what is a thermite reaction?with equation.
Answers
The thermite reaction is a highly exothermic (a vast amount of energy is given out during the reaction) redox process during which Fe3+ (Iron (III)) is reduced to Fe and Al (Aluminium) is oxidised to Al3+. The reaction can also be described as a displacement reaction as Iron is displaced by Aluminium to form Aluminium Oxide from Iron Oxide.
The overall reaction is described as;
Fe2O3(s) + 2Al(s) → Al2O3(s) + 2Fe(l)
The iron produced is molten at a very high temperature. This is often used in industry - for example welding railway tracks together where two lengths of track meet.
The reaction can be very dangerous due it's exothermic nature and the preparation of the reactants and reaction itself has to be carried out very precisely and carefully to ensure the safety of those nearby
It's reacted with the Aluminium in powdered form...
Generally this Highly exothermic reaction is used to join the the cracks between the tracks of the railways