-=> Quoting Don Shoebridge to Dan Arico <=-
 DA>DS> Thermite is Aluminum?  I don't think so.  The Aluminum may get hot
 DA>Thermite is powdered aluminum and ferric oxide (rust to the non-
 DA>chemists). The reaction results in aluminum oxide and iron plus a lot of
 DA>heat and light.
 DS> Exactly.  Aluminum and *something else* will react.  However, aluminum
 DS> by itself is inert.  Thats why the military uses it to make inert
 DS> bombs, mortor rounds, 20mm practice, 30mm practice, rifle grenades,
 DS> etc.  Ture, it will burn if it get hot enough.  Anything will burn if
 DS> it gets hot enough.
                        ...and there is something to react with.
Anything and something else will react if the environment supports it (ie the 
temperature is high enough) and the chemicals are compatible.. Also, anything 
by itself is inert. It takes (at least) two to tango ]:^), excepting 
radioactives, which by themselves DO create new stuff, but by degredation, 
not combination.
They have even made He and Xe compounds, which were long thought impossible 
due to their molecular structure. It takes lots of heat, and they aren't very 
stable (I don't believe), but it can be done.
BTW, aluminum certainly IS NOT inert, in any sense of the word. Anything that 
takes that much energy to be seperated from it's ore must obviously be QUITE 
reactive.
It doesn't APPEAR to corrode quickly, but this is because, like Ti, it 
quickly oxidizes on the surface and the resulting compound is resistant to 
further chemical attack. Certain alloys are considerably less resistant to 
corrosion than others, but they are much stronger, so they are protected from 
the corrosive environment in which they are used by paints or other means.
Also, the military uses a variety of materials to construct inert munitions. 
It depends on the application. 20mm and 30mm TP is primarily steel, with a 
small aluminum tip and bronze rotating band to take the rifling. Inert bombs 
are also made mostly of iron or steel. BDU-50s for example, are 500 lb inerts 
that differ from the live Mk series only by being filled w/concrete instead 
of explosive material, and by being painted blue instead of green/yellow. The 
fuze wells and other plumbing are exactly the same.
Rifle grenades may be made of al, but I would suspect that the live rounds 
are, also. Propelling steel an equal distance would take quite a bit mo' 
power. Mortar rounds, same same.
... But officer! I was not CREATING a disturbance, merely improving one. ___ 
Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 
--- InterEcho 1.11
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