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>> I lit a thin magnesium ribbon with a match.
>>
>> OTOH, a nice solid lump of it probably won't burn too well. I hear
>> they make pencil sharpeners out of it. (Or, more likely, some alloy of
>> it.)
>
> Great. Now I'm just going to HAVE to get a pencil sharpener and set it
> ablaze. Thanks Andrew :)
DON'T DO IT!
ESPECIALLY IF YOUR PENCIL SHARPENER IS PLASTIC!!!
:-O
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On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:57:21 +0100, "scott" <sco### [at] scott com> wrote:
>> Not nearly as hot as thermite, but it can be (and is) used to start a
>> thermite reaction.
>
>But did you ever try to light a piece of Magnesium?
>
But have you ever tried to put burning magnesium out?
I remember from a fire fighting course I was on when I worked offshore that
there is a technique for doing it. You have to pour copious amounts of water on
it very slowly. Not use the normal jet from a fire hose or you have a very
spread out fire. :)
--
Regards
Stephen
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Invisible wrote:
>> Great. Now I'm just going to HAVE to get a pencil sharpener and set it
>> ablaze. Thanks Andrew :)
>
> DON'T DO IT!
>
So bright ... XD
> ESPECIALLY IF YOUR PENCIL SHARPENER IS PLASTIC!!!
>
Eeew, no way. Burning plastic is no fun. Toxic fumes make me sick.
> :-O
XD
--
~Mike
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Stephen wrote:
> But have you ever tried to put burning magnesium out?
>
> I remember from a fire fighting course I was on when I worked offshore that
> there is a technique for doing it. You have to pour copious amounts of water on
> it very slowly. Not use the normal jet from a fire hose or you have a very
> spread out fire. :)
Ummm. Water on a metal fire ... isn't that just going to exacerbate the
reaction and create hydrogen gas?
Some will even burn in nitrogen.. I think they have foams for helping
extinguish metal fires.
--
~Mike
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> Ummm. Water on a metal fire ... isn't that just going to exacerbate the
> reaction and create hydrogen gas?
Not magnesium, no. (Not at any appreciable rate, at least.) Try it with,
say, sodium and you've have a Big Problem. Magnesium is far too
unreactive for it to be a problem.
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On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:53:30 -0600, Mike Raiford <"m[raiford]!at"@gmail.com>
wrote:
>Stephen wrote:
>
>> But have you ever tried to put burning magnesium out?
>>
>> I remember from a fire fighting course I was on when I worked offshore that
>> there is a technique for doing it. You have to pour copious amounts of water on
>> it very slowly. Not use the normal jet from a fire hose or you have a very
>> spread out fire. :)
>
>Ummm. Water on a metal fire ... isn't that just going to exacerbate the
>reaction and create hydrogen gas?
>
>Some will even burn in nitrogen.. I think they have foams for helping
>extinguish metal fires.
Yes, but the obvious circumstances of a magnesium fire offshore is a helicopter
crash. The build up of Hydrogen would not be a problem as it would be outside or
on the helideck. We would have used AFFF (Aqueous film forming foam). The water
being mainly a carrier for the AFFF and for cooling.
--
Regards
Stephen
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Invisible wrote:
> Not magnesium, no. (Not at any appreciable rate, at least.) Try it with,
> say, sodium and you've have a Big Problem. Magnesium is far too
> unreactive for it to be a problem.
But when the metal is at the combustion point it would react with the
water, right?
Yes, right ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium#Precautions
The only way to douse the fire is to smother it. Water will simply piss
it off.
Sodium reacts if you so much as look at it wrong...
--
~Mike
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Stephen wrote:
> Yes, but the obvious circumstances of a magnesium fire offshore is a helicopter
> crash. The build up of Hydrogen would not be a problem as it would be outside or
> on the helideck. We would have used AFFF (Aqueous film forming foam). The water
> being mainly a carrier for the AFFF and for cooling.
Just make sure its Class D. :)
--
~Mike
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>> Not magnesium, no. (Not at any appreciable rate, at least.) Try it
>> with, say, sodium and you've have a Big Problem. Magnesium is far too
>> unreactive for it to be a problem.
>
> But when the metal is at the combustion point it would react with the
> water, right?
>
> Yes, right ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium#Precautions
Oh, well, I've only tried mixing it in water at room temperatures.
> Sodium reacts if you so much as look at it wrong...
Yes. ;-)
And calcium bubbles quite a bit.
And magnesium... well after about an hour a few tiny bubbles had formed
on its surface. So I guess that's a sort-of reaction?
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Invisible wrote:
> And magnesium... well after about an hour a few tiny bubbles had formed
> on its surface. So I guess that's a sort-of reaction?
Its every bit as much of a reaction as iron rusting ... yes.
--
~Mike
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