(Can I confuse those Yahoo demons that echo my 4th
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(Can I confuse those Yahoo demons that echo my 4th line when I post to Bee-L?!)

Hi Allen

> Is it just me, but does anyone else see anything peculiar in the few details which are given?

Am I allowed to answer this one?   :-)

They seem to have lost 0.2 of a percent somewhere, careless of them.

One thing no-one seems to have taken into account is the rather nit-picking fact that the 75g of oxalic acid will increase the volume of 1kg sugar plus 1l water beyond the 1670 ml cited.  I don't know what that volume increase will be, but if it is around half of the weight of oxalic acid then 1670 ml becomes 1707.5

So, 75g in 1 kg plus 1 litre (or liter if you prefer) would now not be 4.5% but 4.4%, and after a correction for the water in the oxalic acid this becomes not 3.2% but 3.14%.  Nitpicking, just as I said, but the Greeks were still wrong.

This business about subtracting the water of crystalisation is confusing.  The convention for concentrations as far as I am aware is normally just to cite what you dissolved in what solvent.  In other words:

4.5% (weight/volume) of oxalic acid dihydrate in 50% sugar syrup (not '3.2%' of anhydrous oxalic acid, because you never used that).

Or, in the case of more recent recommendations coming I think from this work:

http://www.agroscope.admin.ch/imkerei/00316/00329/02081/index.html?lang=en

... and adopted by the Canadian authorities and by a proportion of beekeepers over here (but not Murray and not myself) ......

3.5% (weight/volume) of oxalic acid dihydrate in 50% sugar syrup.

We should really use Molarity to avoid (?!!) such confusion.

0.348M oxalic acid anyone?  Or 0.277M for the weaker solution?

Well, you did ask ......

G.


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