Are metals burnable?

[ckl]

Eg, i have heard in some car incidents, those cars burn away...

Also, what about steel(probably SS)? If i persistency put a steel knife or tool to a fire, will it break?

What is yours opinion?

 

[Ryan8]

At a certain temperature they'll vaporize. Even melting though is hard to achieve under normal conditions. It depends on the metal.

Putting a steel knife or other tool in a normal fire can ruin the temper and screw things up. It's probably not going to melt though.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Here is a link to some information on burning metals.

http://fm.colorado.edu/firesafety/metalfire.html

I doubt that your knife blade will break from putting in a fire, even if you do it over and over. If you leave it in the fire for too long it will affect the heat treat in a negative way.

 

[robertmegar]

some metal do burn intesively. not stainless steel though.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

some metal do burn intesively.

Doan U.S.G.I Magnesium Fire Starting Tool, for example.

 

[Artfully Martial]

Heat will eventually redistribute all matter in an uncrecognizeable way.

 

[Gollnick]

Anything and everything will burn if you get it hot enough.

 

[ckl]

Here is a link to some information on burning metals.

http://fm.colorado.edu/firesafety/metalfire.html

I doubt that your knife blade will break from putting in a fire, even if you do it over and over. If you leave it in the fire for too long it will affect the heat treat in a negative way.

Nice help, guys.

That thread about COMBUSTIBLE METALS is interesting. As for the heat treatment thing... Will the steel tool become greatly weakened?

 

[ghost squire]

Yes! It will become very soft if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Jeff Clark]

It is virtually a defining property of metals that they burn. Metals are elements which have loose outer electrons that can be removed by other atoms with a stronger attraction for those electrons than the metal. The general term for that transfer of electrons is "oxidation". When oxidation is fast we call it burning.

It is very easy to burn steel if it is seperated into small pieces. The sparks from a grinding wheel are burning particles of metal. Stainless steel will create sparks when it is ground, but not as bright as the sparks from tool steel. The main thing that keeps stainless from rusting is that it forms a protective oxide coating on itself that protects the remainder of the steel.

If you want to burn steel for fun try some extra fine steel wool. You just light it with a match. It really gets hot when you blow on it.

 

[DGG]

Eg, i have heard in some car incidents, those cars burn away...

Also, what about steel(probably SS)? If i persistency put a steel knife or tool to a fire, will it break?

What is yours opinion?

Why do you ask?

 

[Peter La]

In the field of pyrotechnics:

If you get a fine powder of some metals they burn beautifuly once you get them under high heat. For example:

Aluminum and magnesium both burn a brilliant white (be careful, magnesium burns HOT).

Iron powder will burn very bright orange and gold.

These must be powdered not granulated in order to have affect.

I am not sure if this is what you are referring to, but here is some off topic knowledge. :foot:

 

[maxster]

Sodium will explode if you throw it in water. Give that a try for fun.

 

[sheltot]

Sodium will explode if you throw it in water. Give that a try for fun.

Na + H20 --> NaOH + H

The heat of reaction of forming the sodium hydroxide (lye) ignites the free hydrogen.

 

[Rich S]

Na + H20 --> NaOH + H

The heat of reaction of forming the sodium hydroxide (lye) ignites the free hydrogen.

Actually it's H2 (hydrogen is diatomic

Most metals will burn if gotten hot enough.
Mixture of aluminum and iron oxide is called thermite; used for
bombs and use to be used to weld railroad track. Magnesium
for underwater flares.
Group IA metals and some of the Group IIA are highly reactive to
water producing H2 in a very exothermic reaction which will
commonly ignite the H2.

Rich S (ye olde chemistry prof)

 

[Peter La]

Sodium will explode if you throw it in water. Give that a try for fun.

I know sodium chloride (NaCL) is table salt but what is Sodium?

(Other than the obvious. :foot: )

And what is it found in?

Peter: Chemistry buff

 

[Sword and Shield]

Pure sodium? As in raw sodium metal? You never will find it alone.

 

[robertmegar]

By sodium they mean pure sodium metal, not the sodium ion. Pure sodium must be stored in a hydrophobic media (oil) to avoid accidents. It is that reactive with water.

 

[Peter La]

I know that Sodium (Na) is always found in conjunction with other elements because of its molecular structure. But is their a way to extract it from other impurities to get pure sodium?

 

[Jeff Clark]

Most metals are not found in a pure nonionized state in nature. They give up their outermost electrons so easily that they almost universally are found in nature as compounds. Exceptions are less reactive metals such as copper and gold. You can find "native copper" and gold nuggets in the ground. It is extremely rare to find native iron and you never find native aluminum or native sodium. So sodium chloride can be one of the most common compounds in the world while pure sodium is nonexistant without human intervention.

Commonly you make sodium by melting sodium chloride and running a DC electric current through it to seperate the sodium and the chlorine via electrolysis. The chlorine and the sodium collect at opposite electrodes. You need to keep the highly toxic and reactive chlorine away from the sodium and you need to keep the sodium away from moisture.