Experiments with Lichtenberg Figures and Different Electrolyte Solutions

It's spring again!  The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and my Lichtenberg machine is calling my name.  Last time I experimented with Lichtenberg figures on different types of wood, so this year I decided to do some experiments with different types of electrolyte solution.

When I first built my Lichtenberg machine, I did a lot of research, and it seemed that everyone I referenced used a mixture of baking soda and water as the electrolyte solution to increase the conductivity across the surface of the wood.  It didn't occur to me that there may be other solutions that might work just as well if not better.

This time I set out to see what other household electrolytes I could find, and how they stacked up against the old reliable: sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda.

The Candidates

The first alternative I came up with was sodium chloride, or plain-old table salt.  I hypothesized that I would not see better results than with baking soda because table salt is so common.  Surely someone else would have tried salt, and if it worked better, then everyone would be using it.

The second candidate for my experiment was Epsom salts, or magnesium sulfate.  Since I had no experience with Epsom salts other than soaking sore muscles, I had no idea what to expect.

Of course, every experiment needs a control group, so I had to include baking soda in the mix so that I would have something to compare with the other two electrolytes.

The Method

I decided to test all three electrolytes on two different types of wood.  My first test would be on Mahogany, which is pretty high up on the hardness scale.  The second test would be run on a piece of Ambrosia Maple, which is considerably softer, although still considered a hardwood.

I heated water in a teapot just shy of boiling, and added electrolyte to the water until no more would dissolve into solution.

Each piece of wood was pre-treated with solution five minutes prior to electrocution to give it time to soak in.  The wood was then recoated immediately before burning, and additional electrolyte solution was added as needed throughout the process of burning.

The Experiment

Sodium Bicarbonate

First up to bat was my control group, the old reliable, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

As you can see, my results were pretty average, as expected.

Magnesium Sulfate

Next I moved onto Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate).

I combined both tests into one video because the results were very underwhelming.  The magnesium sulfate solution repeatedly evaporated too quickly, and the wood never got hot enough to burn except for the area right around where the machine made contact with the wood.

I don't know if the poor results were because the magnesium sulfate solution was too conductive, or not conductive enough, you would have to ask a chemist.  I can tell you that Epsom salts do not make a good electrolyte solution for creating Lichtenberg figures.

Sodium Chloride

My final test utilized table salt in solution.

Much to my surprise, the table salt preformed on par with the baking soda.  Every piece of wood is going to burn differently, so it is difficult to make a quantifiable, side-by-side comparison, but I think the sodium chloride worked very well.

In addition, baking soda tends to stain the wood after the electric current is applied.  I don't know why this is, but it happens consistently.  Luckily it's not too pronounced, and as long as the entire piece is stained it isn't very noticeable.  The salt solution, however, didn't discolor the wood at all.  In the picture below you can see the difference between the natural color on the wood treated with table salt, and the discoloration on the wood treated with baking soda.

Conclusion

While both baking soda and table salt preformed admirably, I have to give the gold in this round to table salt, due to it not discoloring the wood.  More testing will be required before I will swear off baking soda completely, but I will certainly be using table salt as my go-to electrolyte solution for Lichtenberg figures in the future.

I can say with certainty, that while it may work wonders on sore muscles, Epsom salt does not make a good electrolyte solution for creating Lichtenberg figures.  If any of you reading this article are chemists, and have some insight as to why this might be, please let me know in the comment section.

I hope you have enjoyed another installment of my adventures in Lichtenberg figures.  If any of you decide to dabble in Lichtenberg figures yourselves, please be very careful, as mistakes with high voltage can be lethal.

Until next time, have fun, and keep building!