Ask Science@lemmy.worldEnglish · 8 days ago

Could I have accidentally made thermite?

Ask Science@lemmy.worldEnglish · 8 days ago

Hi everyone,

A few years ago I tried to melt aluminium using an old steel fire extinguisher as crucible. This was done in a homemade foundry using coke as fuel.

Me having no patience, I tried getting the temperature up as fast as possible and a hole was melted in the crucible, producing a very bright light.

Could the molten aluminum have reacted with the rusty steel fire extinguisher to produce thermite?

Chat

Scratch@sh.itjust.works
link
fedilink
English
arrow-up
6·
8 days ago
Thermite needs a very high temperate to start its reaction, I’ve seen it done with a magnesium strip, which is easy to light but burns VERY hot.

Ask Science@lemmy.world

askscience@lemmy.world

Create a post

You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: [email protected]

Ask a science question, get a science answer.

Community Rules

Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.

Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.

Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.

Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.

Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.

Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.

Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.

Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.

Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.

Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.

Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.

Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.

Rule 7: Report violations.

Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.

Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.

Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.

Rule 9: Source required for answers.

Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.

By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.

For answers to historical questions, please check out our sister community: [email protected]

Visibility: Public

This community can be federated to other instances and be posted/commented in by their users.

2 users / day
198 users / week
467 users / month
469 users / 6 months
1 local subscriber
17.9K subscribers
60 Posts
84 Comments
Modlog