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Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

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How do you measure the rate of rust?

I'm a high school student doing a science fair project on the affect of bactericides on iron and I need a way to measure the rate of rust. I'm not allowed to compare the rate by sight. Originally I was going to measure the light reflected off the iron, but the device I was using won't working for that purpose. If anyone has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated!

Elise K.
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
2003

2003

It's not easy, and may not be appropriate for your grade level, but measuring the weight gain or weight loss could work. For the weight loss, brush off all the loose rust and weigh the metal that's left and see what weight it lost. For the weight gain, weigh the whole item with the rust, or weigh just the rust.

Once you know how much rust there is, and the chemical formula for rust, you know how much iron had to rust away to produce that much rust.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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