Kathleen Sylva

Head Researcher
Ceramic Artisans

Dear Ms. Sylva,

My name is James Kan, and on behalf of Reginald Brown, I
believe that my team and I have identified a compound that matches
your criteria very well. This substance is transparent when it dissolves
but white when it dries, has a high melting point, dissolves in water but
not alcohol, and is electrically conductive when dissolved in water. Out
of the four compounds we received to test, sodium chloride, or plain
table salt, was the one that would work the best as a fixative for the
glaze.
To come to that conclusion, we went through a number of tests
with the four compounds. We first tested their melting points by
placing .5g of the substance into a test tube, then heating it over a
Bunsen Burner for a minute, and recorded the time it took for the
substance to melt (if it melted at all during the minute). Then we
tested the substances’ solubility in water and alcohol. To do that, we
filled one beaker halfway with water and another with alcohol. We put
one gram of the substance into each of the beakers, stirred it around,
and waited. We also noticed if any of the substances were transparent
when they dissolved, and then smeared a sample of the liquid
containing the dissolved substance on the tabletop. We waited until it
dried, and noted the color of it. This was done to see whether the
substance was clear when dissolved and white when dried. Lastly we
tested how electrically conductive the substances were when dissolved
in water, and to do this, we used the help of a probe connected to a
computer that measured how conductive something was. Once we had
gathered all the information we needed, we started analyzing it, and
determined the substance that’s best suited for your need.
 My team and I chose sodium chloride for its high melting point,
its solubility in water but not in alcohol, its characteristic to be clear
when dissolved but white when dry, and its relatively high conductivity.
We started testing with the melting point, and immediately knew that
either sodium chloride or sodium carbonate was going to be the key,
because they were the only two that didn’t melt within the minute. We
tested solubility next, and confirmed that the salicylic acid wasn’t it,
because it wasn’t soluble in water but soluble in alcohol, the exact
opposite of what’s needed. Then we did the test for the color of
dissolved and dry, which sodium carbonate failed because it was white
when dissolved, when we needed it to be clear. So by now we were
almost certain that sodium chloride would be it, but we tested the
conductivity to be sure. We ended up with sucrose and salicylic acid
being the least conductive, and although sodium carbonate was
slightly more conductive than sodium chloride, the results of the
previous test proved that it wasn’t fit to be the fixative. To sum it all
up, sucrose wasn’t chosen for its low melting point and low
conductivity, Sodium carbonate for the white color when dissolved, and
salicylic acid wasn’t chosen for its low melting point, solubility in
alcohol but not water, and its low conductivity.
I hope we solved your dilemma and we were of use. Please
contact us again if there is any further trouble. Also wire the $135,000
to Mr. Brown’s account, since he was the one who helped us out the
most.

Sincerely,

James Kan
Researcher at Materials Testing
CheMystery Labs, Inc.
52 Fulton Street
Springfield, VA 22150

Solubility in Color of
water and dissolved
alcohol and dry
Substance Rank of Wate Alcoho Disso Dry Conductivi
melting r l lved ty
points
Sucrose
(C6H12O6)

Sodium
chloride
(NaCl)
Sodium
Carbonate
(Na2CO3)
Salicylic
Acid
(C7H6O3)