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Aug 11, 2009. 6:13 AMAerospaced (author)
says:
All depends on where you live and who you are mate. I work in aerospace and have a restricted use chemical license. Wish I was back in Arizona though, you could buy up to 25 Lbs of dynamite with just a drivers license!
Jul 17, 2009. 3:06 PMFylling
says:
8 Al + 3 Fe3O4 -> 4 Al2O3 + 6 Fe
Aluminium(Al)=26.982 g/mol
Fe3O4(black rust)=231.533 g/mol
8*26.982 g/mol + 3*231.533 g/mol =
215.856g Al + 694.599g Fe3O4 = 910.455g
Al=215.856/910.455*100=23.7%
Fe3O4=694.599/910.455*100=76.3
So oxygen balanced reaction ammount for this thermite is 23.7% aluminium and 76.3% black iron (tetra)oxide.
If ou want to, you can make 23.7% to 24% and 76.3% to 76%:)
But you we're very close!:) not bad!
And yes i am a scientist:)
Aluminium(Al)=26.982 g/mol
Fe3O4(black rust)=231.533 g/mol
8*26.982 g/mol + 3*231.533 g/mol =
215.856g Al + 694.599g Fe3O4 = 910.455g
Al=215.856/910.455*100=23.7%
Fe3O4=694.599/910.455*100=76.3
So oxygen balanced reaction ammount for this thermite is 23.7% aluminium and 76.3% black iron (tetra)oxide.
If ou want to, you can make 23.7% to 24% and 76.3% to 76%:)
But you we're very close!:) not bad!
And yes i am a scientist:)
Jul 18, 2009. 5:42 AMAerospaced (author)
says:
I work in aerospace electronics (hence the name) we tend to ball park things and see how it goes.
Jul 18, 2009. 8:20 AMFylling
says:
"we tend to ball park things and see how it goes. " I am from norway, not s good in english. Can you say it in a more basic way?:P didn't get the part, " we tend to ball park things".
Jul 19, 2009. 7:13 AMAerospaced (author)
says:
We guess. In the days before computers we used slide rules that weren't all that accurate, but gave an approximate answer. Therefore we guessed. " keeping it in the ballpark" means to be close to where you want it.
Jul 3, 2009. 12:49 PMRadioactive_Legos
says:
Love the video! Question: are the parts in the mixture determined by volume or mass?
Jul 2, 2009. 6:40 PMLewk
says:
This video is hilariously awesome! Good information and good entertainment. Good stuff, mate!
May 8, 2009. 8:49 PMREA
says:
that was both educational and funny! you should be the next Mr. Wizard!!
Apr 5, 2009. 2:08 PMphyscocreator
says:
HAHAHAHAHAHA That was the funniest dang thing I've seen in a while! That was halarious......Don't worry though, I do stupid stuff and unexpected stuff seems to happen. Great video though, very informative. By the way the finer the powder, the easier it is to light, however, that will decrease the burn time. The more caurse, the harder it is to light but it burns longer. I even heard that if you can get it fine enough, you can get it to go off like blackpowder- mmmmm, explosions of liquid iron, fun (as long as you are far enough away) ; )
Apr 20, 2009. 4:05 PMa_traceur
says:
I agree very funny. Just goes to show why he didn't light it in the house.
You've gotta love aluminum powder. I felt the same way the first time I received my fine mesh aluminum from Skylighter. Good stuff. (It does tend to put you on certain government watch lists though.) Thanks for the interest in the Cast Thermite, nice 'ible too! I had a bad feeling about that other container. :] Where did you get your ribbon? Mine was from United Nuclear.
Feb 11, 2009. 9:07 PMPyroManiac96
says:
skylighter ftw!!! i ordered fuse from there, first 100 feet then 200 feet, and im sure someone has reported the 30 foot tall towers of sparks and flame in front of my house every night XD
May 16, 2008. 6:13 AMAerospaced (author)
says:
I forgot that it can be used to bolster the effect of explosives. oops. I get my ribbon and other chemicals from this fellow. http://stores.ebay.com/Alpha-Chemicals-International
Amazing what you can find on eBay. I purchased Uranium ore and many other curiosities there.
Amazing what you can find on eBay. I purchased Uranium ore and many other curiosities there.
Feb 7, 2009. 12:48 AMEvisceratedWombat
says:
Nice! Your sense of humor is great. I had a science teacher just like that. Im glad your okay. Bad Murphy's Law Bad... lol XD
Oct 20, 2008. 11:09 PMb-train
says:
i thought that u wld want more finer grain powder, that way theres more surface area for the chemical reaction, and it burns quicker, and because it wld be easier to heat up small particles quicker, ?? y do you want larger grains?
Feb 5, 2009. 4:50 PMskatepark13
says:
adding to aerospaced the more surface area there is the higher possibility of it self igniting
Oct 21, 2008. 2:10 AMAerospaced (author)
says:
You just shot yourself in the foot. More surface area comes with larger particles. It will burn at the same rate. Its all about the mess.
Oct 21, 2008. 4:14 AMb-train
says:
--"The more finely divided the solid is, the faster the reaction happens. A powdered solid will normally produce a faster reaction than if the same mass is present as a single lump. The powdered solid has a greater surface area than the single lump." (http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/surfacearea.html)
--"Surface Area: In reactions on surfaces, which take place for example during heterogeneous catalysis, the rate of reaction increases as the surface area does. That is due to the fact that more particles of the solid are exposed and can be hit by reactant molecules." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_rate)
lol i reckon if i shot myself in the foot, then you shot urself in the foot twice, sorry for being picky, im sure it doesnt really affect ur instructable at all, i just have my Higher School Certificate next week n cant stand to see my high school chem classes goto waste
--"Surface Area: In reactions on surfaces, which take place for example during heterogeneous catalysis, the rate of reaction increases as the surface area does. That is due to the fact that more particles of the solid are exposed and can be hit by reactant molecules." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_rate)
lol i reckon if i shot myself in the foot, then you shot urself in the foot twice, sorry for being picky, im sure it doesnt really affect ur instructable at all, i just have my Higher School Certificate next week n cant stand to see my high school chem classes goto waste
Oct 21, 2008. 6:21 AMAerospaced (author)
says:
OUCH! Wonderful citation of source! Don't get that often enough around here. Looks like I got myself in Both feet. Kablam! I simply prefer the larger particles because of the mess. The commercial thermite that I have used has a particle size equal to pencil shavings. It also comes with a magnisium powder as well as ribbon for starting. I'm sure that the manufacture does this as a means of making it more manageable. I hadn't noticed any appreciable difference in the speed of the reaction.
Oct 22, 2008. 2:10 AMb-train
says:
yeah well i had to double check, hmm so do you have ne trouble of getting it to ignite with the pencil shaving sized stuff? i tried lighting sum aluminium and rust powder i filed but it wldnt light, i thought it wld have to be smaller, maybe i was just doin it wrong, owell, i found out that butane refill cartridges and petrol down rabbit holes is more fun,
Oct 22, 2008. 3:37 AMAerospaced (author)
says:
Not so long as you use the mag ribbon and the mag powder. I'd go to the camping department of Wally world and get an igniter block. It's a hunk of magnesium with a flint down one side. I then use a really bit drill bit and slowly drill a hole down the length. This peels off some nice ribbons. If you need powder mag, you just have at it with a course file. If you noticed I lit mine off with a small torch. My very first batch of thermite was made with very course shavings from a milling machine and a rusty muffler from a scrap yard. The muffler was so corroded that it would crumble in my hand. I then used the aforementioned magnesium method to light it.
Feb 5, 2009. 2:09 AMwatson9194
says:
the best instructable ive seen,very informative.make some more videos please!
Jan 30, 2009. 7:38 PMraul47
says:
"and I'm not doing that again today " hahahahahha that was amazing. but doesn't thermite emit UV rays when it ignites
Oct 25, 2008. 2:19 PMKoolraap
says:
Would you please be my science teacher, pretty please *puppy eyes*
Oct 24, 2008. 3:40 PMwizodd
says:
Used to make it by the 5 gallon bucket using chopped soda cans (1/4-1.5") mixed with Fe2o3 (red oxide.) Road flare makes a decent igniter. Finely powdered is faster, but unless you get coated powder, it will have a higher percentage of already oxidized Al. You can also ignite it by cascading exothermic reactions to the point that they burn hot enough to set the thermite off. Watch out if you use fine powdered Al as it can self-ignite if it gets moist. Warning. Hot metal is hot. Hot metal may not LOOK hot. Molten steel is VERY hot. It will cut through light sheet metal or wood. Do not try this if you don't know what you are doing. If you do know what you are doing, remember that you may not get one mistake.
Oct 17, 2008. 7:34 PMcowscankill
says:
LOL! That was great! Your personallity is awesome, and I didn't think the container would light up!
Jun 24, 2008. 2:44 AM-Aj-
says:
want to make instant thermite? mix some potassium permangenate in there and it goes up damn fast!
Jun 5, 2008. 4:19 AMthedog458
says:
WOW! that was kool it would have been funny if the other container lit up to =}
May 14, 2008. 1:33 PMmoomoocows
says:
Wow that is one of the best movies of thermite I've seen. The twist at the end really takes the cake.
Well, kudos for not being the usual online bored-out-of-skull-sounding "so.... uh.... I put the.... aluminium.... in the cup..... and weigh it out.... so I can see.... how much... of it... .. I've got.... here." guy. :)
I second thewoodcarver's assessment, great presentation but terrible safety (as demonstrated by nearly setting your camera on fire, etc)- I made that mistake with sugar/KNO3 and burnt a hole in my parents' picnic table. Also I'm not sure you needed to spend quite so long on Wikipedia, but it was still entertaining anyway.
I second thewoodcarver's assessment, great presentation but terrible safety (as demonstrated by nearly setting your camera on fire, etc)- I made that mistake with sugar/KNO3 and burnt a hole in my parents' picnic table. Also I'm not sure you needed to spend quite so long on Wikipedia, but it was still entertaining anyway.
May 12, 2008. 11:41 AMthewoodcarver
says:
Lesson in this set the container FAR away from your lit pile ....very clear instructions A+ on them .... ...C- on safety but you still have a house so I guess it could have been worse .......
All one shot!
Brilliant video - very accessible style and you still had your house at the end of it!
That's a "thumbs up" from this reviewer - back to you in the studio.
Brilliant video - very accessible style and you still had your house at the end of it!
That's a "thumbs up" from this reviewer - back to you in the studio.
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