I suspect they are both oxides. One explanation was that high concentrations of iron was in the water. Here is a video of it while making ingots:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqhaYj78G1M


This was from melting the magnesium in aluminum. Most likely an impurity in the magensium + oxygen.

When I was in school 35 years ago I read about dry Tide detergent being used to separate the gases from the atmosphere.You pack enough dry tide in a 32  foot column(plastic hose to you and me) put slight pressure on it .Mixed air enters one end and unmixed air exits the other end.I heard too that goldfish can live in a tide/ water solution.Might be misinformation being passed on to me.But I would try TIDE.I thought the fibers in cigarette butts could be made conductive and serve as electrodes?Half my vineagar/vitamin C cells are dead today(3 out of six).I think too much corrosion.The survivors are still making 1.5 volts.The new vitamin C cells are still drying.The panel made with asprin(six cells) is losing power 5.0 volts and down to .020mas.triffid

Just tested the voltages on the new vitamin C cells(18 count) that I put together yesterday.I get 1.38 to 1.6 volts.Tomorrow I will seal the cells with wax and test the whole panel for volts and amps.Most of the cells read 1.4-1.45 volts.One more cell on the vinegar/vitamin C died.The magnesium electrode broke in half.So the vineagar likes to corrode the magnesium metal.I get a brown colored corrosion of the magnesium metal in the vitamin C cells and the vineagar/vitamin C cells.But the magnesium breaks only in the ones with vineagar added.




What this tells me that there must be buffers in the vitamin C pills that limit the corrosive action of the asorbic acid.I just read the label again and read that it contains cellulose of plant origin.


There are two ways to limit the corrosive action of acids.Put something directly on the metal or put buffers in the acid itself.

Here are the total ingredients of the vitamin C Im using :Ascorbic acid,vegetable stearic acid,,cellulose(plant origin),magnesium silcate,silica,hypromellose,dicalcium phosphate,rose hips,vegetable magnesium stearate.






vegetable stearic acid would be a third acid in these cells.Ascorbic acid,fumeric acid,and now stearic acid.

Generally applications of stearic acid exploit its bifunctional character, with a polar head group that can be attached to metal cations and a nonpolar chain that confers solubility in organic solvents. The combination leads to uses as a surfactant and softening agent. Stearic acid undergoes the typical reactions of saturated carboxylic acids, notably reduction to stearyl alcohol, and esterification with a range of alcohols.[/size][edit]Soaps, cosmetics, detergentsStearic acid is mainly used in the production of detergents, soaps, and cosmetics such as shampoos and shaving cream products. Soaps are not made directly from stearic acid, but indirectly by saponification of triglycerides consisting of stearic acid esters. Esters of stearic acid with ethylene glycol, glycol stearate and glycol distearate, are used to produce a pearly effect in shampoos, soaps, and other cosmetic products. They are added to the product in molten form and allowed to crystallize under controlled conditions. Detergents are obtained from amides and quaternary alkylammonium derivatives of stearic acid.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stearic_acid