flammable to the extreme...

[herpguy]

does anyone know what the most combustable element or compound is? if you do please reply. Also, are there any safe chemical reactions that are strong enough to launch a rocket? Please reply.

[RyanJ]

does anyone know what the most combustable element or compound is? if you do please reply. Also, are there any safe[/u'] chemical reactions that are strong enough to launch a rocket? Please reply.

 

Caesium, Fluorine and Magnesium are all highly combistable as are most of the group I and II elements. I'm not shure there is a most flamable substance because you cna do things like grind them up to make them more flamable!

 

For the rocket, you could try the "One Sasty Sugar Rocket" thread

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[woelen]

Caesium' date=' Fluorine and Magnesium are all highly combistable as are most of the group I and II elements. I'm not shure there [i']is[/i] a most flamable substance because you cna do things like grind them up to make them more flamable!

 

For the rocket, you could try the "One Sasty Sugar Rocket" thread

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

Ryan, I must correct you a little . Fluorine is not flammable. It supports combustion very well and many things can burn in an atmosphere of fluorine, but fluorine itself cannot burn in an atmosphere of oxygen.

 

Caesium indeed is very flammable, but magnesium only somewhat. Of course it can burn with a bright and hot flame, but there are compounds, soooo much more flammable.

 

Some examples:

• white phosphorous: This starts giving off smoke, as soon as it comes in contact with air. It quickly catches fire, even at room temp. With a warm hand you can ignite it.
  
• P2H4 (the phosphorous equivalent of hydrazine): This gaseous compound ignites as soon as it comes in contact with air, even in the cold.
  
• Most boranes also ignite on contact with air.
  

 

For rocket related questions this may be interesting:

 

http://www.ukrocketry.co.uk/forum/

[RyanJ]

Ryan' date=' I must correct you a little . Fluorine is not flammable. It supports combustion very well and many things can burn in an atmosphere of fluorine, but fluorine itself cannot burn in an atmosphere of oxygen.

[/quote']

 

OOps, Good point... it could if Oxygen had a higher electronegativity than it though...

 

Caesium indeed is very flammable' date=' but magnesium only somewhat. Of course it can burn with a bright and hot flame, but there are compounds, soooo much more flammable.

 

Some examples:

[list']

[*]white phosphorous: This starts giving off smoke, as soon as it comes in contact with air. It quickly catches fire, even at room temp. With a warm hand you can ignite it.

[*]P2H4 (the phosphorous equivalent of hydrazine): This gaseous compound ignites as soon as it comes in contact with air, even in the cold.

[*]Most boranes also ignite on contact with air.

 

I've heared of that chemical before, its diphosphine right? Isn't that chemical quite toxic?

 

Acetylene is also highly flammable too, its used on oxy-acetylent torches to cut and weld things, it will even burn under water.

 

 

Here are some more (Thanks to a bit of research in my textbooks):

 

• Propylene oxide
  
• Arsine
  
• Acrylonitrile
  
• Propargyl chloride
  
• Carbon disulfide
  
• Dimethylmercury
  
• Sodium hydride
  
• Potassium nitrate
  
• ...
  

 

There are loads more, I just don't have the time or patience to type them all up

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[sunspot]

One of the most exothermic reaction is Al and O to form Al2O3. I believe the solid booster rockets of the space shuttle are aluminum powder.

[akcapr]

kno3 + charcoal, sulfur, sugar or any combo of those is often used in simple rockets. More powerful rockets use Ammonium Perchlorate and aluminum with a rubber binder as propellant. ANd the most complex rockets use liquid oxygen and hydrogen, H2O2, and sometimes nitrous oxide as oxidizers. For begginers kno3 is probably the way to go.