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Author: Subject: Burning iron wire in pure oxygen
Ralf
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[*] posted on 25-3-2025 at 14:54
Burning iron wire in pure oxygen


Hi,

everyone knows that steel wool can burn in air. But did you know that an iron wire can burn as well?

wire.jpg - 44kB

It works, if you use pure oxygen. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL8VSgzIcEc

eisendraht verbrennt in sauerstoff.jpg - 79kB

I used a zinc-coated 0.7 mm thick iron wire for the experiment. It acts like a powerful sparkler. The sparks generated are so hot that they leave burn marks in the glass vessel. A massive piece of shiny iron oxide (Fe3O4) can be found on the bottom after the reaction. It is magnetic.

Fe3O4.png - 488kB
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woelen
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[*] posted on 28-3-2025 at 04:06


Looks quite impressive.
Another similar experiment can be done in chlorine gas. Prepare a jar, full of chlorine (e.g. by adding a tablespoon full of swimming pool chlorine granulate to a few tens of ml of hydrochloric acid). Then immerse the iron wire, while being red hot, in the chlorine gas. it will burn violently, giving off a brown cloud of very finely divided iron(III) chloride.

Do this experiment with chlorine gas outside! The gas and the brown smoke are things you certainly do not want to breathe and the brown smoke also stains everything, including wallpaper, ceilings, etc.




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