Mushroombird8 Posted Tuesday at 09:55 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 09:55 PM I was thinking about thermites and was wondering if a mixture of aluminum powder and copper sulfate would make something similar to thermite. will test this soon on a small scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushroombird8 Posted Tuesday at 10:33 PM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 10:33 PM update: attempted with .11g fine shredded aluminum foil and 1g copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4(H2O)5) at room temperature Results: reaction was quick, but not explosive, with lots of bubbling but the reaction was not driven to completion. This was likely due to the copper passivating the reaction between the aluminum and copper sulfate. Will try later with fine aluminum powder, with anhydrous copper sulfate, and with molten salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Swede Posted 20 hours ago Share Posted 20 hours ago Sulphates work like oxidisers with high temperature fuels but it is not a thermitic reaction per se. You need oxides for that Copper sulphate has a lot of crystal water and is therefore not that efficient. It is also acidic so never mix it with magnesium as it might spontaneously ignite! Try sulphates of barium and strontium instead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted 10 hours ago Share Posted 10 hours ago Barium sulfate and fine aluminum powder will make a flash powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted 10 hours ago Share Posted 10 hours ago If you'relooking for a water-activated energetic mixture, Google "negative x". It's a common chemistry class demo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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