DEMONSTRATIONS          Faculty &
Research 		 |  Academic
Programs		  |  Industrial
Relations		  |  Research
Facilities		  |  Department
Administration		      

Thermite

Procedure

  1. Mix 50-55g ferric oxide powder with 15g Al powder.

  2. Get 2 red clay flower pots, one inside the other. Put a piece of filter paper at the bottom of the pot, pour thermite mix into the pot.

  3. Put the pots on a ring stand behind a safety shield. Also have a large sand bath placed below the pots in order to catch the liquid metal when it drops through the pots.

  4. Insert Mg fuse, light fuse with a butane lighter, step back and watch the show.

  5. If the Mg fuse is a dud, light the thermite mix with the propane hand torch.

Reactions

Fe2O3(s) + 2Al(s) --> Al2O3(s) + 2Fe(s)

dH = -849 kJ/mole

Official Web Page of the University of California, San Diego
For questions or comments contact webmaster@chem.ucsd.edu
Last Updated: 5/23/02