Call of the Wild
The ocean is a noisier place than you might imagine - can our team capture the Call of the Wild?
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Mike Bullivant's diary about the challenge for the Call of the Wild programme, from the BBC/OU series Rough Science 5
After a very welcome two-day break, we're back on the road at 7.30am on our way to Chuini and the start of Programme 3. There's to be a lot of Chemistry in this programme, and I've got my work cut out to do everything that's going to be required of me. There's also the problem that the tides, once again, dictate we have to leave our Chuini base early on Day 3 - another challenge that's going to have to be completed in much less than the three days Kate promises us at the top of each programme.
Jonathan and I are to make a hydrophone, and my first job is to grow a crystal of Rochelle Salt from some Cream of Tartar that I've been given in the trunk. This is a simple enough process, involving a bit of elementary Chemistry to convert one compound into the other. The only uncertainty is whether I'll be able to grow a Rochelle Salt crystal that will do the trick. Such crystals are piezoelectric, and without one, Jonathan's hydrophone just won't work. By mid-morning, I've several Rochelle Salt solutions of varying concentrations, from which I hope a suitable crystal will grow; all I can do is leave these to stand overnight and see what, if anything, happens.
In the meantime, I start work on the synthesis of some nitric acid, using some concentrated sulfuric acid and what's left of the bat poo (potassium nitrate). It goes like a dream. Before long, I have about 10 cm³ of a straw-coloured liquid, which will be plenty for our purposes. I plan to use the nitric acid tomorrow to make a compound called silver nitrate for Kathy. It's one of the chemicals she'll need in order to produce a mirror for the periscope she's been asked for.
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Content last updated: 26/01/2005
