Thread: Actual Testing OMG - Alcohol and Razors

Originally Posted by Caledonian

\Kinetic energy is the energy which an object has by virtue of its motion, examples being a bullet or a brick you drop on your toe. If the alcohol has kinetic energy, i wouldn't stand in its way. There are quotation marks in the thread that mentioned it, and it would be useful to know the source being quoted, so that we can avoid it.


I think the most important information to be gleaned from this experiment is that the "rust" produced was mostly the relatively harmless black oxide, and extremely shallow. In no way did it confirm the results seen in the previous thread. I still think the presence of another metal in a conducting liquid is the most likely explanation for what happened there.

First Part - That is not all that kinetic energy means. For example, temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms/molecules of an object. I believe that the words kinetic energy in the quotation are referring to internal kinetic energy, not the kinetic energy you describe.

Second Part - Maybe I missed something, but was there a description of how deep the "harmless black oxide" goes? I think everyone's least favorite type of corrosion is the black stuff. Red comes right off the surface, leaving black behind. Getting the black out is usually more difficult, and it often leaves behind pitting. On the other hand, light surface staining may come right off with a metal polish. So the depth, which I didn't see mentioned, is really important to know. Also, I'm not sure at what stage people apply alcohol to their razors, but if it's after the razor is honed to shave ready (such as upon receiving a new razor from a shop/honer), any unnecessary corrosion to the edge can have a negative effect on the shave, so even the lightest oxidation can cause problems.