Quote:
Originally Posted by Zero
yea i would think a slow controlled burn would work best, maybe a thermite napalm based burn to allow it to flow and form the starters for rivers and lakes. i was curious about this when i learned what happens from the thermite reaction and wondered why i had never heard it suggested for terraformation
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The military has used it many times in bombs and I found these, but I'm not entirely sure what they mean, (remember, I'm sixteen and still in Biology, Chemistry is next year for me):
When thermite is made using iron (III) oxide, for maximum efficiency it should contain, by mass, 25.3% aluminium and 74.7% iron oxide. (This mixture is sold under the brand name Thermit as a heat source for welding.) The complete formula for the reaction using iron (III) oxide is as follows:
Fe(2)O(3)+2Al--> Al(2)O(3)+2Fe
ΔH = -851.5 kJ/mol
When thermite is made using iron (II,III) oxide, for maximum efficiency it should contain, by mass, 23.7% aluminium and 76.3% iron oxide. The formula for the reaction using iron (II,III) oxide:
3Fe(3)O(4)+8Al--> 4Al(2)O(3)+9Fe
ΔH = -3347.6 kJ/mol
Interestingly, a modified version of this process (run under an inert atmosphere) can be used to produce a number of alloys—the mixture is usually ignited electrically. This approach has been used to prepare Ni-Al Alloys amongst others.
I used parentheses to differentiate between, say 2HOH and H(2)O.
I think that thermite definitely has potential in terraforming.
Source is the thermite article on wikipedia.