How to Make Thermite

Thermite is a mixture of aluminum and iron oxide that requires considerable heat to ignite, but once ignited burns at temperatures of more than 4,000 degrees. Thought to have been a factor in the Hindenburg explosion and the World Trade Center collapse, thermite is used in both incendiary and explosive applications.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Aluminum powder
• Iron oxide (rust) in powder form
• Magnesium or chromium strip
• Potassium permanganate (optional)
• Glycerine (optional)
• Barium nitrate (optional)
• Modeling clay
• Propane torch (optional)

Mixing the Thermite

1. Obtain aluminum powder from a machine shop or a paint store, by grinding up aluminum soda cans or by breaking open an Etch-a-Sketch.

2. Get iron oxide powder from a paint store or by scraping the rust off a rusty piece of metal. You also can make iron oxide by placing a piece of steel wool in water with 5 tablespoons each of bleach and vinegar or through electrolysis.

3. Mix 3 parts by weight of the aluminum powder with 8 parts by weight of the powdered iron oxide. (By volume, the proportions are more like 50-50.) To increase the thermite's efficiency, increase the iron oxide content to be 4 parts to 1 part of aluminum.

4. Combine the thermite with barium nitrate to increase its incendiary effect. This mixture is common in military thermite grenades.

5. Embed the thermite in modeling clay to make it moldable, allowing you to create shaped charges.

Igniting the Thermite

6. Make a fuse by inserting a magnesium or chromium strip into the thermite.

7. Place the thermite in a safe area, away from everything. For added safety, contain the thermite in a clay pot, which won't burn when the thermite does.

8. Heat the fuse strip with a propane torch.

9. Run like hell.

Tips & Warnings

• A more reliable way to ignite thermite is to pour potassium permanganate and glycerine over it; the reaction between these two chemicals provides sufficient heat to ignite the thermite. This method is not foolproof, however, and should be attempted only by an expert.
• Thermite reactions can be used to purify metal ores. Uranium was purified in this manner as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II.
• Thermite contains its own oxygen supply and cannot be smothered until that supply is exhausted. It can, however, be kept from getting additional oxygen.
• Do not mix water with thermite or use it to extinguish burning thermite. This may cause the thermite to erupt, spraying hot metal in all directions, as well as produce hydrogen gas.
• Do not place metals with low boiling points, such as zinc, near thermite. This may cause superheated metal to boil away and ignite on contact with the air. Likewise, do not keep thermite in a metal container, as it may melt when the thermite is ignited.
• Keep thermite away from heat sources until ready to ignite it. Finely powdered thermite can be ignited by a cigarette lighter or by using one match as a fuse and lighting it with another match. Don't pour new thermite over old thermite slag, as it may reignite. Likewise, when grinding ferrous metals, do not allow any aluminum nearby, as hot iron sparks may cause a thermite reaction if they contact the aluminum.

[gazle]

on 3/27/2009 Oops. Sorry for double posting.

[gazle]

on 3/27/2009 @thegreenbastard Actually, I wasn't quite done with you yet. I'm curious as to where you found the statistics that "there is a 90% chance it will literally explode in your face and you will have molten aluminium and iron all over you." Although i am unaware of any experiments that have specifically studied the likelyhood of potassium permanganate and glycerine making thermite explode, it seems very unlikely that there is a 90% chance of this happening. The potassium permanganate and gycerine reaction is used to set off thermite in laboratory studies because it builds up the necessary heat over time and gives researchers plenty of time to get a safe distance away. It does get very hot and creates substantial flames, but I have never heard that it actually explodes thermite.

[gazle]

on 3/27/2009 @thegreenbastard Actually, I wasn't quite done with you yet. I'm curious as to where you found the statistics that "there is a 90% chance it will literally explode in your face and you will have molten aluminium and iron all over you." Although i am unaware of any experiments that have specifically studied the likelyhood of potassium permanganate and glycerine making thermite explode, it seems very unlikely that there is a 90% chance of this happening. The potassium permanganate and gycerine reaction is used to set off thermite in laboratory studies because it builds up the necessary heat over time and gives researchers plenty of time to get a safe distance away. It does get very hot and creates substantial flames, but I have never heard that it actually explodes thermite.

[gazle]

on 3/27/2009 @epitomeoffact I agree with you on green bastard. He doesn't know what he's talking about. However, there is no evidence that thermite was used in the world trade center collapse. There are other, more plausible explanations for the presence of aluminum oxide and the melted iron puddles. This does not mean that it wasn't used, but with the absence of affirming evidence, the default presumption is that it wasn't. With the Hindenburg on the other hand, there is evidence that the protective coating on the balloon was made from a compound that was effectively thermite.

[gazle]

on 3/27/2009 @thegreenbastard. Really? You know of engineering processes that are more effective AND cheaper AND easier? Like what? I don't know of any engineering processes that outperform in all three categories. Thermite is exceptionally useful for field work. It requires very little equipment and can be set up quickly. Also, you degrade your credibility by using unsupported absolutes: "Thermite will kill you if you don't know what you're doing" No. In all likelyhood, unless you're making A LOT, or like igniting it on yourself, its very unlikey that it will kill you. Even if something goes wrong. Although the burns suck.