Magnesium alloy pencil sharpeners are still available: http://www.bleistiftspitzer.com/Produkte.asp?Cat1=100&Cat2=200

 

I got two-hole sharpener ( exactly like pictured here ) from nearby supermarket. It was quite easy to scrap it with knife. Powder i got this way did what you expect of Mg.

 

Note that you can test things for Mg by droping small quantities of vinegar onto it. Reaction is quite intense if metal is Mg, if metal is Al or Zn nothing happens.

i could imagine it is just informative. i've been looking around for those for quite awhile, as magnesium is quite a good reducing agent.

why do you guys want Mg?

why do you guys want Mg?

 

magnesium is quite a good reducing agent.

 

Read please.

what do you mean reducing agent? like to burn off chemicals from a solution or something?

good call, blike

 

what do you mean reducing agent? like to burn off chemicals from a solution or something?

reducing agents oxidize easily and reduce things. adding magnesium metal to, say copper sulfate yields magnesium sulfate and copper metal.

 

also, magnesium makes for some high quality flash powders:) highly pyrophoric

it also makes a fantastic electrode in a NaOH and copper cell, I used it in my Battery Challenge

it also makes a nice intense white flame, good for flash bulbs and the like

 

edit: oops, bud... already said that

Umm... I just got a roll of magnesium ribbon in the mail. Why dont you just order some of that?

the government watches you.

do they use mg in sparklers? Methinks they do.

 

A buddy and I scraped about 10 supersized sparklers into a pan and lit it in the middle of the road. You couldn't look at it from a block away without hurting your eyes. It also burned right through the pan. It was aluminum, not titanium or anything but still pretty cool...hot...cool...w/e

 

[edit]

 

Or do they use phosphorus? It's poisonus, so I'm not sure.

phosphorous doesn't burn that brightly. it's magnesium.

Well I figured they wouldn't make a child's plaything out of toxic material.

 

[edit]

 

I'm pretty sure they use phosphorus in military flares... which do burn that brightly, moreso infact.

 

Plus, I have one more post than you... which makes me right...Forever, no returns.

you'd be surprised; 45% H2O2 is in glowsticks.

 

i thought they used strontium in military flares but hey i may be wrong.

 

btw we're tied.

 

[edit] and i average 3x as many posts as you do per day:)

true, but I have been registered 3x as long

 

lol

My dad started the company back in the 60's, when I was a teenager. We used to machine a lot of magnesium for NASA - you have to be very careful to keep the temperature down, and you can't use coolant on it, it will explode if you do. We had to keep tubes of dry chemical by the machines in case it caught on fire.

 

I used to take the turnings outside put them on the concrete driveway, set them on fire, and sprinkle water on the flames, and jump back. The mg burns so hot, when you through water on it, it separates it into hydrogen and oxygen.

 

If I recall correctly, magnesium is the material used for underwater welding.

true, but I have been registered 3x as long

 

lol

true, that. and i'm a post ahead of you again:)

 

I used to take the turnings outside put them on the concrete driveway, set them on fire, and sprinkle water on the flames, and jump back. The mg burns so hot, when you through water on it, it separates it into hydrogen and oxygen.

ay, good stuff, no?