On Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:28:11 -0700 (PDT), ekim2653@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>On Apr 24, 8:30 pm, Derek Nilsen <dereknil...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> this might be a stupid beginners question but, does aluminum oxide
>> have any uses is pyrotechnics. Also, if not, is there any way to
>> remove the oxygen from the Al2O3 so that i will just be left with
>> Aluminum.
>>
>> thanks,
>
>Actually, the most im****tant use of aluminum oxide in pyrotechny is
>the molecule-thin coat of it that forms on the surface of aluminum
>metal. This oxide coat is what makes aluminum powders so much more
>tractable and hence useful as pyrotechnic fuels than (for example)
>powdered magnesium.
For what its worth,magnesium acts like it has a thin imperverious
layer of the oxide, not unlike aluminum.
My family has let a magnesium ladder sit out in the weather for fifty
years with no obvious ill affects. It isn't powder of course. It has
weathered to a somewhat darker gray than when it was new. Maybe the
oxide layer is thicker than with aluminum. The ladder is 40% lighter
than aluminum ones, and when I was a kid, it was a significant
difference. It would seem that bulk mag doesn't corrode just from rain
and so on, but the powder does when mixed with other chemicals.
Casady
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