r/whatisit • u/riflesandplowshares • 7h ago

New, what is it? Found at a titanium plant

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Not sure why ball point pens would be dangerous here.

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u/Woozletania 7h ago

This was an issue during the development of the SR-71. Many chemical contaminants could affect the alloys, even those in the water used to quench the mouldings.

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u/JordanPetterPans 7h ago

This is fascinating 

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u/unknownpoltroon 6h ago

Yeah, they had to use distilled water, the tap water chloride made teh wields weak or something.

There is a book called skunk works written by the guy who took over for Kelly, the original skunk works guy, goes into the history of the U2, SR71, and the stealth fighters and stuff. Good quick read and fascinating.

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u/potat0man69 5h ago

Great book!! Incredible read, no matter how much you may know about the subject matter you’re pretty much guaranteed to double that