>>>Joel Walker said:
 > the military uses this stuff to destroy things they do not want other people
 > to have ... and it is VERY effective at that destruction. VERY VERY 
effective.

Since one of the reaction products is molten iron, railroads use it to weld 
tracks together.

My high school chemistry teacher demonstrated the reaction (so that WE 
wouldn't I guess :-)

It's dead easy and not recommended.  Mr. Schuyler's demonstration (with a 
total mass of ONLY about  5 grams) burned through a carbon crucible, an 
asbestos pad and halfway through the lab bench.

When folks say "don't try this at home", sometimes it's a good idea to heed 
the warning.

  --berry

Berry Kercheval :: Xerox Palo Alto Research Center