, WE HAVE DISCOVERED THAT HYDROGEN DOES EXHIBIT METALLIC
PROPERTIES AT 3000K AND 140GPa.  --COOL--