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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 8, 2019 - 08:21am PT
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The "Starlite" story is fascinating, if a little sad. Here is the multi-part BBC documentary:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Here is a video showing how to make a similar product. It responds the same way as the material in the documentary, from what I can see. Amazingly simple to make, and the description of how it works is cool too:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Be interested to get some thoughts from the scientists in our community.
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WBraun
climber
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Pretty cool Eric.
I can say a lot about this but then all these modern puffed up so-called scientists here will just get butthurt ..... :-)
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Nutty
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Brilliant!
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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That is really, really fascinating.
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 8, 2019 - 09:32am PT
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We were wondering the same thing about if the properties change by applying various types of paint, varnish or other coatings. Also, if there is UV break-down, moisture issues, etc.
We have a kiln for firing cloisonne and glass - Maidy is picking up some baking soda and corn starch as I type (got lots of glue).
We're gonna do some experimenting...
Edit: Interestingly, Skip said the firing boards for the kiln are starch-based...
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Such simple stuff...amazing that this science hasn't been applied more broadly to our world.
Makes you wonder what other kinds of simple materials can perform extremely useful functions in our lives.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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the AWE test was with lasers, not nuclear radiation.
There is no way that the material (or others like it) can withstand nuclear radiations at high energy and intensity.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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that might take some time to clean a moderately sized LP collection!
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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There's not a chance I would do that with my vinyl collection. No matter how many YouTube videos are out there!
Edit:
Last winter/spring, I took on the project of digitizing my entire vinyl collection...a relatively modest collection of 300 albums. Here’s the process I used:
A German-made discwasher ('disco anti-stat'), using a French-made vinyl cleaning solution (L'Art du Son)...spin wash each one, then air dry...then digitize/modify each one. Took me 4-5 months of diligent work. No wood glue involved!
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 8, 2019 - 01:08pm PT
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the AWE test was with lasers, not nuclear radiation.
I stand corrected, Ed. Also, it's the firing plates that are starch-based...
Gonna do some 'sperimenting!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Strong werk, Apogee! But I’m not digitizing sh!t, I’m gonna get a better turntable,
just not the $15,000 one for sale down the street!
Is that the Knosti or the SpinClean disc washer?
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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After doing some digging around amongst audiophiles, this is the cleaning system I settled on:
I'm not a total audiophile techy purist, but I did want to do a reasonably good job- the 'disco anti-stat' is a little difficult to find, but seemed to be the most efficient & effective way to do it without getting too deep in the process....esp. if you are going to do dozens and dozens of albums!
I used an Audio-Technica USB turntable...not a super high end machine, but worked out quite acceptably. After recording it, I used Audacity software to correct, label, and export each album. That was especially time consuming.
Edit
The cleaning solution that normally comes with it can't be shipped into the US, so you can only get the cleaning mechanism itself. Which was ok...'L'Art du Son' is supposed to be a very good solution that also reduces static.
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WBraun
climber
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Can your hearing tell the difference between analog recordings and digital recording materials?
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Not really, but again, I'm not a hardcore purist. I'm sure true audiophiles could pick it out- getting the correction process where you want it with Audacity takes some trial and error, unless you've got some sound mixing experience (I thought of KSolem more than a few times while doing it).
I mostly listen to my music on my home stereo while working around the house, on my car stereo while driving to wherever, or on my IPhone while bopping around the mountains. For those purposes, the process worked just fine for me.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Apogee, do you carve your recordings into separate tracks? That is the time consuming work. I gave up trying to digitize my collection of 7000 titles. When I want it in digital form I just go to mp3va.com, 15 cents a song or a buck and change for the whole album.
MP3 compresses by using an algorithm that removes the information (frequencies) that the average ear can not hear with other frequencies. Most people can not tell the difference. If you use uncompressed files then it should pretty close to analog. Neil Young was pushing this system a few years ago.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Yeah, labelling the individual songs was pretty labor intensive...when you record the album, it’s one long file..after a while I got better at recognizing where a song starts and ends, and how much ‘buffer’ to add. The harder songs were those that kinda run into each other, or live albums. Husker Du’s ‘Land Speed Record’ was especially challenging...super fast, not much gap from one song to another.
I had naively thought there would be some kind of Gracenote process I could apply to each album to label them for me...uh, no. It was all manual, one at a time...the perfect task for a single, anal retentive guy like me.
Edit: Sorry for the thread-drift, Aeriq!
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 8, 2019 - 03:58pm PT
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No worries.
I can say a lot about this but then all these modern puffed up so-called scientists here will just get butthurt ..... :-)
A wiser man than myself kept his trap shut!
LOL!
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 9, 2019 - 08:52pm PT
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Cold-ass locked-down Saturday SCIENCE! experiment night.
Fired the kiln up to 1400+ degrees
Mixed up a batch of Starlite... paying ummmm....not enough attention to proportions of course... then rolled it out.
Burrito'ed the egg
Balm test... taquito'ed a chapstick.
Delivery to kiln.
Sacrificial offering ^^^
So... we gave it 4 minutes at around 1400 degrees... and at 3:30 we had smoke...and FIRE! Oh shit! Opened it up to flames - that extinguished rapidly.
Fortunately... we have a good fan in Skip's studio. Cherry chapstick + burning carbon filled the room.
Warm not hot to the touch... not exactly as portrayed in the video... LOL... then again -
we are Starlite noobs.
Final egg-
Well, it's a hell of a difficult way to poach an egg.
Sequel- fate of the chapstick later ;)
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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If you are going though that much trouble with melting sh#t and all- may I suggest you consider hash oil? Much more profitable assuming you don't torch the abode.
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 9, 2019 - 09:39pm PT
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You have no idea of our hash-oil ordeal.
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zBrown
Ice climber
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Feb 10, 2019 - 06:55pm PT
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There is a Starlight Bowl in
Balboa Park
Undergoing renovation
What does it have to do with this?
I don't know
I do not get it
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Jim Clipper
climber
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Feb 10, 2019 - 07:02pm PT
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F'ing awesome!!! If you head down towards the Monument, Locker may be able you teach you a little about cooking things. Seriously, looks like good fun.
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Feb 10, 2019 - 08:09pm PT
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If you put Starlight on the 395 - would the gumbies from LA be able to get back home tonight?
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2019 - 10:23pm PT
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Thanks Jim and Tad!
Proud effort,
ya done or still in research mode? :)
Still in research mode. We think the egg poached out because the weight displaced the bottom still-moist starlite in the kiln, making contact with the firing dish.
Gonna let it dry and re-fire next time, and put it on a tripod or something...
I forgot to take a picture, but the lip balm container was fine - just the wax melted out.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Feb 10, 2019 - 11:04pm PT
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I wonder if the difference has anything to do with direction of the heat source? A propane torch directs heat from one direction, whereas a kiln's heat is from all directions.
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2019 - 11:13pm PT
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For sure, ap!
That was why we wanted to try the kiln experiment, it's multi-directional and contained.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Feb 10, 2019 - 11:19pm PT
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Carcinogenic?
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2019 - 11:24pm PT
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No. I had a panic moment during the firing about that while I was outside having a puff.
The carbon burn-off seemed to have no lingering or bad effects. Neither did the puff (except for the panic moment)...
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Feb 11, 2019 - 07:53am PT
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If you want after LJ is done making his HD roof rack you may use my welding set to try and see if you get any different results. With a rosebud tip you should be able to get well over 2000f.
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Aeriq
Sport climber
100-year Visitor
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 11, 2019 - 08:40am PT
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Thanks, Mark - we would like to try the direct flame!
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Feb 11, 2019 - 08:59am PT
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The moat of flaming wax likely skewed the results. Starlight did completely shield the plastic chapstick container though.
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Winemaker
Sport climber
Yakima, WA
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Feb 11, 2019 - 08:38pm PT
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I watched the BBC series about Maurice Ward and his 'starlite' and was struck by the similarity of the inventor refusing to revealing any details to others and a gentleman I once worked with. I was working at a marine engineering company in Seattle designing off shore oil drilling and mooring equipment; a co-worker was a gentleman who had emigrated here years ago from Poland and was a very good engineer and designer.
When I first joined the company he and I were working on redesigning fish processing equipment for canning salmon. He told me he had been working on a machine for producing woven rugs and had had a break though that would revolutionize the industry. When pressed for details he absolutely refused to speak about it. He later developed lung cancer and lived for about a year, but steadfastly wouldn't discuss his invention, although we were friends and he knew I had no intention of ripping him off. I didn't and don't understand his motivations, as I don't understand the motivations of Maurice Ward.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Feb 12, 2019 - 07:59am PT
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Cool! Never heard of this. Thanks.
BAd
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