dangerousamateur Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 I just got about 4 pounds of very coarse aluminium for free. is there any use in pyro, apart from thermite stuff? It's not flaky, rather little nuggets, so I would expect it to be rather unreactive.
dagabu Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 I just got about 4 pounds of very coarse aluminium for free. is there any use in pyro, apart from thermite stuff? It's not flaky, rather little nuggets, so I would expect it to be rather unreactive. Hmmmmm, That in itself is very peculiar, I am betting that you have Mg/Al and not Aluminum. Take about 5g of BP and 1g of your Al and light a small pile. See if it will burn or not. -dag
Mumbles Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 Hitting it and seeing if it shatters or flattens would differentiate MgAl and Al. That Aluminum is coarser than I would really know what to do with. Coarse Al, more in the 30-50 mesh range, has been used for an effect called breaking glass. Yours may be too coarse however. The effect works somewhat like glitter where it is presumed that a melt covers the Al particle and it falls off as one unit. After a bit the Aluminum ignites and burns as it falls through the air. The particles can be coarse enough that it melts and breaks up making quite an attractive effect. Too coarse however and the particles never actually light. It'd be possible to use for larger comet effects and gerbs possibly.
Peret Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 I'd be interested in a formula for breaking glass, if you know it. It's a spectacular effect. I tried a few combinations like slow gold with titanium but haven't hit it right.
optimus Posted November 22, 2011 Posted November 22, 2011 B5 Perchlorate Glitter comes to mind, this calls for 'very coarse' Al, but even that is 20 mesh. Would be interesting to see if it worked though.
dangerousamateur Posted November 26, 2011 Author Posted November 26, 2011 No no, it's really aluminium. Soft stuff.I'll keep it for thermite experiments.
Arthur Posted November 26, 2011 Posted November 26, 2011 Try hitting it with a hammer onto an anvil, see whether there is any tendency for it to turn to flake.
pyrojig Posted November 29, 2011 Posted November 29, 2011 (edited) I'd be interested in a formula for breaking glass, if you know it. It's a spectacular effect. I tried a few combinations like slow gold with titanium but haven't hit it right. Good formula: I'd go with the hammer if you want to break glass... LOL.. Edited November 29, 2011 by pyrojig
Recommended Posts