Topic: Making batch in the kitchen

[Frank]

Take 100 parts playground sand, 35 parts washing soda and 15 parts potassium carbonate - mix and grind together well in the trusty pestle and mortar. About 15 mins of grinding.

Prepare your kiln - A couple of flowerpots, one inside the other, fill with crushed barbecue charcoal.

Embed in this a ceramic crucible with lid and put you mixture in it. Cover and add more charcoal to cover the crucible.

Microwave on full power for 30-40 minutes.

Take care as it will be extremely hot, well over 1,000º, when you remove it. Allow it cool and retrieve your batch.

Seen on one of those weird late night TV science programs.

[Anne]

Ooooerrr.... Frank, should this come with a big safety warning and a disclaimer?! 

[Frank]

All the guy wore was safety glasses and oven gloves to take it from the oven. It can be left to get cold once the charcoal stops burning. Don't expect useful quantities of glass, just a fun demonstration of how glass is made from raw materials. You could add to the gun by adding a bit of uranium oxide to get you know what - of course you might find that a tad difficult to source but... it could be extracted from sea-water to complete the home technology class.

[Anne]

Hmmmm somehow the idea of uranium oxide in a microwave worries me somewhat...  can't think why! 

[Frank]

No reason to worry Anne, the amount of sea-water you would need to process makes it a wee joke  - mind you, did you notice my dyslexic fingers in "the gun by adding a bit of uranium oxide" should of course have been fun.

There is probably more danger from the microwave leakage over the 30 minute period.

[aa]

I love reading all those warranty disclaimers and safety notices that you find nowadays when you buy something new! The bland end starts something like ... in the instructions for a kettle - caution there is a danger of scalding from hot liquids - always handle boiling water (that you just boiled in our kettle, which is designed for boiling water - hot stuff you know) with care. And with a new digital camera - danger - if you drop this on the floor you may cause damage ( to the floor or the camera) ..... and half way through, I always think " why on earth are they saying this...who on earth would be so incredibly XXXxX as to do that!"

......I'm beginning to get the drift....the penny has dropped! Now I know why they come up with all those far-fetched scenarios!

[mrvaselineglass]

Um.....what about the burning charcoal?  I would think that could give off carbon monoxide.  not a good thing to have oozing out around the door seal of the microwave and into the house.  also, it would cause enough smoke, I would think, to set off smoke detectors. 

[aa]

Um.....what about the burning charcoal? 

so that's what they mean by a combination microwave with grill

[Frank]

To hot for smoke.

[Ivo]

is it covered under the house insurance?