Thermit Video

Thermit

The thermit reaction is a great reaction to show the kids. A simple single displacement reaction takes place between aluminum and iron (iii) oxide to form iron and alumina. Specifically, it is a competition reaction. Aluminum, the more reactive metal, displaces the iron, the less reactive metal. What makes this reaction special is that all of the reactants are in the solid state (not something you see all too often). However, do not fret. Mixing the two reagents together yields no reaction. The activation energy, the energy required to start a reaction, needs to be overcome. An easy way to do this is to use yet another metal, magnesium. I cut a piece of magnesium ribbon about 9cm long and frayed one of the ends. I did that because anyone who has taken kinetics knows that one way to increase the rate of a reaction is to increase the surface area. So, I light a splint which I use to light the ribbon. The magnesium burns intensely and once it reaches the thermit mixture it ignites it and starts the reaction. Sparks fly and the heat can be felt from a few feet away. The reaction is so hot that it is used to weld railway ties together.



Kids love this stuff.

First year down

So, I've made it through my first year teaching. As Cindy would say, I can now throw my skirt over my head and go "woohoo!" I'm not against wearing a skirt... I just don't have one to flip over my head is all.

Anywho...

I'll take some time tomorrow and try to do a little reflecting on this past year. I'll just say right now that it had lots of ups and downs but overall I really did enjoy myself a lot. Enough that I'm considering the possibility of one more year at Woodstock past my original two-year contract.

I have a few good reasons for staying on:





And a few for coming back home:






Here's a few pics of my seniors. For as much crap as they gave me and as much as I complained about them, they really did teach me a lot about teaching.




Vacation is going well thus far. I'm done with planes, trains and automobiles for a while. The food is good. Family is even better. I'll post another update this evening with some of the videos I've been wanting to post from the year.