Chemistry

I just bought Charles Lewton-Brain’s e-book on Hinges. Charles is an
excellent teacher, writer, and metalworker, but I wanted to note a
couple of (unessential) mix-ups on p. 15 of the e-book. It says,
"…two copper oxides: a red (CuO cuprous) one and a black (CuO_2
cupric) one."

It should actually be “…two copper oxides: a red (Cu_2 O cuprous)
one and a black (CuO cupric) one.” Many jewelrymaking books and
magazines have errors like this, related to the oxides of copper.
Everything else Charles has to say about the properties of these two
oxides is right-on!

To check details like this, see the Handbook of Chemistry and
Physics
, under Copper, in the section on “Physical Constants of
Inorganic Compounds.”

Judy Bjorkman
Owego, NY