Mouth of the dragon's lair (the secret revealed)

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:35 pm

Anybody want to take a guess what this really is?

Hint: field width about 15 mm.

--Rik

Edit: title

Cactusdave · Post by **Cactusdave** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:10 am

I suspect this is mineral, rather than animal or vegetable.

shrek · Post by **shrek** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 2:06 am

Tree of nickel déposit ?

jp

JW · Post by JW » Fri Feb 03, 2012 8:20 am

Some type of light bulb filament

Saul · Post by **Saul** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 8:42 am

Cracked leaking pipe, somebody tried to fix it by welding, but unsuccessfully...

Planapo · Post by **Planapo** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 9:43 am

A twig or root of a plant that was injured and resin has seeped out from the injury and hardened. This resin ridge, partly amber-like and translucent in appearance, bears the "mouth of the dragon's liar".

Or is that grey stuff on my "twig" mortar/concrete?

--Betty

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:34 am

I swear, it is the lair of the Dragon! I have seen with my own eyes the creature's fiery breath!!

--Rik

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:09 am

Looks like an orifice or unintended hole in a natural gas pipe that has collected combustion deposits around the opening. That would fit with the "fiery breath" that was observed, but what appliance, device it goes with/to...????

Pau · Post by **Pau** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:41 am

Charles Krebs wrote:Looks like an orifice or unintended hole in a natural gas pipe that has collected combustion deposits around the opening. That would fit with the "fiery breath" that was observed, but what appliance, device it goes with/to...????

Well, following with the Charles combustion pipe hypothesis, according Betty resin idea, and in winter time...
...perhaps you are burning wood at home and the resin and gaz escapes from the wood when it is heavily heated (with orange tree and other woods it works)

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 12:00 pm

In this case there was no participation by natural gas, wood, or other combustible organics. I'm not sure to what extent oxidation was involved in the "fiery breath" that I saw.

--Rik

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:32 pm

OK then... an electric heating coil or element of some type (but what?

)

If the field width is about 15mm that would make the diameter of the part about 6-7mm. Perhaps about right for an electric oven element, but far too "messy" and...

no participation by natural gas, wood, or other combustible organics

How about the heating element from an old hot water heater? Don't know how you would have seen fiery breath (steam?) but you do some strange things Rik...

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 2:48 pm

I measure about 7.6 mm.

While I admit to doing some strange things, pressurized hot water snorkling is not one of them.

So nope, not a water heater. Not even some bizarre experiment involving a water heater. Good idea, though!

--Rik

Saul · Post by **Saul** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 2:51 pm

AC pipe ?

nucleobyte · Post by **nucleobyte** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 9:09 pm

Flux coated welding/brazing rod.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 9:45 am

rjlittlefield wrote:While I admit to doing some strange things, pressurized hot water snorkling is not one of them.

In fact I was stirring a pot of soup at the time... (Some of the previous guesses are getting quite close.

)

Here's a closer view, by the way. This was shot with a Nikon CFI BE Plan Achromat 4X NA 0.10, using EOS Utility to step focus on the tube lens. Illuminated by a desk lamp, shot with EFSC to avoid vibration blur.

--Rik