#247786 - 07/01/12 02:27 AM
cyanoacrylate and cotton
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Member
Registered: 12/10/11
Posts: 169
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I think I might have just learned something useful.
I commmonly carry around cotton (although mixed with petroleum jelly). Typically, I am wearing SOMETHING cotton.
I carry a small tube of cyanoacrylate glue (mainly for cuts but I suppose it is also useful OCCASIONALLY as a adhesive).
I just found out that combining the two is a highly exothermic reaction and can result in combustion! Yet another multiple use item.
I will have to experiment with this one tomorrow.
Conway Yee
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#247788 - 07/01/12 02:59 AM
Re: cyanoacrylate and cotton
[Re: yee]
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Member
Registered: 10/15/05
Posts: 162
Loc: Korea
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I just tried this. Something happened (warning: very acrid, corrosive smoke, avoid!!) but I didn't get fire. I used a very large drop of glue on a cotton bud. Fortunately someone has done this experiment for us. It seems you need *a lot* of glue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F11lfW6WsQGoogle gives a lot of hits on this subject, including "avoid the smoke"- do this outside. Be careful.
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#247812 - 07/01/12 02:29 PM
Re: cyanoacrylate and cotton
[Re: Richlacal]
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INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
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I'm wondering if the 1st 4 letters is akin to cyanide?Perhaps Sheriff Blast could elaborate on this one.Be Careful People!  Yes, the "cyano" does refer to the chemical functional group found in cyanide, but like all things, extrapolation of a little knowledge can result in a large misunderstanding. This functional group is toxic in its simplest form, but is rendered harmless when incorporated into the cyanoacrylate molecule. Think of it like how sodium metal and chlorine gas are highly corrosive, toxic compounds, but when they join together to make sodium chloride they become a necessary part of our biochemistry. -Blast
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#247838 - 07/02/12 12:02 AM
Re: cyanoacrylate and cotton
[Re: ]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 03/08/07
Posts: 2208
Loc: Beer&Cheese country
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Every time Blasts shows off his science credentials I bust out this picture...  I tried the super glue and cotton ball thing once. It didn't end well. Much like the time when my mother decided to clean a bathroom and thought mixing bleach and ammonia would "work better." Years later we still say "That was the time mom made chlorine gas!" I also heard that that is how you make hydrazine (rocket fuel) so now I can say "Mom, you are a rocket scientist." I once had to transport a patient that had done the bleach/ammonia thing. Funny, I was the only guy in the responding units (ambulance, fire truck, and a paramedic ambulance unit) that had the necessary background to say "Hey, you know, I'm pretty sure that was chlorine gas he decided to fumigate himself with - you know, the stuff from WW1." I got a bunch of blank stares in return. (Please don't construe this as a slam against medics or firefighters - the ones that do get additional training are WAY smarter than I am in that field.) The patinet turned out OK, AFAIK. Cyano just means a carbon and nitrogen linked together (Blast, correct me if I'm wrong). There's stuff in the human body that uses cyano groups, but as Blast said, when they're bound with other things they tend to be less offensive.
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#247848 - 07/02/12 01:33 AM
Re: cyanoacrylate and cotton
[Re: MDinana]
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INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
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I once had to transport a patient that had done the bleach/ammonia thing. Funny, I was the only guy in the responding units (ambulance, fire truck, and a paramedic ambulance unit) that had the necessary background to say "Hey, you know, I'm pretty sure that was chlorine gas he decided to fumigate himself with - you know, the stuff from WW1." I got a bunch of blank stares in return. (Please don't construe this as a slam against medics or firefighters - the ones that do get additional training are WAY smarter than I am in that field.)
The patinet turned out OK, AFAIK.
Cyano just means a carbon and nitrogen linked together (Blast, correct me if I'm wrong). There's stuff in the human body that uses cyano groups, but as Blast said, when they're bound with other things they tend to be less offensive.
You are correct, MDinana. The carbon and nitrogen are linked by three bonds. Carbon has one bonding orbital left which it uses to bind to the acrylate monomer. If the carbon is bound to just a hydrogen instead then Very Bad Things will happen. As it is, the acrylate shrubbery renders the -CN harmless. -Blast
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#247855 - 07/02/12 03:08 AM
Re: cyanoacrylate and cotton
[Re: yee]
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Stranger
Registered: 06/29/12
Posts: 2
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The fumes this reaction causes are downright nasty. Don't know how dangerous they might be but anything that foul cannot be especially good for humans. Super glue is a little like gasoline: it's best to use it only for its specified purpose, the potential for "uh-ohs" is just too high.
Reminds me of the time I used acetone to clean glue from the blade on my SAK. I thought I'd give the handle a quick wipe-down while I was at it, big mistake. Acetone does not react well with some materials, SAK handles being one of them. Do not try.
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#247884 - 07/03/12 12:34 AM
Re: cyanoacrylate and cotton
[Re: yee]
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Old Hand
Registered: 08/28/04
Posts: 835
Loc: Maple Grove, MN
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Isn't it "Potassium Cyanide" that's the really toxic compound?
_________________________
- Benton
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#247898 - 07/03/12 07:37 AM
Re: cyanoacrylate and cotton
[Re: GoatRider]
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Soylent Green
Addict
Registered: 02/08/04
Posts: 623
Loc: At the soylent green plant.
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Yes KCN also HCN both are dangerous don't go near. Lee
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