Cody'sLab - 2021-10-17
I perform some chemical magic on some rock in order to break rock.
I'll say it again.. Cody was the main reason I started watching YouTube. Cody remains a wonderful teacher and storyteller. He explores the natural world and beautifully shows us the details within.
I've always wanted to shake his hand and say thanks. And I know there's a lot of YouTubers out there, who are just as good. But Cody started my journey. I'm forever thankful ! So, Thanks Cody.
Same, but now I'm addicted, soooooo...... Thanks Cody........
Buttering clay onto a sponge. Grinding rocks with a rolling pin. Never stop being a slightly ghetto mcguyver Cody. It is funny but it's also stuff regular people without thousands in equipment can do. Not that most people should be repeating many of the things that go on here haha. One of the things I've always enjoyed about your content though.
@jacothy ???
@TheGreatUnknown I wasn't replying to you
@jacothy I get that but no one was complaining
@TheGreatUnknown oh fuck haha I misinterpreted Nocare, I thought he was complaining my bad
@jacothy shit happens its all good just confused the hell outa me
I've used some product roughly translated as "snail-a-mite" several times to crack granite when doing construction jobs, almost always works great. Seems indeed to be just calcium oxide and portland cement.
We generally set up all the holes at the end of the day and start the jackhammers the next morning.
Yeah, it would probably be Swedish: snigel dynamit
@Chris Chris
yep. Snigeldynamit manufactured by Finja Bemix.
@Chris Chris Sounds familiar enough. Here on other side of the pond its "Etana dynamiitti" = Snail Dynamite. Never gave it deeper look, but gotta check next time the price and price of quicklime locally. Have several rocks to break and if it indeed can be made at home damn that is useful. Just need cheap way to get sodium carbonate, have other uses for it too.
@Hellsong89 either heat sodiumbicarbonate like cody in an oven or buy it online. It's cheap!
Congratulations Cody for moving forward and exploring alternatives . this is why i am a subscriber of yours for years . great content . good job
non explosive demolition or mining is certainly a very interesting topic, im looking forward to the development and usage of this
this is kindof like water getting into cracks and freezing. but freezing water would be super difficult so this will have to do lol
This is a commercially used process and there are commercial products that are readily available, one of them is called Dexpan. There are plenty of applications where this is appropriate, for example where the aim is to split the rock in a controlled manner (example extracting dimension stone) or where explosives can't be used (e.g. breaking concrete ballast to remove it in a ship's hull).
@Gerry nice. I seen Japanese workers drive railroad spikes down a line on a rock and split it, so this sounds like itd be waaaaaaaay less work
@Dr. Kenneth Noisewater should still probably stop though
It's not new....its hundreds of years old.
Would be interesting to see this VS the old timber plug and water method as to which one works faster and which one spreads more? Also pre-soaking the rock with water to see if that allows it to have a greater expansion rate would be interesting 😁
anybody could tell you've been making videos for a long time, Cody. you make the darndest things seem so simple and fun!
I've seen some BIG boulders split with this stuff. It's really amazing, and I love how you totally broke down how it works, ingredient by ingredient.
"I want to blow things up, but I'll just expand things instead" lol love you Cody.
I can't be the only one who gets a giggle watching cody use household items for his experiments fully knowing he has the equipment.
He has a pestle and mortar, yet uses a rolling pin. He has tongs for the furnace but uses pliers. He has a rock crusher, but just uses a knife.
He could (and probably should) crush the limestone before baking to ensure a more complete transition to quicklime.
@namAehT heck, if he wanted better results he could have started with commercial ag dry lime - but it's about doing it himself as simply as possible.
@Tooobuhz18 when I saw the magnets, first thought was "this man is a genius, why didn't I think of it before"
I love it. It's a "frontier", "practical" or "rogue" way of doing things – don't necessarily use the exact right tool; just use whatever's convenient that does the job. You can often do just about whatever you need to do with one or two toolboxes rather than an entire workshop. You can take a couple of toolboxes with you wherever, but not your entire workshop.
Codyology: using less than ideal materials to try to achieve a certain result.
I recall watching a guy who does this professionally and admittedly, their mixture takes a decent while to split the rocks, so I'm assuming there's something to be said for having more sodium carbonate in the mix.
Cody you’re looking great and this episode was amazing! Thank you for all the time and effort that you put into these videos. You have so much knowledge to share!
Used this about 40 years ago in a coal mine to create the start of a new tunnel off an existing and still working shaft. It worked extremely well in controlled rock breaking with no problem of projection of debris into the shaft. The only time we ever had a hole blow out, it was the one day we were visited by HM Mines Inspector ..... most inconvenient and, unlike us, he was not amused !
You should try loading this stuff into a balloon... That might solve the "rock sucks up all the water" and "cracks formed so air could get to it" problems. If your standard dollar store balloons don't stand up to the expansion, I remember playing with some really heavy duty ones called "punch balloons" when I was a kid. Those suckers were thick.
Be like Cody, an honest citizen scientist. These type of people come up with actually answers. Thanks Cody😁👍.
Angry neoliberal corporatist noises
Nice to know the chemistry behind this process, I've seen Aussie youtuber and demoliton expert Demolition Dave use the commercial chemical cracking agent many times and always wondered what the chemistry involved in the process was.
Basically...its quicklime. Read my long comment.
i have been watching colin furze secret tunnel series recently, and he has been using what could be described as a hydraulic chisel to silently dig through lime stone and clay, with that he has gotten a surprising distance dug out in the span of just a few months all without blasting
perhaps something similar could be used for chicken hole base, but i do like the chemistry approach for sure
Thanks for everything you've done over all these past years. You're an amazing dude and we all appreciate you more than you know. Hope you're doing well!
"Now I need to do it again, but intentionally."...Yep, That's science for ya.
@tyrannosaurus imperator Engineering is science. Applied science anyway.
@tyrannosaurus imperator aka, you are a salty engineer who produces work so shoddy that someone in another field can tell your project is a load of ass before you. LMAO
thats the new definition for science! "doing things again, but intentionally"
@tyrannosaurus imperator science doesnt rewrite theories, a theory in science is a collective of overwhelming evidence, you only have to remove or add a new evidence to a theory if that particular information is obsolete... and engineering is a science, its mechanical science, if you dont know the basics of science, dont bash it! because that science thing your bashing with another form of science... is the thing that created the device your typing on!
@tyrannosaurus imperator IT is explaining how something no longer works, only to then be left wondering how the hell it used to be working before because it was clearly wrong since the beginning.
Ever consider Lecturing, Cody? You are captivating!
I've heard it mentioned but I love your laid back hick mcgyver approach to doing Big Chemistry using minimal glassware and a smattering of household and 'agricultural' chemicals but most importantly, stuff.
I'm so happy Cody has 2mil subs. I found him a million years ago looking for gold recovery stuff. He has come light years and never failed to hold my attention
Cody, to prevent the moisture from getting in, maybe you can put it inside a small rubber balloon. Just load it up, press out as much air as possible, then tie it up, stuff it in the hole and cap it off with plaster. Seeing how long it takes to expand, the plaster should harden, just a random thought.
I’m looking forward to the full scale demo out at chicken hole! Could you pump this stuff into natural cracks in the rock to similar effect?
I'm thinking a bore hole would be the most efficient way to limit area that it needs to expand to
We use stuff like this for rocks that are too big to move at our claim, works great. I also suggest looking into a micro blaster. It uses .22 caliber sized charges, way easier and safer than dynamite.
i only just realized this from your comment... i should have realized while watching, but functionally, this is the process of using cooked rocks, to break other rocks!
Wow cody you are looking super healthy i haven't been watching in a long time but im thoroughly grateful to be seeing you well!!
Love your content. Always excited to see what you get up to, especially when it comes to any shop/lab related stuff
22:20 it looks like the water seeped out through the rock... so your reaction probably was quite weak compared to what it could have been. Maybe some sort of thickening agent would work to keep the water from just going with gravity and draining?
Cody "Let's try to avoid making things explode so we are going to use quick lime in a test tube!"
Also Cody: Explodes quicklime in a test tube...
@ZE0XE0 Agreed, explosions are defined largely by their speed, with ones causing supercritical flow being referred to as "detonations"
@diamondflaw lets calculate the reynolds number of this flying glass!
Might want to look at the Entymology?
@Michael Green Not sure what insects have to do with explosions. You mean Etymology?
@diamondflaw indeed I do, I hate autocorrect!
Though I believe there are some that have the ability to explode, and others produce chemicals useful to do so!
Congrats on 2m Cody; what a strange journey it's been so far. Thanks for all the work you put in.
Cody, i have loved you videos for years! Your use of everyday items to conduct your experiments is super cool. Don't stop being Cody!
I hope to see more with this stuff, also I have an idea for keeping it from drying out. Maybe you could try putting some sort of expandable liner in the drilled hole something similar to a balloon maybe?
Hope you’re doing well mate. Don’t see you all that often but still always look forward to a codyslab video. Keep up the good work
"Snail dynamite" in sweden, probably because you can do it with snail shells instead of limestone :)
Limestone is made of millions of dead shells if I'm not mistaken.
Wow... i just always tought that it's super slow 😁
Snails shells are lime so cool cool
I came here to say that, but it's probably named after the speed, not the source of lime, as hammies said.
It's possible that it's both.
I never knew about this stuff, really interesting!
I wonder what would happen if you epoxied that tree branch back onto the tree though.
Congrats on 2Mil Cody, it’s amazing how far you’ve come.
I'm uneducated when it comes to chemistry, my school didn't have a very good science department however I love your videos as you explain things in a fun way and all of your experiments are fascinating to watch and learn from. Thank you Cody!
i dont know why but everytime i go home from work, i always look forward to watching cody's videos. im not a science guy and even dont understand half of what cody's doing but i do strangely find it interesting.
For your next experiments with this demolition method, I'd be curious to see how a plug would perform if you sprayed water into the drill-hole before applying the grout. That way more moisture is preserved near the reaction to keep it going longer.
Either way, very fascinating video! Keep up the great work!
@Shane Johns No, seriously, until you learn to read, there's not need to react.
@AKuTepion ``You didn't react to neither of my arguments.``
This example of double-negation idiocy? SMH
Tell ya what... I'll just add you to my distinguished block list and not think of you any longer.
@Jayy Tee Thanks. I will block that one too.
@Shane Johns Some people just won't listen to reason. Who cares?
What about lining the hole with something watertight and stretchy? Something like spray-on latex, if such a thing exists.
This actually like a lot of your videos, was very interesting. I didn’t expect it to do anything at all the the rock. I’d like to see it done on a very hard rock, maybe granite or something ? And instead of paste to cover the top maybe use a circular drill bit to penetrate the rock hole and take the drill bit out of the drill and have it act more of a plug.
Beautiful experiment, looking forward to see it applied on a larger scale.
Congrats on 2 mil subs!!! I have Been watching your channel for years and you always have content that is amazing and i am happy to see your channel grow and your content is still original and great. Keep up the Great work Cody! I cannot wait to see more on "Demolition Grout"
Great video! I know you can't read all the comments, but I had a couple thoughts.
First, about the high carbonate mixture - is it possible that the the donor carbonate is increasing the calcium carbonate yield in the final grout, at the cost of delaying the slaking reaction? If so, is that also part of increased expansion?
I was also wondering if you've heard about the ancient Greek method of using wooden wedges and then letting expanding cellulose fibers do the work.
We buy these softwood sawdust pellet as a cat litter (low scent, composts nicely once the cat adds urea!) and they expand incredibly and they are dirt cheap. I wonder if they would work? Or maybe dowels, or sections of cleared juniper trunk?
Finally, someone mentioned rubber coverings for grout 'charges' and I though that was clever - I would add a paper covering for an easy slide down the hole without tearing that.
Anyhow, thanks for another great one.
It's an interesting idea that you've put forward here. However, I would like to add that your ballistic grout mixture is likely not a suitable replacement for explosives, even for mining at the ranch, because the energy required to turn native rock into calcium oxide is higher than making the black powder yourself, even if the number of materials for the black powder is greater.
This is very interesting, I can't wait to see more testing on the subject
I Think I would consider using something that would better contain the reaction and not break apart under stress but Give to allow expansion. Thick foil tubes? Genius idea btw!
We had a professor that specialised in concrete. He told us (and we tested it) that some sugar in concrete will slow down the hardening because the chunky molecule sticks near water and makes it harder for it to get to the minerals. But supposedly it doesn't affect the final hardness too much in small quantities.
Much more potent inhibitors are used in concrete trucks in case of traffic jams.
Cody, could the mortar be made into rods that can be dipped in water before pushing them into a wet rock?
I was also thinking a premade plaster plug to follow it, so you know for certain there are no air cavities in a horizontal hole, and to make the process a bit easier, tho prep will be more steps.
@Aj Sparx Waxed paper is incredibly cheap or easy to make as well as water resistant and even biodegradable(in case a rock has to be abandoned before splitting) I like this better than any plastic options suggested thus far.
If you are molding rods, maybe you can mold in ducts and actually circulate water through the rods. Inject the hole with 2-part epoxy maybe and then slide the rods in.
@Matthew Lind personally, I think using a wick would solve this problem in a much simpler way
@Derby man wax is also readily available!
@Cody'sLab sorry for the tag and that I'm extremely late but watch the paper in the time lapse at 22:18
As time passes, water is released into the paper probably from the rock so I'm assuming the entire expanding process stopped super early because the water leaked out.
So as some has suggested, you need a way to seal it all so it's not exposed to air or allowed to leak.
I also have a strong feeling that if the material that this expanding paste is placed in is too strong strong then as the paste expands, the external pressure added with the expanding pressure basically squeezes the water out or something.
Do avoid as much external pressure the ones who work with similar substances either use multiple holes or larger ones, sometimes a combination of both. I don't know how they avoid the leaking besides maybe more material that helps absorb and keep the water in the solution so it can continue reacting over time
Thank you for your videos, Cody. I really appreciate the work you do!
cant wait to see this applied to a proper rock face with confinement on all sides & multiple grout/relief boreholes. very swazy cody. u never cease to amaze me with ur simple bute effective solutions. keep on keepin on
Grubzer - 2021-10-17
"It breaks the rock without any fire,+ exploding fragments, and most importantly: no licensing requirements"
Safety is not the number 1 priority here, huh :D
Seth Drake - 2022-01-11
safety third
evmanbutts - 2022-01-16
3rd or 4th priority, depending on the day
Chance Butler - 2022-03-10
south americans just used water and freezing overnight my grandma who went there said they told her haha. i havent tried it yet but i imagine if you cork it, especially if u managed to hermetically seal it, the water expansion should be plenty on its own. yet another hidden way to benefit from cold places like canada
demoniack81 - 2022-05-06
@Yaroslav Panych "Among victims of car accidents there are much more people with drivers license than without."
...ever heard of population sizes?
The reason there are few unlicensed drivers crashing is because there are few unlicensed drivers period.
h3yw00d - 2022-08-15
@calvingreene90 the ole nitro knife.