Originally posted by Digitalis There are plenty of metals that are pyrophoric when reduced to small shavings, what IS important is that the appropriate fire extinguisher to deal with it is nearby.
We have buckets of talc in case of a titanium fire.
Originally posted by Digitalis This reminds me of an incident back in a laboratory I worked in years ago, where a undergrad didn't realize the acetone he was using in an experiment wasn't completely anhydrous; there was water in it. So when he put in the sodium metal which promptly exploded and set the acetone ablaze, and splashing it all over the rest of the apparatus - the best thing he could think of was to use the Co2 fire extinguisher. The sudden blast of cold compressed Co2 caused a temperature differential which the glass apparatus couldn't handle, so it simply shattered: spreading sodium chunks, flying glass, and acetone that was heated well beyond his flashpoint all over the place, sparking new conflagrations that were punctuated by the popping of sodium metal still reacting with water.
Sounds like a 3 Stooges episode.
The electric utility I worked at for 30 years had some sodium filled wire in the electric distribution grid way back when. It wasn't long before they decided to replace it all, for what became obvious reasons.
Seems like every time there was a wind storm, and trees took the lines down they would inevitably fall on wet ground, or into a puddle (even better). Even when a breaker opened and the conductor was no longer energized it still put on quite a show. The end of the wire would explode and fling itself into the air, then fall tot he ground again and the whole thing would start over.
Proved to be quite tricky gathering up the downed lines so new ones could be strung and power restored.