Quick update, hate to post so many comments, but update:
Found a piece of actual manganese metal. It's very brittle, I split it into two by applying pressure between my fingers. It's also very small, the two pieces are little millimeter blobs. But still, it's manganese! :D
Manganese(IV) oxide, not manganese dioxide. Ionic compounds are NEVER named using Greek prefixes, excluding 1) certain polyatomic ions which are of course covalent in nature (and covalent normally means Greek prefixes are permitted), and 2) waters of hydration.
@DjinnJuggler Yes it does! It's difficult to harvest it though, because manganese's boiling point is very close to the melting point of alumina. So as the thermite goes, much of the Mn is lost and it's hard to get good sized chunks.
@mrhomescientist So let's say I had a small ceramic tube, fairly thick. I filled it with this thermite, and made a tight clay lid over the top. I then began heating it with a blowtorch. Would pressure make the ceramic tube explode?
@elementcollector1 Possibly, but I don't know if there'd be enough of a temperature differential on the lid since its getting blasted with heat from the reaction. Give it a try!
@mrhomescientist Cool. I made the lid, and as an extra precaution in case there isn't enough Al, put a layer of Al foil on the bottom of the crucible. Also, the lid has a small opening point, so if any manganese sputters out of there, it should be captured by the flowerpot around the crucible. Also, I seem to be not using enough aluminum powder (I just couldn't make enough of the stuff), so I used by volume and ended up with about 1/6 oz of Al and 3/2 oz of MnO2. Is this right?
@elementcollector1 Whoops, just did a calculation, turns out I need around half an ounce of MnO2. This seems like it'll be a fairly small thermite... :(
@mrhomescientist Well, Ima gave it a try, and here are the results:
Brown-and-black pellets which glowed like molten metal when heated with a blowtorch.
Sparks that flew everywhere and collected as a grayish powder around the flowerpot.
Which one of these, if not both, is the manganese?
Also, keep in mind that the reaction never fully ignited, but only gave off sparks. That magnesium fuse went out as soon as it hit the mixture, too. :(
@mrhomescientist Turns out the stuff I use is horribly impure with carbon, iron and a mess of other things. Trying to figure out how to purify it, any ideas?
@mrhomescientist A good method is to put it in a big pan that's filled with sand, and after the reaction has finished, pick up the pan and bang it on the ground (with some force) a few times.
me and my friend are planning on making a deadly gas bomb for fun , lol and im just checking, but would H2S explode when in contact with fire.. its what im using for the gas but i want to know how flamible it is
@LIAMpants no, but you found out that H2S is a very deadly neurotoxin, and it is the stuff that smells like rotten eggs. To make a deadly gas bomb, you better mix sulfuric acid and potassium ferricyanide. This reaction produces super deadly hydrogen cyanide. Lol thats off topic, but the thermite was nice.
Quick update, hate to post so many comments, but update:
Found a piece of actual manganese metal. It's very brittle, I split it into two by applying pressure between my fingers. It's also very small, the two pieces are little millimeter blobs. But still, it's manganese! :D
Another add to the element collection!
elementcollector1 4 months ago
Manganese(IV) oxide, not manganese dioxide. Ionic compounds are NEVER named using Greek prefixes, excluding 1) certain polyatomic ions which are of course covalent in nature (and covalent normally means Greek prefixes are permitted), and 2) waters of hydration.
ActinideChemist 4 months ago
does this make manganese metal?
DjinnJuggler 5 months ago
@DjinnJuggler Yes it does! It's difficult to harvest it though, because manganese's boiling point is very close to the melting point of alumina. So as the thermite goes, much of the Mn is lost and it's hard to get good sized chunks.
mrhomescientist 5 months ago
@mrhomescientist Could you put a lid on the crucible after mixing permanganate / glycerin?
I tried this before, and didn't get any manganese. :(
elementcollector1 4 months ago
@elementcollector1 You could certainly try, but like you saw it's pretty hard to get any Mn metal from this type of reaction.
mrhomescientist 4 months ago
@mrhomescientist So let's say I had a small ceramic tube, fairly thick. I filled it with this thermite, and made a tight clay lid over the top. I then began heating it with a blowtorch. Would pressure make the ceramic tube explode?
elementcollector1 4 months ago
@mrhomescientist If it boils, and recondenses on the lid, couldn't I just scrape it off the lid and remelt?
elementcollector1 4 months ago
@elementcollector1 Possibly, but I don't know if there'd be enough of a temperature differential on the lid since its getting blasted with heat from the reaction. Give it a try!
mrhomescientist 4 months ago
@mrhomescientist Cool. I made the lid, and as an extra precaution in case there isn't enough Al, put a layer of Al foil on the bottom of the crucible. Also, the lid has a small opening point, so if any manganese sputters out of there, it should be captured by the flowerpot around the crucible. Also, I seem to be not using enough aluminum powder (I just couldn't make enough of the stuff), so I used by volume and ended up with about 1/6 oz of Al and 3/2 oz of MnO2. Is this right?
elementcollector1 4 months ago
@elementcollector1 Whoops, just did a calculation, turns out I need around half an ounce of MnO2. This seems like it'll be a fairly small thermite... :(
elementcollector1 4 months ago
@mrhomescientist Well, Ima gave it a try, and here are the results:
Brown-and-black pellets which glowed like molten metal when heated with a blowtorch.
Sparks that flew everywhere and collected as a grayish powder around the flowerpot.
Which one of these, if not both, is the manganese?
Also, keep in mind that the reaction never fully ignited, but only gave off sparks. That magnesium fuse went out as soon as it hit the mixture, too. :(
elementcollector1 4 months ago
@mrhomescientist Is the thermite you are producing made with MnO2 as a substitute for the FeO/Fe2O3 but still retaining the aluminium powder?
herropreasepaur123 1 month ago
@mrhomescientist Turns out the stuff I use is horribly impure with carbon, iron and a mess of other things. Trying to figure out how to purify it, any ideas?
elementcollector1 6 days ago
@mrhomescientist A good method is to put it in a big pan that's filled with sand, and after the reaction has finished, pick up the pan and bang it on the ground (with some force) a few times.
Kendrana 1 month ago
me and my friend are planning on making a deadly gas bomb for fun , lol and im just checking, but would H2S explode when in contact with fire.. its what im using for the gas but i want to know how flamible it is
LIAMpants 11 months ago
@LIAMpants no, but you found out that H2S is a very deadly neurotoxin, and it is the stuff that smells like rotten eggs. To make a deadly gas bomb, you better mix sulfuric acid and potassium ferricyanide. This reaction produces super deadly hydrogen cyanide. Lol thats off topic, but the thermite was nice.
pm for info 'bout the gas
guidocreusen 7 months ago
@LIAMpants very flammable and can form explosive mixtures with air don't do it.
spotlightman1234 7 months ago
Just ordered 5kgs of manganese dioxide and 2kgs of aluminium powder... ;)
TheCrazyFinn 1 year ago 2
You know, I've read that it can be ignited with a regular nichrome wire. Manganese thermite is fairly easy to ignite.
Did you ever try that?
dawson01912 1 year ago
@dawson01912 I wasn't aware of that actually. If I get my hands on some I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks for the tip!
mrhomescientist 1 year ago
@mrhomescientist you can get nichrome wire from a normal toaster :)
spotlightman1234 1 year ago