Quote:
Originally posted by Morgan Kane
..also find it strange that the one without oil is 50% free of rust (no idea why.. it was well cleaned all over)
|
Actually I think I can explain that one. Some years ago I did considerable photographic research and published a number of articles concerning my results.
Not to bore you with the details; metals and salts of metals begin reactions at focal points, usually points of microscopic defect. As reactions occur in other places, electrons tend to get "handed off" from new areas of reaction to areas where reactions are already occuring.
This feeds the old areas of reaction from potential new areas and therefore new areas are created more slowly than they might be otherwise.
Think of it as having to break a threshold and once that threshold is broken, reaction is going to speed there and slow elsewhere.
You may find that the depth of rust is a bit greater on the metal without oil than on samples with oil and the same apparent amount of surface rust.