In this episode Dr. T is explaining the distillation equipment we are setting up. The goal of the project is to use an alcohol powered distiller to create alcohol in order to re-load the lamp. The project is a two-for-one. This year we are learning about distillation and the states of matter. Next summer we get to use the same setup to look at conservation of energy. <\/p>\n
So my degrees are in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, so working as Dr. T\u2019s lab assistant, or Igor as he insists on calling me, is the first time I have been playing with \u201cthe wet stuff\u201d in decades. As a result I didn\u2019t already have the gear we would need. I went with a distillation kit<\/A> from Amazon to get us started.<\/p>\n The kit comes with a boiling flask, a Graham condenser, and an Erlenmeyer flask ground to fit together. Just as important it comes with stands and hardware to hold them.<\/p>\n The only problem is that the kit is supposed to be cooled from water running from a tap and down the drain. My not wanting to waste water aside, I don\u2019t have a sink in my shop. So we rigged up a heat sink suitable for the same tubing running into and out of the Graham condenser, and added a thermos to act as an ice bath. Dr. T will be covering that in the next post. <\/p>\n For now, here is Dr. T explaining the initial setup of our apparatus. <\/p>\n