so i've gatherd that u make thermite from rust and aluminium now i want to go and buy some of this stuff and i dont wanna look like i'm up to sumthing so what do i ask for?
also i live in australia so if anyone knows where/what to ask for it would help

just get a DC converter (DC or AC i dont remember) from a train set, wrap the wires around a nail, put the nail in a jar of water, and turn it on. wait a few weeks. you will have plenty of rust.

Burn steel wool. Bar rooms method gives you iron scale which is preferable but my way is easier.

for aluminum powder get some hydrochloric acid disolve as much aluminum in it as you can. then put as much magnesium in the solution as it will take. aluminum powder will form in the bottom. Or you could just file down an aluminum pipe and collect the dust.

[This message has been edited by Alan Smithee (edited 08-17-2000).]

If you react all the aluminum with the acid there will be nothing to won't be able to dissolve the magnesium. The correct technique would be to suspend the mangnesium in the solution. It will replace the Al and powdered Al will fall out. But Mg is expensive and a much better metal for pyrotechnics, better to buy it.

shouldn't the magnesium replace the aluminum in the AlCl3 in a replacement reaction as the aluminum is more electro negitive than the magnesium.

[This message has been edited by Alan Smithee (edited 08-18-2000).]

Uh yeah, that's what we both said.
I was stating that if you react all the acid with aluminum (which is what you should do) that there will be no acid to react with the magnesium (which shouldn't happen). Suspend a magnesium block in the AlCl3(aq) solution and Mg will replace the Al attached to chlorine, Al will precipitate out in a powdered form.

Aluminum is much more electronegative than Mg, Mg is actually elecrorphyllic, it is readily an electron donor.

You can't buy thermite from pyrotek.org can you?

No but you can buy Al powder and Iron Oxide from them.Then mix to your hearts content.

This might sound like a stupid question but what is thermite and what is it used for.

It is a mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide that burns at 3000 degrees celsius one use is destroying engines and mechanical aparati by fusing the moving parts together.

Don't forget antiarmor applications. A made some for a buddy of mine, about 400g of it. He said it burnt through 2 stop signs set the ashpalt underneath on fire. I thought it would take about 800g to do that, the way I make it the burn rate is quite fast. I add oxidizers such as NaNO3 and TiO2.

real does adding oxidizers lower the initial heat necessary to light it so powdered magnesium doesnt need to be used.

No, I still have to ignite with mangnesium or a torch, it just burns much faster. I would like to be able to determine if it burns hotter, but I haven't really looked into finding out out.

Nice. I gotta try this stuff sometime.

i can't find magnessium. where can i purchase steal that

http://www.pyrotek.org/

or on some flint and steel lighters.

how do u get mg of lighters?

alot of flint and steel lighters have a bar of magnesium on them.

and where might the mg be located on such lighters?