Hi folks - here is the Friday Element Quiz Question and Answer: The Question: I am an element that was first produced in 1828 but was identified centuries earlier. Peak demand for this element was in the 1960s. This element has been extensively studied for possible use in reactor fuel breeding but only one master alloy is commercially available. The dominant isotope of this element has a half life of 1.41 x 1010 years. This element's compounds were part of an invention in 1891 and have been a significant part of people's camping experience. This element comprises 8.1 ppm of the earth's crust. What element am I? The Answer: The element is Thorium (Th). Thorium oxide (ThO2)was part of the incandescent gas light mantle patent (which I didn't know myself until today). Gas camping lanterns have woven cotton mantles that are soaked in a ThO2 and Ce(NO3)3 solution. The cotton burns away when first lit leaving a delicate web of sintered nitrate residues. The ThO2 has low thermal conductivity and supports/insulates the CeO2 particles which catalyze gas combustion. Today, U.S manufacturers have substituted Yttrium to avoid the regulatory costs associated with Th. The winner of the quiz is Bev Christian, RIM, will get the services of Clumpy, the 8th dwarf, for one task. Bev - you will need to let us know what Clumpy accomplished for you. Everyone have a good weekend. Dave Hillman Rockwell Collins [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------