Bill reported that State Senators Alquist and Kopp have promised him that they are requesting money to perform an independent analysis of CARB’s reformulated gas by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Bill also suggested that neither CARB or the California EPA be allowed to write such a contract, and that instead, the independent Legislative Analysist’s Office be used, to avoid a conflict of interest. Unfortunately, this money won’t be available until the next fiscal year, and the budget still has yet to be passed....
12/31/96 Update: I’m not so sure that the Legislative Analyst is all that impartial. State Senator Ray Haynes reports that office weighted down the bill he submitted to fix Smog Check II with a ton of eco-freak language.
He also reported that one of the gas’s components, MTBE, is being found in ground water. This is a problem because its effects and possible toxic effects have not been studied.
Bernie in Santa Clara wanted to know whether to mount a carbon monoxide (CO) detector high, near the ceiling, or low, near the floor. He was confused because the instructions said to mount it high, but he thought that CO was heavier than air, and would thus tend to pool at low levels. By Bill’s estimation (and that of a later caller), though, he determined that CO gas was lighter by atomic weight than the major constituents of air (Nitrogen and Oxygen), and would indeed rise. Also, Carbon Monoxide expelled by most cases where it would trigger a detector (from a furnace or from a car’s exhaust) would be hot, and thus have even a lower density than the surrounding air.
What the caller was probably thinking about was Carbon Dioxide (CO2), which is heavier by molecular weight.
For reference, the atomic weights of the atoms and molecules involved:
| Carbon (C) | 12 | |
| Oxygen (O) | 16 | |
| Carbon Monoxide (CO) | 12+16=28 | |
| Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | 12+16+16=44 | |
| Nitrogen | 14 | |
| Air (primarily N2 and O2) | Would have a weight somewhere between 28 (14+14) and 32 (16+16),but closer to 28 than 32 since air is 78.084% Nitrogen and 20.947% Oxygen |
The periodic table of the elements is a great resource for atomic weights. Here are a few of the best:
In researching this myself, looking for the tables referenced below, I went through the same motions, and then remembered I had a reference that would give me the answer. I found this little black book called Pocket Ref, by Thomas J.Glover, that has answers for lots of questions you never even considered asking, from computer ASCII codes to airline two-letter codes to material dumping angles to... gas densities.
From the little black book, page 9:
| Gas | grams/liter |
|---|---|
| Carbon Monoxide | 1.2500 |
| Air | 1.2928 |
| Oxygen | 1.4290 |
| Nitrogen | 1.2506 |
| Carbon Dioxide | 1.9770 |
Pocket Ref
Compiled by Thomas J. Glover
Second Edition
ISBN: 1-885071-00-0
Sequoia Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 620820 Dept. 101
Littleton, Colorado 80162-0820
(303) 972-4167
Bill reminded us of a few examples of the government grossly overstepping the bounds of common sense, causing grave harm to citizens while not protecting the environment one iota.
Take for instance, last year, when a housewife in Monticello, IL gave a gift to the First Lady -- an Indian head dress called a dream catcher, made of bird feathers. The problem was, some of the feathers were feathers which had fallen from eagles, and she had picked up from a hiking trail, or perhaps bought at a crafts fair. This made the news, and then made the news again when the US Forrest Service went after Mrs. Bargon for using these feathers -- a felony in their book of rules. Six agents swooped down on her house, and before it was over, she had spent $7,000 of her own money in legal fees, and was forced to plead guilty to a felony (keep in mind that felons can’t vote in most states).
Andre in San Bruno is a licensed smog technician, and had some more information about the New Jersey smog regulations, which are similar to the new California rules
The NJ rules can be obtained by calling Legislative Services (800) 792-8630and asking for a copy of SCS-1700, the enabling legislation for the rules.
He also read a quote from the EPA:
The IM enhanced emissions test, in which an operator drives your car through a simulated dynamometer road test, is designed to fail 60% of all cars. Almost no vehicles older over 10 years old are expected to pass. You have no protection against damage of your vehicle by such stress testing methods. 97% of those vehicles failing the new, enhanced emissions test will have their registration renewal automatically denied by the state. Such vehicles can not be sold to any other individual or dealer, and essentially become forfeited to the state, which will receive pollution credits, they can sell to industrial polluters, for every vehicle they take off the road. Owners of failed vehicles must surrender their license plates within 45 days.
George in San Jose asked what could cause a car’s charging system to not charge.
Bill had several suggestions. He said that in addition to generally having to replace the alternator and regulator (this was a ’78 Ford with a 400 engine),there was likely a grounding problem that was causing a problem, and that would have to be fixed as well, to prevent future problems. Most commonly, diodes in the alternator are the problem.
He also suggested taking the car to an “auto diesel electric”mechanic that has the diagnostic capability that your local garage lacks. Also,for older cars that have a separate alternator and regulator, he recommended replacing both with a universal alternator (such as the one Motorola manufactures), which has a built-in regulator (also called a self-regulating alternator), and will fit almost any vehicle.
John in Martinez finally came up with at least one method by which the small hole in a needle is made. Start with as small a metal tube as can be made, heat it, and stretch it as small as it can be made while still retaining the hole.
This may not be the only way such needles are produced, and I’m aware that certian types of needles (well, at least, but perhaps only basting needles, and these are indeed large enough to have holes machined in them) have holes in the sides of the tube.
Ed in Half Moon Bay asked about the Bell Labs jet-pack, and wanted to know if it was ever practical, or was ever used extensively. He was asking specifically about the ones seen in movies such as James Bond, although Bill thought he was asking about the jet packs that NASA has used on the Space Shuttle.
In actuality, these were packs worn by a man on the ground, and used to hop short distances. My recollection is that they weren’t truly jet-packs with engines, but operated entirely by the force of escaping, high-pressured gases, such as Nitrogen. They were never good for more than about 30 seconds of flight, though. At various points, there have also been similar devices created by the military, including man-sized helicopters, small, single-occupancy flying platforms powered by a small jet engine (from a cruise missile, if I recall correctly), although I’ve never heard of these finding continued use, either.
In a somewhat recent magazine (Popular Mechanics, or perhaps Air and Space), I had read a more complete account of the various jet packs and their history, and will update this information with that reference later.
One of the last callers had a conversation with Bill about how even plants have feelings. Seriously! A later caller said that there was a movie called “The secret life of plants” produced about 10 years ago that detailed some of the processes plants use to communicate stress and threatening situations.
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