>BUT Aluma-Seal has some other interesting properties! it is >essentially just powdered aluminum, when mixed with 12N nitric acid >it causes a highly exothermic reaction! WARNING: don't try it at >home or anywhere else (yeah, right). i found this out the hard way >when making up a set of metals standards for some AA (atomic >absorption, not the booze thing) spectroscopy work. the sight of >that violently shaking, boiling, spewing volumetric flask scared me >more than any other Stupid Thing i've done in labs. > >also, powdered Al is what creates the white 'flash' in fire-crackers.
It's also one of the two ingredients in a thermite reaction. If you think burning a VW case is fun, you ain't seen nothin yet. You use a strip of magnesium as a fuse, just to get a thermite reaction STARTED. And no, I'm not going to tell you what the rest of the reaction participants are. Even I have limits. I will just point out, that thermite surpassed even napalm as an antipersonnel weapon in 'Nam. 'nuff said.
|
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.