Silver bullets can be made, but it isn’t easy. You also need a graphite mould to stand up to that temperature. But silver melts at a scorching 960oC, and you don’t get that over a campfire. Lead bullets can be made that way because lead has a relatively low melting point at 327oC. He surely didn’t melt silver over a campfire and pour it into moulds. Where the masked man got those bullets is more of a mystery. But there is no evidence that the duo favoured beans, so we can assume that the Lone Ranger’s silver bullets were bright and shiny. Human flatus is a rich source of hydrogen sulphide. Unless of course the Lone Ranger and Tonto were fond of beans. Since there were no petroleum refineries in the old west, nor sea vents or volcanoes, tarnishing of silver was not likely to be extensive. The hydrogen sulphide is then converted to sulphur, but inevitably some of the gas is released into the atmosphere. In the “hydrodesulphurization” process, petroleum is reacted with hydrogen resulting in the conversion of sulphur compounds to hydrogen sulphide. Petroleum contains a variety of sulphur compounds that have to be removed in order to prevent the formation of sulphur dioxide when petroleum burns. And it forms as well when carbonyl sulphide, a sulphur compound emitted from volcanoes and deep sea vents reacts with moisture. Volcanic eruptions and natural hot springs also release the gas. The odour of rotten eggs, for example, is due to this compound, and natural gas, which is the end product of the decomposition of organic matter is also a rich source of hydrogen sulphide. Many proteins contain sulphur and release hydrogen sulphide when they decompose. Hydrogen sulphide occurs in air both naturally, and as a result of human activity. The culprit is hydrogen sulphide, a gas that reacts with silver to form solid silver sulphide.
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Contrary to popular belief, the tarnish on silver is not caused by reaction of the metal with oxygen in the air.
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It is unlikely that the bullets would have tarnished since the concentration of hydrogen sulphide in the desert air of the Old West was undoubtedly very low. His trademarks were a black mask and silver bullets!
#THE LONE RANGER TV SERIES SERIES#
The Lone Ranger was a television series that ran from 1949 to 1957 and recounted the adventures of a former Texas Ranger who with his companion, the Native American Tonto, fought outlaws in the Old West.