(September 2, 2024 at 3:03 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote:(September 2, 2024 at 2:38 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: I’ve been near a thermite burn (a demonstration, nothing dangerous), and I agree completely. That shit is terrifying.
Boru
Artillerymen use it to melt -- melt -- the breechblocks of their guns if forced to abandon them on retreat. Anything that can melt 200 lbs of steel in a couple of minutes is nothing I want any part of.
The demo I saw was a rail track being repaired. They built a ceramic mould around the breach, filled it with steel shot. When they ignited the thermite, it took, if memory serves, well under a minute to melt the shot and fill the mould.
Thermite is one of those things best left to professionals.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax