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Non-Chemical Problems with melting

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Anonymous

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Okay, so I have a torch running on butane (supposedly 2500F), and I tried melting my souvenir gold flakes in a ceramic melting dish (intended for jewelers), but all I managed to do was basically turn the flakes black. They shriveled up and turned black, but did not melt. I thought maybe these "gold flakes" weren't even metal at all, so I tried melting something I know is metal- a piece cut from a regular aluminum soda can. All it did was turn gray and break into flakes, no actual liquid metal. Is my torch not hot enough or maybe too hot? I can't seem to melt any metal.
 
As far as I know no one has ever found any gold in souvenir flakes.

Don't believe everything you read on consumer product packaging. I don't believe your butane torch was designed for performing any useful work.
 
qst42know said:
As far as I know no one has ever found any gold in souvenir flakes.

Don't believe everything you read on consumer product packaging. I don't believe your butane torch was designed for performing any useful work.
Click to expand...
Sad, but pretty much true. If you want to melt metals, there's nothing to equal a torch equipped with oxygen.
Melting aluminum with a torch isn't a wise thing. It oxidizes too easily, so while you likely achieved melting temperature, it converted to aluminum oxide, which has a melting point well above that which your torch can achieve. Aluminum oxide is generally melted in electric arc furnaces, where it is converted back to the metal we recognize as aluminum.

Harold
 
alot of base metals can just burn up Oxidize, also the torch can supply oxygen or air to assist in burning up the metal, some torch's you can adjust the torch for a carbonizing flame (starving for oxygen, you may try carbon (charcoal or flour) will burn and take that oxygen producing CO2 gas and then metal will melt, borax can help a little bit by fluxing the metal and covering a layer the air would have to get past. some metals just vaporize and (distilling) the melt may capture them as gasses.

luckily gold will not oxidize or at least very easily.
 

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