M for Magnesium

Since starting this blog over a year ago, Magnesium has been, by far, the most frequently searched term. Not sure why but even to this day, after more than a year, the blog Magnesium & Aluminum tops the page count day after day, week after week and month after month. So I thought I would do an update, at least for Magnesium, so here it is.

"Remember, remember the 5th of November..." - V for Vendetta

(for those of us in the US we need to remember the 6th this year).

Guy Fawkes Night is an annual commemoration observed on November 5th, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of November 5, 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London. Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day, as it was also known, became the predominant English state commemoration. Towards the end of the 18th century November 5th gradually became known as Guy Fawkes Day. Present-day Guy Fawkes Day is usually celebrated at large organized events, centered around a bonfire and extravagant fireworks.

The film "V for Vendetta," based on the comic book series of the same name, plays on the Guy Fawkes theme as a futuristic political thriller where the key protagonist plans to destroy the House of Parliament on Guy Fawkes Day in the year 2021. Although V, a bold, charismatic freedom fighter, dies before his plot is carried out, the House of Parliament is destroyed and V is identified as "all of us" fighting political oppression.

The Magnesium post is by far the most popular. Why? Is everyone making bombs out there? Or is it a fascination with fireworks?

A sparkler is a type of hand-held firework that burns slowly while emitting colored sparks or flames. In the United Kingdom, a sparkler is often used by children at bonfire and fireworks displays on Guy Fawkes Night and in the United States on Independence Day, the 4th of July.

The "classic" type of sparkler consists of a stiff metal wire approximately 8 inches long that has been coated with a thick batter of slow-burning pyrotechnic material and allowed to dry. It contains one or more from the following categories:

• A mandatory Metallic fuel - to make sparks
• Aluminium or Magnesium, producing white sparks
• Iron, producing orange branching sparks
• Titanium, producing rich white sparks
• Optional Additional fuel - to modify the burn speed
• Sulfur
• Charcoal
• A mandatory Oxidizer
• Potassium nitrate
• Barium nitrate
• Strontium nitrate
• Potassium perchlorate
• Optional pyrotechnic colorants - to color flames
• Chlorides and nitrates of metals - barium, strontium, or copper
• A mandatory Combustible binder - hold the fuel together
• Dextrin
• Nitrocellulose

Magnesium is explosive when finely slivered, spontaneously bursting into flame when exposed to air. Once ignited, it is difficult to extinguish. Magnesium is capable of reducing water to highly flammable Hydrogen gas, and as a result, water cannot be used to extinguish Magnesium fires; the Hydrogen gas produced will only intensify the fire. Magnesium also reacts with Carbon Dioxide to form Magnesium Oxide and Carbon, hence, Carbon Dioxide fire extinguishers cannot be used for extinguishing Magnesium fires either. Burning Magnesium is usually quenched by using a Class D dry chemical fire extinguisher, or by covering the fire with sand to remove its air source.

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The spark of explosive Magnesium
Reminds us of the flash that split the darkness
when God said "Let there be light"

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On burning in air, Magnesium produces a brilliant white light which includes strong ultraviolet rays. Thus Magnesium flash powder was used as a source of light in the early days of photography. Later, Magnesium ribbon was used in flash bulbs. And, of course, Magnesium powder is used in the manufacture of fireworks and marine flares where a brilliant white light is required.

Magnesium is the chemical element with symbol Mg. It is the second element in Period 3, with an atomic number of 12, located between Sodium and Aluminum. Magnesium is the fourth most common element in the Earth as a whole (behind Iron, Oxygen and Silicon) and makes up 13% of the planet's mass. It is highly soluble in water and is the third most abundant element in seawater.

Magnesium ions are sour to the taste, and in low concentrations they help to impart a natural tartness to fresh mineral waters. In 1618, a farmer in England attempted to water his cows from a well. The cows refused to drink because of the water’s bitter taste, but the farmer noticed that the water seemed to promote healing of scratches and rashes. The substance, hydrated Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO₄·7 H₂O), became known as Epsom Salts, named for the farmer's town, and its fame quickly spread.

In the human body, Magnesium is the eleventh most abundant element and its ions are essential to all living cells, playing a major role in manipulating important biological polyphosphate compounds like ATP, DNA, and RNA. Hundreds of enzymes require Magnesium ions to function.

Magnesium is a vital component of a healthy diet. Spices, nuts, cereals, coffee, cocoa, tea, and vegetables are rich sources of Magnesium. Green leafy vegetables, being high in chlorophyll, are also rich in Magnesium. Low levels of Magnesium in the body has been associated with the development of a number of human illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Alcoholism can also produce a Magnesium deficiency. Taken in the proper amount, Magnesium plays a role in preventing both strokes and heart attack. Magnesium can shorten the length of a migraine and the symptoms can be less severe. Excess Magnesium in the blood is freely filtered at the kidneys, and for this reason it is difficult to overdose on Magnesium.

In manufacturing, Magnesium is the third most commonly used structural metal, following Iron and Aluminum. It has been called the lightest useful metal. Its main applications are, in order: as a component of Aluminum alloys, in die-casting (alloyed with Zinc), to remove Sulfur in the production of Iron and Steel, and in the production of Titanium. In its purest form, Magnesium is strong and light so it is used in automotive and truck components. Specialty, high-grade car wheels of Magnesium alloy are called "mag wheels", although the term is often more broadly misapplied to include Aluminum wheels.

Magnesium is also extensively used in electronic devices. Because of its low weight, good mechanical and electrical properties, Magnesium is widely used for manufacturing of mobile phones, laptop and tablet computers, cameras, and other electronic components.

The spark of explosive Magnesium reminds us of the flash that split the darkness when God said "Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:3 (KJV)