- Thermate
Thermate is a variation of
thermite and is anincendiary pyrotechnic composition that can generate short bursts of exceedingly high temperatures focused on a small area for a short period of time. It is used primarily in incendiary grenades.The main chemical reaction in thermate is the same as in
thermite : analuminothermic reaction between powdered aluminum and a metal oxide. In addition tothermite , thermate also containssulfur and sometimesbarium nitrate , both of which increase its thermal effect, createflame in burning, and significantly reduce the ignition temperatureFact|date=March 2008. Various mixtures of these compounds can be called thermate, but, to avoid confusion with Thermate-TH3, one can refer to them as thermite variants or analogs. The composition by weight of Thermate-TH3 (in military use) is 68.7% thermite, 29.0% barium nitrate, 2.0% sulfur and 0.3% binder (such asPBAN ). As both thermite and thermate are notoriously difficult to ignite, initiating the reaction normally requires trained human supervision and sometimes persistent effort.Because thermate burns at higher temperatures than ordinary thermiteFact|date=March 2008, it has useful military applications in cutting through tank armor or other hardened military vehicles or bunkers. As with
thermite , thermate's ability to burn for short periods of time without an external supply of oxygen renders it useful for underwater demolition.Because they are not intended to be thrown, thermate incendiary grenades generally have a shorter delay
fuze than other grenades e.g. two seconds.External links
* [http://ordatamines.maic.jmu.edu/displaydata.aspx?OrDataId=3024 Further details and photos of Thermate grenades]
* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m14-th3.htm AN-M14 TH3 Incendiary Grenade information from a US Army Field Manual]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
