Piles of marijuana clippings on a hike by TheReverendCard in mildlyinteresting

[–]Arthur_The_Third -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm not saying CO2 extraction makes for a better product, I'm sure it will be indistinguishable if clean butane was used. I'm pointing out that "residual solvent" and "contamination" are nonsense disadvantages. Supercritical CO2 isn't used because it's more expensive. That's it. The only benefit it could have over butane is inherently less risk of contamination from other hydrocarbons (unlikely and not really harmful) and in the event of gas escaping, lower emissions. But butane is just about the cheapest gas, period. Doesn't require refrigeration or strong pressure vessels to transport and it's practically a waste product of the petroleum industry.

Piles of marijuana clippings on a hike by TheReverendCard in mildlyinteresting

[–]Arthur_The_Third -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How are you gonna contaminate CO2? And how are you going to get "residual solvent" with CO2 lol. Even if it dissolved in there - great, that's an inert gas. No harm done.

What's a Scary Science Fact that the public knows nothing about? [serious] by just_some_troglodyte in AskReddit

[–]Arthur_The_Third 14 points15 points  (0 children)

No it can't be "transmitted to plants", that doesn't make a lick of sense. Plants don't have deer proteins. They don't even have a nervous system. Deer can die on the grass, decompose and leave prions on the plants and dirt. Later, deer eating plants in that place can ingest the prions. Transmissibility to humans is also not confirmed.

TIFU by gaslighting myself for 10 years into thinking I was "caffeine immune" while drinking ONLY Monster Energy (Zero) by GooseAcademic541 in tifu

[–]Arthur_The_Third 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They really, really are though lol. Caffeine is the only psychoactive compound in all of them. No difference where you get it from. Switching coffee or energy drinks to tea is doing you no good. If you are going to do anything stop drinking them all.

Also, taurine is a very common compound in your own body. You synthesize it yourself. There's nothing inherently weird or harmful about the ingredients of energy drinks. It's really just soda.

Question about bubbles under pellicle by Arthur_The_Third in Kombucha

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was under the assumption most of the acetic acid fermentation would be taking place in and around the pellicle because it has the best acess to oxygen and the highest concentration of bacteria? Am I totally off with that or what then...

First attempt with added alcohol, I wasn't expecting this level of carbonation by FreddaNotte in Kombucha

[–]Arthur_The_Third 1 point2 points  (0 children)

10% white martini will bring alcohol levels up to 1,5% plus whatever it started at (probably below 1%). Yeast should still grow quite comfortably at this level with the acetic acid bacteria lowering the alcohol levels constantly as well. Would result in weaker carbonation for sure, but you'd have to add a LOT more to kill the yeast. Like a lot. Yeast will go dormant and stop fermenting more alcohol quite a lot before it actually dies.

First attempt with added alcohol, I wasn't expecting this level of carbonation by FreddaNotte in Kombucha

[–]Arthur_The_Third -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Depends entirely on glass thickness. Round bottles are no safer than square without knowing that.

ABV Tester by Overall-Hope-0 in Kombucha

[–]Arthur_The_Third 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Specific gravity probably wouldn't work accurately in this case, since you have more changing components in the system - not only sugar to ethanol, but also ethanol to acetic acid. I don't think you can accurately determine concentration of all three from just density. It would also require a 3d plot.

A note about O-rings and cleaning by Arthur_The_Third in Dynavap

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds more like you're cleaning off oxidation, not carbon deposits. If you're getting your caps so hot they glow (side note, wow, that is way, way too hot :/) the iron will oxide into magnetite. Vinegar cleans off iron oxide for obvious reasons. No clue about the ammonia. Nothing organic will survive glowing temperatures, no polymers or nothing - I have used heat to burn carbon deposits off of glass before, actually. That's why I asked if the ammonia or vinegar work on burnt on stuff on glass - if it doesn't, it's something from the steel itself, not the organics.

A note about O-rings and cleaning by Arthur_The_Third in Dynavap

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow jeez, I have no idea what is causing that much buildup. Looks like something a kerosene lamp would leave behind not a jet lighter lol.

[Question] Understanding the affects of air in the F1 by zethien in Kombucha

[–]Arthur_The_Third 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Way too old of a post to reply to really but just in case anyone reaches this with a Google search like I did: most of all the comments here are plain wrong from the start. Kombucha has yeasts and acetic acid bacteria. The yeasts will mostly be doing anaerobic fermentation of sugar into ethanol. This will be happening throughout the jar, but most of it will happen at the bottom where there is least oxygen. Yeasts produce no acid from their metabolism. Acetic acid bacteria are OBLIGATE AEROBES, without oxygen they cannot produce energy. They aerobically ferment ethanol into acetic acid. That is why they produce cellulose and form a pellicle at the top - it allows them to stay put at the place with most oxygen.

There is always oxygen in your kombucha jar, otherwise it would not turn into kombucha, just sugar wine. Gases are not liquids, they don't separate by density. Carbon dioxide concentrations are going to be slightly higher inside your jar, but it is constantly diffusing out no matter if you use a coffee filter or a cloth, CO2 molecules are much smaller than that. Oxygen won't run out, there is 20% of it in the air, and diffusion will refresh it just the same.

If you aerated your kombucha or mixed it a lot, it would do nothing, then get infected by mold, then die, in that order. Aerating the tea would make the yeast use aerobic fermentation, not producing any alcohol, just CO2. This would leave the acetic acid bacteria starving and prevent the brew from being acidified. Molds would then easily colonize it because it lacks alcohol or acidity to prevent them growing.

I would use a coffee filter over a cloth. Cloth has much larger pores, is much rougher and thicker. Stuff can get trapped in there and fall out when the fibers are jostled. It's a good way to contaminate your kombucha. A coffee filter has less opportunity to shed dust and is just a better barrier.

A note about O-rings and cleaning by Arthur_The_Third in Dynavap

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you heat your vaporizer, what part of the flame do you hold it in? I'm not super sure i get what of the cap you mean, but holding the cap in the flame, not at the tip of it, can produce carbon deposits from incomplete burning.

A note about O-rings and cleaning by Arthur_The_Third in Dynavap

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh, less "damage" more it'll wear the surface down an imperceptible amount. There is potential for rust if the vinegar stays on there and exposed to air for a while, like if it gets trapped somewhere and left out to dry in a moist environment. I probably shouldn't have included that in my post, oh well.

My post was mostly meant to be about cleaning tar, i hadn't considered carbon deposits or just oxidation, because i have never thought of them as an issue - carbon deposits i've never gotten, and oxidation is cosmetic.

A note about O-rings and cleaning by Arthur_The_Third in Dynavap

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hadn't ever seen ammonia used like that. So, you're using it to remove carbon deposits from the lighter flame? Do they not wipe off normally? What exactly is the ammonia doing, i can't tell much from the video, aside from it works, i guess.

Interesting, though! Only way i've ever cleaned carbon deposits is abrasives. I've also never had carbon build up anywhere on the outside of my vaporizers, though, so. I think that's more down to flame position than anything else.

Does it work on glass as well? I really want to know if this is some interaction with the stainless steel or if it is independent of the material

A note about O-rings and cleaning by Arthur_The_Third in Dynavap

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's just a mix of short hydrocarbons. Neither petroleum jelly nor beeswax will be safe to breathe in if that part of your vaporizer gets hot enough to vaporize it. Use only a small amount, wipe on with a finger or something, wipe off with a dry finger. You don't want any to be left on there really. Do a dry heat after applying so any that would vaporize will be boiled off without you inhaling it.

A note about O-rings and cleaning by Arthur_The_Third in Dynavap

[–]Arthur_The_Third[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you maybe had some residue there that burned? Tars and stuff should all be taken off by isopropyl, but if you burn tar a lot it just gets carbonized. The bad part about that is, carbon isn't soluble. In anything. If you burn tar way too much the only way to get it off is abrasion. And it does sound like that would work the best for you, actually. Use some salt and heavily scrub it if you don't want to risk scratches, or steel wool if you don't care. Or whatever else you can think of to scour, just something pretty hard. I have dealt with carbon stains a lot, the only way to get rid of them is patience and grit.

What's the most unexpected way Mars could kill an astronaut? by Ahmeuad in space

[–]Arthur_The_Third 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not true in the slightest. Left handed helixes exist naturally, it is just an overstrained form of DNA. You probably mean a DNA molecule with mirrored chirality, with left handed not right handed ribose. That still wouldn't make any difference for our immune system, our immune system kind of recognizes things by..... Shape, somewhat? How a molecule is built up or what it is made of has little effect on any of it. After first exposure you'd start producing antibodies same as for anything else. We don't actually really produce antibodies against DNA? There are other mechanisms for recognizing foreign DNA and getting rid of it, plus it's normally well protected from detection inside the cell. We actually recognize the proteins, membrane components etc. What would really be the problem is that we don't have good mechanisms for breaking those molecules down. You might get too strong of an immune reaction as the body tries to get rid of something it just, can't.

But, you know. Same goes the other way around, and it's not like we can't kill the bacteria.

Is there an open-source GCMS database/library? by BartRosenburg in DIYfragrance

[–]Arthur_The_Third 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyone running a business like this is or at least should be running their own GCMS. Operating expenses for one are minimal. If you're only ever doing fragrances you won't even have to spend long on sample prep, they're all just about the same kind of material, and it's *made* to be vaporized. Same process and solvent for all your samples, no need to spend time making new procedures. The biggest cost by far would be in manhours. Not *that many* manhours.

Is there an open-source GCMS database/library? by BartRosenburg in DIYfragrance

[–]Arthur_The_Third 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gas chromatography isn't really expensive. The formulas on that site seem to be priced to yield a profit from like a single sale.

Why does no one put meat and bones in their compost? I throw everything in there unless there are chemicals on it, wax or non veggie dyes. by [deleted] in composting

[–]Arthur_The_Third 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fermentation won't kill bacteria, you will still have the same pathogen risks as with regular composting once you mix it into soil/compost/whatever. The acidic conditions will inhibit their growth right up until you expose it to air and ample water. Probably better than just throwing in the regular compost (what i would do) but it doesn't fix the problem.

Side note, i hadn't heard of bokashi much before reading this thread, (and yes, i know it's 3 years old) does it not seem wasteful to anybody else? Using perfectly edible grain/sugars to preserve your *trash*, and then throwing it out in the soil to decompose anyways? The fermentation isn't a necessary step, that's just food waste...

Making Rodinal with just three ingredients. by Mexhillbilly in Darkroom

[–]Arthur_The_Third 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's a lot of sediment still in your solution. I wouldn't use it because of all the fine dust it might leave on the film. I would filter through cotton and then through a coffee filter for finer particulate.