Better than a bang, eh?

That intro is rather annoying. It's one thing to post a segment online, it's another to repackage it as your own gift to the Internet.

>> ^gwiz665:
Better than a bang, eh?


Nah

that cement mixer truck that they filled up with explosives and set of from a mile away was the best bang I ever seen on the show. The sound it made was un fuckin believable. bewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I LIKE THINGS THAT GO BOOM.

Sooo. What myth were they busting?

What would really terrify me is if, by whatever method, all that thermite powder on their skin ever lit up =O

"It's better to end with a bang."

That said, isn't thermite ignited rather than detonated?

>> ^brain:
Sooo. What myth were they busting?

A bit over-excited with themselves... Can't really say the amount they used makes this clip better than any of the Brainiac thermite segments.

Nice carbon footprint, also.

>> ^radx:
"It's better to end with a bang."
That said, isn't thermite ignited rather than detonated?
>> ^brain:
Sooo. What myth were they busting?

I believe the term you are trying for is deflagration, rather than ignition. Ignition of a given substance can lead to either detonation or deflagration leading from the properties of the substance and the specific conditions. I will agree that this video may not show detonation, in some instances that difference may be mere semantics. Have a look at this really great article here... http://www.rense.com/general77/geddno.htm.

9/22 was an outside job!

Removing those tires really reduced the amount of black smoke that produced...

know all the calculations that show that the averave american pollutes the enviroment like 50 times more than anyone else on this planet? those two are the main reason ;-)

i honestly read it first as "Mythbusters donate 1000 pounds of Thermite."
i don't care who or what charity it would be for, but it would be an awesome donation.
kids with cancer? sure, we can burn the bodies up with that!

>> ^gwiz665:
Better than a bang, eh?


Depends on who your banging...

There goes the ozone layer...

So, ahhh, that's just rust and aluminum? Like rust and aluminum? Like a rusty soda can? Somehow, this does not compute.

It's definitely not detonation -- thermite is non-explosive.  Still very cool -- I've always wanted to make some to play with.

>> ^RhesusMonk:
So, ahhh, that's just rust and aluminum? Like rust and aluminum? Like a rusty soda can? Somehow, this does not compute.


Iron (Fe) is less reactive than Aluminium (Al), so with enough starting energy, you can persuade Aluminium to steal the oxygen from rust, Iron Oxide (Fe2O3), to make Aluminium Oxide (Al203) and pure molten Iron. The equation is:

Fe2O3 + 2Al -> 2Fe + Al2O3 + Heat
Rust + Aluminium -> Iron + Aluminium Oxide + Heat

And yes, it's very easy to make some of this out of everyday materials - if you can find a way of finely powdering an Aluminium can or baseball bat and mixing it up with some powdered rust you have the ability to cut through Steel =)

Even though it's less quantity, I enjoyed this thermite vs. car video a bit more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdCsbZf1_Ng&feature=related

>> ^demon_ix:
A bit over-excited with themselves... Can't really say the amount they used makes this clip better than any of the Brainiac thermite segments.
Nice carbon footprint, also.

I agree that it wasn't that exciting. But what carbon footprint are you talking about? No CO2 is released in this reaction. Only a bit from the burning plastic in the car probably.

This isn't a detonation.

Thermites? Better call ORKIN.

I always thought a thermite detonator was a grenade like object from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. You know, when Leia threatens Jabba.