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I am surprised not to see this hazard mentioned in the main article. Another person has mentioned this in the discussion; the thermite reaction is so violent that you get higher frequency (higher energy) UV coming off of it, which is very bad for the eyes, either short term (retinal damage) or longer term (cataracts, etc).
To give you some idea of the energy involved, at my last demonstration of thermite I surrounded the alum/iron mix with four 2 foot square boards wrapped in aluminum foil, shiny side out, forming (in effect) a reflective box with the top open, so that if a kid did not follow my directions and looked at the reaction, there was an extra margin of safety. After the reaction ran, I examined the four boards. The aluminum foil had been completely vaporized off the boards and the boards were charred. I guess aluminum foil isn't that reflective at those frequencies...
Could we at minimum say something like "There are concerns about the reactions givings off ultra-violet light and the reaction should not be wached directly"? Better safe than sorry ...
I thought about it a long time, checked my sources to be certain, then added one sentence that thermite throws dangerous UV and should not be viewed directly unless you're wearing protection such as welding goggles.
Thanks,
David Small (davidmsmall@gmail.com)
—Preceding unsigned comment added by Davidmsmall ( talk • contribs) 16:41, August 27, 2007 (UTC)
MutantGarage ( talk) 07:09, 19 February 2009 (UTC)MutantGarage
A reaction equation should be included. Also, it should be more clear that this is not a burning reaction, in the sense tht it doesn't use molecular oxygen. Sikkema 23:42, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
I fail to see why "How to make thermite" is relevant to this article. It seems to be encouraging individuals to make some for themselves. Without a strong disclaimer, how can this be permitted?
But how else will stupid kids learn how to badly burn or kill themselves ? Incredibleman007 ( talk) 16:50, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
Technically a reaction releases energy, which in turn can be used to change the state of the reactants. To say that a reaction has a certain "temperature" is misleading: the actual temperature depends on the ambient temperature, rate of heat loss, etc. Nonetheless, it is nice to put in some numbers for average conditions so Mr.Layperson gets a feel for how powerful this reaction is without doing any math.
~Not only is this temperature statement misleading, but the way it is used within the article is on the matter of igniting thermite with a magnesium strip by way of the flash burn point. The problem here is it is listing the temperature at 2500K (4000F) and the flash burn point of magnesium is 8000 degree Fahrenheit.~
3347.6 kJ/mol ? Wow, that is one enormous heat and energy yield. A noob's question then: Is it possible to use this as an alternative energy source? I could imagine steam producing facility with some kind of "reactor" where this reaction takes place. The ingredients may be not so cheap 1:3 (aluminum:iron oxide), but we need only a little to create a huge energy output. Iron is quite abundant overhere compared to say for example crude oil. So then, why not burn metals instead of fossil fuels? Also the reaction is gasless so no pollution takes place and the product is a pure molten iron, that can be used to produce steam (to propell our turbine) and then the pure iron ingot is a welcomed addition to our world. IEEE 23:38, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
For the process to work, you would need to have a constant supply of Iron Oxide and Aluminum Metal, and deal with your waste Iron and Aluminum Oxide. Obviously you would use your waste to create more fuel. The iron to iron oxide process works pretty much on it's own, rust. There are many ways to return Aluminum Oxide into Aluminum metal, but, the most realistic is electrolysis, which uses a graphite and electricity to take the oxygen from the aluminum oxide. Since the aluminum oxide is already in molten state, the power requirements are much lower. It does however produce carbon dioxide. The bottom line is that I don't have the chemistry background to tell how much power is required for the electrolysis compared to the electricity generated from heat. The overall process takes graphite + aluminum oxide + electricity and produces carbon dioxide, oxygen and aluminum. It's being discussed on quara now. https://www.quora.com/Why-isnt-the-thermite-reaction-used-to-generate-power/answer/Dwight-Wilbanks-1 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.198.103.16 ( talk) 06:41, 2 October 2016 (UTC)
Because the metals are naturaly found oxidised and to reduce Aliminium and then re-oxidise it would use a LOT more energy than the output. Also you would need a lot of thermite and how would you clean the crap out of the reactor ? Incredibleman007 ( talk) 16:56, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
Thermite IS useful as a termporary energy source. It is used to blow bolts and perform other useful activities. - Drew — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
72.204.47.14 (
talk) 16:10, 6 September 2014 (UTC)
This is similar in concept to the black powder engine idea that was thrown around in the 1800s. Many people tried but no practical designs were ever realized. Thermite of course has the added issue of leaving solid waste behind where black powder does not. The massive power output (notice I did not say energy,the total energy output is not unique compared with what we can get from other chemical reactions) is not really as much of an advantage as you might think. Consider a battery. It contains two electrodes. For example,one might contain Zinc metal and the other might contain manganse IV Oxide.(MnO2). The manganese is in a state where it has lost four electrons vs the neutral,metallic form of manganese. Manganese IV Oxide has two oxygens per manganese. (each oxygen atom is in a -2 oxidation state,having two extra electrons vs the free oxygen in the air. Manganese takes grabs an electron from something and becomes Manganese III Oxide. (Mn2O3) (while it may look like it "gained an O2" there are now two manganese per three oxygen,so its really lost a half an oxygen per manganese. Zinc loses two electrons in this reaction and becomes Zinc II Oxide. There is one oxygen per zinc. Notice how it all works out,zinc gives up two electrons,that reduce two manganese atoms,which together now need only three oxygen,and the fourth one ends up with the zinc.
Notice overall the thermite reaction is the same sort of thing. Iron II Oxide or Iron III oxide are reduced to iron metal,and metallic aluminum is oxidized to aluminum oxide (alumina) why does the battery not melt down? Becuase the reactants are separated. If you mixed Manganese Oxide with Zinc metal it might do the same thing. It might not even wait to be lit. But in the battery the two halves of the reaction are separated in a specific way.Ions can travel through an electrolyte to get to the other electrode but electrons cannot,but instead can only travel through a wire external to the battery. So to proceed,a current must flow through that wire.
In fact,if you set it up right,you could probably make a aluminum iron battery,although it might not be practical,it should work. So rather than a "engine" using the heat from these sorts of materials, they are typically used to make batteries.
REmember exploding lithium ion batteries? If you dont keep things separated,the reaction just goes,liberating a ton of heat,and boom. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.56.16.9 ( talk) 15:15, 13 June 2015 (UTC)
I spell checked the article of aluminium and the word thermite was non existing. To find out whether it was correctly spelled I looked it up at http://www.dictionary.com . This is the info dictionary.com gives:
A trademark used for a welding and incendiary mixture of fine aluminum powder with a metallic oxide, usually iron, that when ignited yields an intense heat."
So nothing about thermit as a name for certain chemical reactions, just that a brand name of such an chemical mixture is "thermit", without final e. Is dictionary.com wrong or Wikipedia? Or is the brand name "thermit" and the name of the chemical reactions "thermite"? If you'd find out that dictionary.com is wrong please leave a note saying so on this talk page. Tx in advance for looking this up. -- Paulus/laudaka (add me to your YIM/AIM/ICQ/M$N M contact list if you like!) Laudaka's talk page 21:30, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
Yes, the brand name is 'thermit' and the reaction is a 'thermite' reaction. --Anon.
Is this a forum sorta thing? i am not sure... someone correct me please... well my question is could one make a thermit mix from aluminium and some other oxide...like howabout copper oxychloride?
So is the thermite process just the function of using thermite? Or, as I think, something different (but involving aluminium...)? This is not clear from the article, but the redirect from Thermite process is indicative that it might be. the Thermit reaction can also be preformed with Magnesium powder other than aluminium, although aluminium is a lot less expensive, magnesium allows lower ignition temperatures and a more violent reaction.
Should there be a section included on making thermite? I've performed small reactions myself, and they've always been very exciting to do. If the correct measures are taken, it's a very safe procedure because the material won't explode under normal conditions and it is nearly impossible to accidently ignite it. Further more, powdered iron oxide and aluminum are easily and legally obtained from online retailers like ebay. -- Daveswagon 00:36, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I've made thermite before, and it worked quite well. I kept a magnet and an envelope with me for a while until I had a lot of rust, and then I curshed it in a vice til it was a very fine powder. I got powdered aluminum by fileing a bar of aluminum. I didn't need to make alot of thermite this way, just enought to get it going. Anyhow, I set it in a small container of aluminum foil and put it on top of a pill of non powdered rust and aluminum foil. I stuck a magnesium strip in to the top and away it went. It is fairly easy to make thermite with some ingenuity, took me about an hour to crush the rust and file the aluminum. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.255.244.58 ( talk) 04:29, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
-- Kyanite 23:13, 6 July 2006 (UTC)-- Kyanite 23:13, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
You can buy all kinds of different finely powdered Iron oxides in kilogram bags from your local hardware store. It is used for colouring cement. And you can put Aluminium foil in a blender, it takes a while to get it fine but it works. Use sparklers for the easiest ignition. Incredibleman007 ( talk) 17:09, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
The ingredients I have noticed is aluminium and rust, a reactive metal and a metal oxide. But how would you keep the aluminium staying just that and not oxidizing itself because aluminium is so reactive and oxidizes. So wouldnt the reaction really be aluminium oxide and iron oxide? --Anon.
The reason aluminum is used in the reaction has less to do with passivation and a lot more to do with the activity series of metals. Thermite is a single replacement reaction! In the Activity Series, alumium is near the top, bested only by Mg, Sr, Ba, Li, Na, and K. Thus, only metals that are less reactive than aluminum (lower down on the series) will have their oxide "stolen" by aluminum allowing a thermite reaction. Aluminum "wants" the oxygen from the other metal. The higher up in the activity series the other metal is (chromium, titanium, iron) the less violently the aluminum will nab the oxygen! So, Copper, being very near the bottom of the activity series, will react very exothermically with the aluminum. Iron Oxide is used because its cheap, and yields a useful product (molten iron). So to awnser the question, the aluminum cannot already be reacted, otherwise it has no reason to "steal" the oxygen from the other reactant! — Kyanite 23:13, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
I just added the clanup tag because it looks to me like it could be better worded.
I just changed it from Iron(II) oxide to Iron(III) oxide. Now I'm trying to document this and having trouble. Can someone find a reliable source for whther it shouldbe ferric or ferrous? (Sorry if I changed soemthing that was correct). RJFJR 14:29, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
Melt through concrete? is that possible?-- XAdHominemx 21:37, 1 January 2006 (UTC)
"with sulfur it cuts throug steel faster." I removed this senetence from the article because it was placed innappropriately in the history section, needed correct spelling and punctuation, and is unsourced. I would encourage the writer to source it and correct the spelling because if it is true, it would be nice to include. Sifaka 21:57, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
- I checked it. It is true.
As a compleat novice, I would like to ask the brain boxs out there, is it possible to make a usable propelent out of thermit? And if it is possible, what sort of casing could contain the energy and direct the power?
Thermite cannot be used as a propellant, even though it releases an enormous amount of energy (by mass, it is one of the most exothermic reactions known). This is because none of the products of the reaction are gaseous, and propellants must release gas in order to push objects forward. Likewise Thermite is not an explosive, since the production of gases is necessary to violently burst a container.
Actually, I believe I recall the show Mythbusters referring to it as a rocket fuel.
Thermite would be a very inefficient rocket fuel as any container strong enough to contain the reaction would be extremely heavy.
Just to cut it short, solid rocket fuel is actually close to being an explosive. Now why doesn´t it explode when the rocket is fired ? Because the fuel is in a long, cylindrical container. In the middle of the cylinder, all along the axis, is a solid steel rod. This rod prevents the heat to set off the entire load of fuel immediately, ensuring a nice, slow burn lengthwise in the rocket. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.99.141.74 ( talk) 18:50, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
citation is definately required on this one - while potassium chlorate is a strong oxidiser ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_chlorate) I'm not sure that ypu'd be doing much more than burning peanut oil here - not really a reaction in the same category as the thermite reaction—Preceding unsigned comment added by Peterxyz ( talk • contribs)
I routinely use the peanut-butter method to ignite thrmite. Chlorates are such powerful oxidizers that they will react violently with any easily-reduced substance. I invented the method when wondering how to ignite a kilogram of the stuff, after having failed with magnesium. I simply went to Safeway and examined the caloric contets, per gram, of various foodstuffs, assuming that a higher calorie concentration cooresponded to a greater amount of chemical potential energy available. Since the human body oxidizes substances just like chlorates will (though much more slowly and in a more controlled manner), this made sense. Jif Creamy Peanut Butter contained the most fats and sugars and so on, so I bought it, rolled a teaspoon in KClO3, and kneaded it like a roll of bread. It worked perfectly. The substance might well be a high-order explosive if triggered by a suitable detonator. That isn't an experiment I amn going to attempt. But overall I recognize that my own experience does not constitute a verifiable source, so I will hold off on describing the peanut-butter method until I get a book published ;-).
Note on potassium chlorate: It burns, but it also detonates
I'll just mention that potassium chlorate not only burns (deflagrates), it also high-order detonates, e.g., like nitroglycerin. I learned this the hard way. I used to mix a few teaspoonfuls of 50/50 potassium chlorate and sugar and put it into a dry empty diet Pepsi can, then drop a match in. Very cool effect, looked like the space shuttle solid rockets venting upwards through the can's hole. Then, the aluminum in the can would be heated enough that the can would melt, gently settling towards the ground, leaving a very flat can "pancake".
Well, this was all very cool and I'd done it a number of times, but during one demonstration, the can opener flap blew shut; I hadn't made certain it was bent flat internally. There was about half a second for me to get a hand in front of my eyes, then the can detonated. The internal pressures and temperatures must have gone off the map, and, of course, the speed of a chemical reaction doubles when its temperature is raised 10 degrees C.
There was an extremely loud BLAMM!! which echoed off my neighbor's houses. The ringing in my ears lasted a couple of days. I did find one... well, small shred ... of aluminum. The can base had been driven into the ground a few inches. There was nothing else; the can had dematerialized somehow. I believe I accidentally pushed the potassium chlorate into high-order detonation.
No one was hurt, thank God, and amazingly, no one called the police.
I strongly recommend using potassium perchlorate, which is a bit more stable when things like this go wrong. Although -- the space shuttle rocket fuel plant in Henderson, Nevada (South Las Vegas) caught fire and burned, and eventually did a high order detonation, with perchlorate. My brother's house had its garage door dished in, etc. This was one of the leading reasons he moved back to Colorado : - )
And, of course, there are the fairly new and extremely annoying limits on how much oxidizer you can buy, by weight ...
Anyway, just a note of caution.
Thanks, Dave Small —Preceding unsigned comment added by Davidmsmall ( talk • contribs) 17:22, August 27, 2007 (UTC)
"Conventional thermite reactions require very high temperatures for initiation. These cannot be reached with conventional black-powder fuses, nitrocellulose rods, detonators, or other common igniting substances. Even when the thermite is hot enough to glow bright red, it will not ignite as it must be at or near white-hot to initiate the reaction. It is possible to start the reaction using a propane torch if done right, but this should never be attempted for safety reasons." A common detonator such as a blasting cap burns hotter than propane. Dudtz 6/20/06 7:45 PM EST
Informative but inappropriate, don't you think? -- Froth
Not particularly, the article is about thermite, its composition and uses. -- Sarkmiegel
The correct term is anti-materiel, not anti-material. Materiel is the correct term for military equipment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.230.66.42 ( talk) 17:51, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
Having used both variants, (and done the chemistry and math), I fixed the mixup in the article regarding the iron oxides. Stoichiometric thermite made from Fe3O4 is very mild compared to the one made from Fe2O3. The latter burns so hot, the white-hot iron seems almost blue. If anyone has tried thermite from FeO (which might not even burn), that would be an interesting addition to the article. Also, rust is not actually Fe2O3, but a mixture of different oxides, hydroxides and carbonates of iron. The point here is that thermite made directly from rust would yield a significant volume of gases, possibly also hydrogen, all of which - at the very minimum - could result in lower quality welding joint or cast. 130.230.101.184 10:05, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
Answer to FeO question: I use FeO for making thermite when I teach basic chemistry, in particularly stoichiometric calculations, as the sums are easier to do using Ferrous oxide, FeO, than for Fe2O3. Another benefit of using FeO as the oxide, it is easy to swap the aluminium for magnesium then get the students to do the sums again, and demonstrate it with a mix that still delivers a nice controlled reaction though hotter and faster. The practical demonstration using thermite is very visual, and helps young teenagers remember the theory, as well as learning how to handle potentially hazardous processes safely. AccHistories ( talk) 08:46, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
This article needs a great deal of cleanup and copy editing to improve its tone, remove redundant content, and remove or move trivia that dosen't contribute to the article as a whole. Please help if you can! Iepeulas 07:18, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
If anyone else watches Mythbusters, didn't they paint a small blimp with thermite and light it? It seemed to me that the reaction too place a lot easier than this article makes it sound. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.231.106.113 ( talk) 07:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC).
This article is not inapropriate in any manner. Thermite making is a very complicated process any can be done in several ways. I myself have made thermite.
Thermite is hard to light but in mythbusters they used finely powdered ingredients and spread them thin so it would have reached ignition temperature much faster. Incredibleman007 ( talk) 17:17, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
The ability to carry energy is good in aluminium, which is effectively burned, which yields the reaction heat. The reduction of the iron(III) to elemental iron actually requires energy. A little besides the point; the production of aluminium from Al2O3 requres a vast amount of precious electrical energy. It can never be fuel. Sikkema 23:55, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
The symbol for the enthalpy of a reaction is used several times in this article, yet there is no mention that that is what it is and it is simply thrown into the middle of sentences. In addition to that there seems to be a formula missing for the reaction of thermite. Helgers7 06:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC)
I am interested in the mention that the reaction in the presence of aluminum may cause the release of Hydrogen as it was mentioned that Hydrogen was released when the reaction took place under water. As with the commonly known reaction of aluminum foil and certain toilet bowl cleaners, I am interested in learning about reactions which could produce vast amounts of Hydrogen and yet be a safe and ecological means of producing it for use as an alternate energy fuel.
When I was in Junior High back in the early 60's my science instructor had made a form of 'touch-powder' which when dried upon a paper towel would react and explode when the paper towel was touched or slightly moved. I am not sure what was in it, but several of us in attempting to make it experimented in using aluminum and iodine crystals and found that if the aluminum was course enough like from aluminum being cut with a hacksaw and not a powder, that the aluminum 'sawdust' and the iodine crystals reacted when a drop or 2 of water was put on them producing a plume of purple smoke and a very intense heat from the reaction.
What has piqued my curiosity about these metal reactions is a website that I have come across http://www.cleanwatts.com where they claim to have come upon just such a reaction.
I have also hear mention that Hydrogen balloons were used in the Civil War and that the hydrogen was produced on site from some sort of portable hydrogen generator of sorts. Do we have the technology to make us independent of oil?? I for one would sure like to know.
Carcom 21:10, 17 March 2007 (UTC)
of my own thermite mixture using iron (II,III) oxide... i felt it was necessary Tyklink 00:16, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
I have a lot of experience with thermite, having burned at least 50lbs in my life (and I still have about 50lbs stored away), so I have tried many things with it.
I added and changed the section about igniting thermite with sparklers to warn that the sparks can ignite thermite. Though iron is less reactive than magnesium, it can potentially burn at equal temperatures if the ratio of volume to surface area is sufficient and there is a sufficient supply of oxygen, since metals do not release cooling gasses as they burn (unless they evaporate). I suspected that the sparks would ignite it, so I tried it a few times, and as I expected, the sparker sometimes ignited the thermite when the burning section was over a half a foot away from the thermite. It helped if I sprinkled sand over the exposed thermite.
I also tried using a lighter, and it was surprisingly easy to ignite tiny piles of thermite by merely getting a spark to land on the thermite.
I also added that preheated thermite can flash-burn. That is actually how I am able to get single globules of chromium of several grams each. I pack some chromium oxide thermite into a large lump, heat it with two propane torches until the lump is glowing, and then point the propane torch in just the right spot and at the right angle to overheat it and initiate the reaction. It burns much faster and hotter than it does if ignited while cold. I tried this with iron oxide thermite, and it was obvious from my first experiment that preheated iron oxide thermite can burn almost explosively.
Joel 02:39, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
The failure to mention, under Civilian Uses, that thermite is used to demolish buildings seems like a gap in the description
rkm@quaylargo.com 08:56, 16 July 2007 (UTC)
Both spellings are used, Aluminium would appear to be the preferred option.
If you are in the UK, please go ahead with the British Spelling with 2 x i. Leave the version with 1 x i to the Americans.
-They are after all the guys with the letter "c" used twice in their alphabet, too....... —Preceding
unsigned comment added by
77.99.141.74 (
talk) 18:42, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
Or just anywhere other than America; as in everywhere where it is spelled correctly. 82.17.155.211 ( talk) 13:34, 23 June 2012 (UTC)
"While the reaction using Fe3O4 produces a substantially larger amount of energy pr. mol, the reaction using Fe2O3, produces more energy pr. gram of thermite mixture."
This makes no sense as there is a direct relationship between moles and grams (of a given substance). I did rough calculations and found that Fe2O3's ΔH = -5 kJ/g (approximate number) and Fe3O4's ΔH = -13 kJ/g (approximate number). I can show you the math, if you don't believe me. Can someone explain why this information is on the page, short of my being completely incorrect in my understanding? I will remove the quoted passage by the end of the week unless given reason (factual) not to. Rmnguy 00:11, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
There is no reason. Proceed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.225.43.54 ( talk) 19:14, 13 June 2008 (UTC)
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 07:56, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
"A significant danger of magnesium ignition is the fact that the metal is an excellent conductor of heat; heating one end of the ribbon may cause the other end to transfer enough heat to the thermite to cause premature ignition."
I removed this from the ignition section of the article because it is incorrect. Magnesium would melt before it transfered enough heat to ignite the thermite because its melting point is far below the ignition temperature of thermite. Also the Magnesium would probably ignite before it melted so in any case the thermite would not ignite before the flame reached it because magnesium hot enough to ignite thermite is well past its ignition temperature and so is lit therefore the burning Magnesium's flame reaches the thermite before it ignites. Incredibleman007 ( talk) 17:47, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
What can extinguish a thermite/thermate fire? will a class D extinguisher work? —Preceding unsigned comment added by UltraMagnus ( talk • contribs) 13:26, 6 September 2008 (UTC)
No. Because it has its own oxygen you need to cool it to the point where it stops burning (which is hard) otherwise it will keep burning. You could hit it or kick it to remove the thermite that hasn't started burning yet from the burning thermite but this would only reduce the burn not put it out. Incredibleman007 ( talk) 09:18, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
Thermite (Metallothermic reactions) can be halted by extracting heat very quickly. Lowering the surrounding temperature with the addition of an appropriate quantity of LN2 can easily quench a reaction. This is the official procedure for many DOE laboratories including Savannah River Lab) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.216.6.179 ( talk) 03:29, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
I see that some people in this forum question whether one should include "recepies" on how to make thermite or not. I personally believe that such information should be freely available (actually, it is today). If someone with more editing skills than me could insert the following table somewhere on the thermite page, I think it would be a nice contribution to the subject of thermite. The data are based on my own calculations, carried out using physical and thermodynamical data from CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 87th ed., 2006. I hold a master's degree in chemical engineering.
THERMITE Aluminum based Metal oxide Mixing ratios (MeO : Me) [w% : w%] Released energy [kJ/g mixture] Antimony(V) oxide Sb2O5 78.25 : 21.75 4.404 Barium(II) oxide BaO 89.50 : 10.50 0.062 Boron(III) oxide B2O3 56.33 : 43.67 3.254 Cerium(IV) oxide CeO2 82.71 : 17.29 0.137 Chromium(III) oxide Cr2O3 73.80 : 26.20 2.603 Cobalt(II) oxide CoO 80.64 : 19.36 3.451 Copper(I) oxide Cu2O 88.83 : 11.17 2.421 Copper(II) oxide CuO 81.56 : 18.44 4.114 Gallium(I) oxide Ga2O 89.63 : 10.37 1.168 Gallium(III) oxide Ga2O3 77.65 : 22.35 2.430 Iron(II) oxide FeO 79.98 : 20.02 3.190 Iron(II,III) oxide Fe3O4 76.29 : 23.71 3.677 Iron(III) oxide Fe2O3 74.74 : 25.26 3.985 Lead(II) oxide PbO 92.54 : 7.460 1.408 Lead(II,III,IV) oxide Pb3O4 90.50 : 9.500 2.001 Lead(IV) oxide PbO2 86.93 : 13.07 3.052 Manganese(II) oxide MnO 79.77 : 20.23 1.950 Manganese(II,III) oxide Mn3O4 76.08 : 23.92 2.814 Manganese(III) oxide Mn2O3 74.53 : 25.47 3.383 Manganese(IV) oxide MnO2 70.73 : 29.27 4.858 Niobium(IV) oxide NbO2 77.64 : 22.36 1.995 Niobium(V) oxide Nb2O5 74.72 : 25.28 2.511 Silver(I) oxide Ag2O 92.80 : 7.200 2.112 Tantalum(V) oxide Ta2O5 83.09 : 16.91 1.404 Tin(II) oxide SnO 88.22 : 11.78 1.820 Tin(IV) oxide SnO2 80.73 : 19.27 2.890 Titanium(IV) oxide TiO2 68.94 : 31.06 1.495 Zinc(II) oxide ZnO 81.90 : 18.10 2.093
Thanks, Helge Smedsrud (helge.smedsrud@gmail.com) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Niob ( talk • contribs) 18:34, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
"Answer to question on Original Research and source": The table is the basic stoichiometry, and can be calculated easily. In practice some of the reactions need boosters to sustain them, others need fluxing agents added to obtain the metal, but that does not change the figures for the stoichiometric proportions of the thermite. If the table is used, it should state that the energies listed include the energy released on cooling to the solid phase. The information is published in the http://www.amazingrust.com/Experiments/how_to/Thermite.html page. Nobody answering the question at the foot of this page from another author about why this information was removed? AccHistories ( talk) 09:05, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
"Magnesium strips do not need oxygen". Sure, they use dark forces to oxidize. Fix the bug, please. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.80.98.111 ( talk) 12:00, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
Why was the ratio of materials and chemical equations removed from this article? It is about chemistry and removing this information because "kids might make it" is pretty stupid and not based on policy eg Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia_is_not_censored. It is simple to calculate, and you can find it all over the place on the internet so its not going to do anything to those that might be inclined to try it. Noodle snacks ( talk) 02:30, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
Can we add:
RJFJR ( talk) 21:46, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
I am just clear on the use of "in fact". It left me wondering if something is wrong here?
Ignition
Metals are capable of burning under the right conditions, similarly to the combustion process of wood or gasoline. In fact, rust is the result of oxidation of steel or iron at very slow rates. —Preceding
unsigned comment added by
96.25.43.166 (
talk) 04:36, 22 April 2009 (UTC)
In the introduction it states that "the most common thermite is aluminium-iron(III) oxide", however, in the Types section it states that Fe3O4 is the most commonly used thermite. Which of these statements is correct? Can anyone provide a source? 128.227.48.226 ( talk) 19:21, 7 October 2009 (UTC)
edit: Fe2O3 is iron(III) oxide, and Fe3O4 is iron(II,III) oxide. There's a list a few posts/topics up.
I am curious about which is used for melting through something, and which is used for welding something. Is there a difference in ignition temp? and if there is a difference in rate of reaction, is a shielding gas used in thermite reactions intended for welding?
This is too trivial to add to the encyclopedia article but it is interesting: Thermite Thanksgiving. I think I'll stick with the gas range. davidwr/( talk)/( contribs)/( e-mail) 18:08, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
The assertion that nano-thermite is classed as an explosive appears to be unsourced. Might I recommend removal of this factoid unless a source is provided? Thistlethorn ( talk) 20:30, 25 July 2010 (UTC) After further research, I've decided to remove the assertion. It appears to be faulty. Thistlethorn ( talk) 16:27, 26 July 2010 (UTC)
LOL —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.72.206.106 ( talk) 20:48, 17 August 2010 (UTC)
I know iron oxide is safe to eat, and I'm pretty sure you can pass aluminum with ease, so like... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.11.36.169 ( talk) 19:34, 10 March 2011 (UTC)
This pages should be potected from editing by newly registered users and unregistered users. This is due to the high number of attacks on this page and the nanothermite page from all of the 9/11 conspiracy assholes. Whalerguy1 ( talk) 19:36, 16 September 2011 (UTC)
I added 'Popular culture' section in 'Thermite' article with this info- "American TV drama series 'Breaking Bad' depicts use of thermite to melt the locking system of a warehouse in the episode " A No-Rough-Stuff_Type deal" I also added the reference for this. Somebody please tell me why was it deleted? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 182.19.53.134 ( talk) 07:24, 27 December 2012 (UTC)
Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:ThermiteReaction.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on March 24, 2013. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2013-03-24. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 ( talk) 23:07, 10 March 2013 (UTC)
The sentence "The aluminium reduces the oxide of another metal, most commonly iron oxide, because aluminium is more reactive is tautological and meaningless. The only factual statement that can be made about this reaction is that the reaction of metallic aluminium with metal oxides is exothermic with most (but not all) metal oxides. Reason? In its simplest form, the fuel (Al metal) is a stronger reducing agent than the metal (Fe) which is combined with oxygen in the oxidizer, but this begs the question, why? Look at the reaction:
The standard enthalpy of this reaction depends on the standard enthalpy of formation of the oxides. One way to rationalize the exothermic nature of the reaction is to say that Al metal is more electropositive than Fe metal and this can be quantified using Mulliken electronegativity, which, in this case, is mostly determined by ionization potentials. The more electropositive metal reacts with oxygen, under standard conditions, to form the oxide, giving out more heat (more exothermic), so it reduces the oxide of the less electropositive metal.
The word reactive occurs 8 other times in the article. From a chemist's point of view this is very poor indeed. Petergans ( talk) 08:32, 24 March 2013 (UTC)
As stated in WP:UNIT “In science-related articles: generally use only SI units, non-SI units officially accepted for use with the SI, and specialized units that are used in some sciences. US Customary and imperial units are not required.” 135.19.148.107 ( talk) 17:55, 30 June 2013 (UTC)
In the introduction, it states that thermite consists of metal powder, fuel and metal oxide. Two sentences later, it calls it a fuel-oxidizer mixture. In the following paragraph, it says fuels include [list of metals] and oxidizers include [list of metal oxides].
Are the metals the same as the fuel? If so, why are they listed separately?
Also, I think it would help to include in the introduction a linking sentence: "The metals serve as fuel and the metal oxides serve as oxidizers". Otherwise the lede is confusing to anyone that isn't already familiar with the chemistry of the thermite reaction.
178.38.89.226 ( talk) 13:57, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
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Cheers.— cyberbot II Talk to my owner:Online 21:31, 1 April 2016 (UTC)
I would think the most important aspect of (most?) thermite mixtures is that one of the reaction products is metal in a liquid (molten) state. Shouldn't that be mentioned in the lede? Prevalence 17:13, 27 April 2016 (UTC)
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Cheers.— cyberbot II Talk to my owner:Online 23:46, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
Since the Hindenberg's skin included the ingrediants for a thermite mixture, there has been speculation that thermite caused the fatal fire. Just be sure to also mention that the Mythbusters busted that myth. Seems those ingrediants were on different portions of the skin. Will ( Talk - contribs) 02:16, 22 June 2017 (UTC)
Are [ [1]] WP:ENGVAR changes appropriate? (Other changes in this are proper; is this an established British English article already?) --jpgordon 𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇 14:35, 6 May 2023 (UTC)
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