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Magnesium Ribbon: Rolled Hot at 450 °C and Slit
Magnesium ribbon catches in a flame and burns with an intense white light, which makes it the lighter for a thermit charge. Thorpe (1912): magnesium is malleable but ductile only when hot, it can be rolled at 450 °C, and it is most used flattened into ribbon. It tarnishes in moist air, so store it dry. Keep flame away from the finished ribbon.
The picture: magnesium ribbon burning (Wikimedia Commons).
Intermediate
Half a day
Instructions
1
1
Cut a piece
Cut a piece
Saw a 20 g piece off the magnesium ingot.
Materials for this step:
Magnesium Ingot20 gTools needed:
Hacksaw
Balance Scale2
2
Heat to 450 °C
Heat to 450 °C
Heat the piece to 450 °C in the furnace and check it with the pyrometer. Cold, magnesium is not ductile.
Tools needed:
Charcoal Furnace
Pyrometer
Tongs
Leather Gloves3
3
Roll it thin
Roll it thin
Pass it through the rolling mill, close the rolls a little each time, and reheat to 450 °C between passes. Stop at about 0.2 mm thick.
Tools needed:
Rolling MillCharcoal FurnaceTongs
MicrometerLeather Gloves4
4
Slit and store
Slit and store
Cut the cold strip into ribbon about 3 mm wide, coil it, and keep it in a dry, closed jar.
Tools needed:
Metal Shears
Glass Jars with LidsMaterials
1- 20 gPlaceholder
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