re:1. You used the term paraffin, as opposed to the transpond kerosene. Nice one.
i am confused-- i presumed that Dr bill meant paraffin ( a wax like petrolium distilate, commonly used (still) for making candles and wax seals on jellies and jams(which have enoung sugar and acid in them to naturally prevent the growth of boxalism, so they don't have to be 'water bath/steam processed, but can be 'canned' by being poured into sterile jars, and sealed with paraffin)
paraffin is a solid. Kerosene is an other petrolium distilate.. a liquid used to light 'storm latterns' and to clean built up wax off wood floors. (it can also be found in 'Lestoil' a heavy duty cleaner) (and like gasoline, kerosene itself doesn't burn(the liquid) , but its vapors (kerosene that has become gasous) do, and it vaporizes readily.--now that i think of it, its only paraffin gas that burns, but paraffin as a solid vaporizes less readily, so its safer)
i would think that a microtome 'solid' would be prepared by paraffin--which is solid at room tempeture, and not with kerosene which is liquid, and vaporizes more easily and could spontaniously combust in the heat of a lab.
i have seen microtomes in use (in HS, the bio lab had one for making slides. (the bio lab bought live frogs too, and pithed them as needed.. the school was large, (almost 5000 students at the time, my graduating class was over 1,400!) and like many NYC schools, well equipted.) but i didn'work in bio lab, and never actually used on. (the microtome, adn the biolab in general, was total off limits to students-- but i worked in bio office (service credits) and was in the lab once or twice with head of bio department.
so shanks what do you mean by 'paraffin', and dear dr bill, what do you mean? a waxy solid, or a volital liquid?
microtome
