Real-life Rupees: How to Grow Green Potassium Ferrioxalate Crystals From Iron Rust
https://crystalverse.com/potassium-ferrioxalate-crystals
"A more efficient way of making rust is via electrolysis. The disadvantage is that it requires a power supply."
Idea: is electrolysis efficient enough to sabotage infrastructure with it over time? Eg wire up a power source to something like a bridge?
This wouldn't often happen naturally as most leakage currents from power infrastructure are AC, not DC.
@pete
It's probably a matter of power applied and area submerged.
With an aluminum boat hull, yes, stray current from normal systems can lead to perforation within hours.
With a steel hull, iirc, it's more like days.
Paint is a factor.
Metal boats usually have a stray current alarm and periodically replaceable sacrificial anodes to protect against this.
Seems like bridges might use anodes as well: https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/oom/transportation-maintenance/repository/CathodicProtectionSystems.pdf
Tram lines can provide the stray current:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273770635_Protection_of_Bridges_Against_Stray_Current_Corrosion