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E-match to ignite thermite


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Posted
Hi i was wondering if i could make a e-match out of sparkler powder to ignite iron thermite
Posted

Maybe. Prolly need some hefty nichrome wire and a solid high current voltage source. Decent gauge lead wires too. Don’t know if commercial systems would handle it, but then again I have no experience with those.

Posted (edited)

One of the nice things about thermite is that it is very hot when it burns BUT it's actually hard to get it to start burning.

Edited by Arthur
Posted (edited)

Hi i was wondering if i could make a e-match out of sparkler powder to ignite iron thermite

 

 

Typical sparklers depend on the iron wire within them to transfer the heat to the unburnt composition ahead of the burning front. It sort of pre-heats the composition before it's ignited.

 

Rail thermite (used in the field to weld railroad rails together using a graphite mold) is usually ignited with a short version of a sparkler, maybe 3" long with about 2" of composition on the iron wire.

 

If you cut a wire sparkler to the same dimensions and prime the end with a hot burning mixture, an E-match should be able to ignite the whole thing. There will be a delay between ignition of the sparkler and the thermite firing, to be sure, but I can see this as a way to accomplish your stated goal.

 

WSM B)

Edited by WSM
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