Finding the melting point of Solder

[JoeMK]

hey, just need some help here
this for some school assignment. We made our own Solder by melting tin and lead in the correct ratio. Now we need to remelt the Solder to find its melting point. Look i now this might sound stupid, but what is the most accurate method of findng the melting point.

Thanks in advance

[JoeMK]

this is very impotant, there are 2 questions about it that pop-up in this in this assignment:

1> Suggest a suitable technique and sound experimental practise that should be used so the reasonably low melting point can be accurately measured and confirmed
2> What changes did you make to the procedure in this experiment in an attempt to gain more accurate results. (It is very unlikely but possible that you used the correct procedure for finding the melting point of Solder)

Ok i know these might sound like very simple questions, but that teacher wants us to synthesise on a very high level of thinking, so the answerers ain't quite as obvious as they may seem ...any help srongly apreciated

[JoeMK]

no reply ?
2 more days before assignment to be handed in

[Mitch]

Place some in a beaker with a thermometer and put it on a hotplate. See when it melts and record the temperature of the liquid.

[Mitch]

I can now think of even a better way. Give it some thought.

[charco]

Connect the piece of solder between two croc clips in a thermocouple circuit connected to the computer. place the relevant part of the assembly in an oven (not the computer!)

Allow the oven to heat up very slowly.

When the oven reaches the melting point of the solder it will break the circuit and the reading will be lost. Record the temperature at which this occurs.

[RobJim]

Well when we used to do this sort of thing in Organic Chemistry class, there was a device in which one would put a substance in a glass tube and then set the tube in the device. Unfortunately for some reason I can't remember the name of the device.

Here we go:

http://orgchem.colorado.edu/hndbksup...meltingpt.html

[Mitch]

There called Melt Temps typically.

[Billy Boy]

I like the oven idea, but who has an oven that allows you to read the temp in accurate degrees? Also the bulb of the thermomiter may heat at a different rate than the wire.

Here is my suggestion. Melt some solder. Cast a thermoniter bulb into the melted solder so that the bulb is fully covered but none of the rest of the thermomiter is covered. Let the solder solidify, then hold the thermomiter bulb/solder unit buy the thermomiter so that it is hanging straight sown by the thermomiter. Then heat the solder with a torch and when the casting falls off the thermomiter read the temp on the thermomiter.

B

[charco]

you don't read the temperature using the oven!!! - you use the thermocouple attached to the computer and read off the temperature on the computer VDU... far more accurate