Crystalline substance

[Buzz]

Hi Folks,

I had a coffee pot of Rolled Gold items stewing away with a 50/50 mix of Nitric and water on my hotplate yesterday.

It was simmering nicely when all of a sudden, it turned violent.
I unplugged the hotplate and left it to cool. There was a small amount of spillage but this was contained.

When i returned to it this morning, most but not all of the base material appears to have gone and my rolled gold is sat in the bottom of my pot.

However, it is encased in a crystalline substance that has feathery type tendrils. They appear to be blue but that could be from the remaining acid that is still in there.
I prodded some of them with a glass rod and they disintegrate quite easily. At that point I thought i'd better stop prodding and ask if anyone here could explain what has gone wrong and what this substance is. I'm hoping it is not explosive! :shock:

I was using the procedure laid out in Steve's Gold Filled DVD and have done it a few times now without incident until yesterday.

Can anyone shine a light on what happened here please?

Kind regards
Buzz

 

[Harold_V]

Being rolled gold, you likely have a reasonable amount of lead and tin involved. I suspect the formation is nothing more than the crystals of one or the other. Heat the solution and add more water. That should dissolve anything that is willing. When the solids have settled well, siphon off the solution. Be sure to test for silver, which is likely to be present, although sparingly.

I doubt you have formed anything explosive, especially if you have avoided adding any alcohol. Don't tip your pint in the mix! :wink:

Harold

 

[Buzz]

Thanks Harold.

I'll give the mix some water tomorrow.

There's only one place my pint is going!

Kind regards
Buzz

 

[beaks]

sounds like silver