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Re: [Phys-l] COLD FUSION (was dirty water)



I expect it to be extremely low -- even lower than the solid salts, because of the electrostatic attraction, e.g. protons don't exist "naked" in electrolytes, but instead as hydronium. The Chemist, ME will correct me if I'm wrong.

bc, off the cuff.

Ludwik Kowalski wrote:

On Jul 9, 2006, at 2:37 PM, Michael Edmiston wrote:


. . . If "dirty" means inorganic chemicals with negligible vapor pressure
(such as desalination of water) then a single distillation can get
fairly pure water, . . . This is typically considered "physical chemistry"
and is fully described in college-level physical chemistry texts.


Salts, such as K2CO3 and NaCl, do not sublimate intensively. Otherwise the vapor pressure of their molecules in air would not be very low. But once dissolved in water these substances become mostly mixtures of positive and negative ions (cations and anions). What is the "vapor pressure" of ions? Something is preventing ions from being present in bubbles of the escaping steam, when the electrolyte is boiled. Otherwise distilled water would probably be salty. What keeps ions out of the bubbles? Electrolytes are macroscopically neutral.

Ludwik Kowalski
Let the perfect not be the enemy of the good.
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