The ‘Magic’ of Tin

The ‘Magic’ of Tin: "Using funding from a 2003 Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration grant, Cizewski and her collaborators developed the technique that Jones applied to this study.

“The properties we’re studying in our experiment have parallels to the formation of elements heavier than iron in stars,” Cizewski said. “This form of tin may be formed in supernova explosions or collisions of neutron stars, and lies along the path to forming heavier elements.”

The knowledge gained using this neutron transfer process for research could also help investigators if rogue states or terrorists ever fabricate and detonate a nuclear weapon. It could help scientists read a bomb’s nuclear fission products like a fingerprint that could lead investigators to the suspected bomb builder."

Tin as a possible candidate for solar thermochemical redox process for hydrogen production

Scopus: "The feasibility to produce hydrogen in the Sn-H2>O/SnO 2>-C thermochemical water splitting redox process depends mainly on the efficiency of the tin hydrolysis step, which has not been studied adequately so far, while the cassererite carboreduction is implemented by industry for tin production.

The present work deals with the hydrolysis of different kinds of tin powders at different experimental conditions at moderate temperature range 180-620'C. In spite of the fact that the rate of hydrogen production is lower compared with other metals, e.g., zinc, at the same reactor temperature, high conversion level was obtained in a controllable reaction. Consequently, tin can be a relevant candidate for solar hydrogen production considering the advantage of significant lower temperatures required for the solar carboreduction of its oxide"

Vishnevetsky, I., Epstein, M.

Solar Research Facilities Unit, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel

EPA Considering Ban on Traditional Ammunition and Bullets

� Daily Bulletin: "From the Nat’l Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Lisa Jackson, who was responsible for banning bear hunting in New Jersey, is now considering a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) — a leading anti-hunting organization — to ban all traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976, a law in which Congress expressly exempted ammunition"