You actually want these to rust!

[Lem]

* thermite hand warmer enters the chat *

[notaspy]

So basically, handwarmers are kid-friendly thermite.

[Alza.art]

The craziest part of humanity is literally everything can have some utility we can exploit, even something that’s bad or annoying like rust or mold, we can turn it into hand warmers or medicine, everything in the world has value to us.

[TheGreatVandoly]

That’s cool! We’ve been using these at work a lot lately. I looked up how they work, but it’s way more satisfying to hear it from a chemist.

[AndreaCuchetto]

Using the nonconductive barrier between the magnet and iron filings is an especially smart idea. Thanks!

[jacksim]

some time traveller is gonna scald their hand using one of these babies in the End-Carboniferous era

Edit: Original comment as Pre-Cambrian era (the Great Oxygenation Event mass extinction was only 8% oxygen in the atmosphere, but still way lower than the 21% today), peak oxygen should be End-Carboniferous at 35%. Thx nerds in the comments.

[ethannarrow]

I’ve always wondered how these magical things worked! And it’s so simple! Rust! Love it, thank you.

[Aatell]

That's very interesting! They hand these out at work and I cut one open at the end of the day out of curiosity. Had no idea what was in it, definitely looking like metal shavings!

[johnf.rittard]

time to try this at home this is going to be fire

[caitlinw]

Hot Hands! This was amazing insight on one of my favorite products. Thank you!

[josemilian]

i think it's interesting to think of how they probably researched to find ideal quantities for ambient conditions. maybe it's a simple calculation or maybe not. would be interested to know how they figured it out.

[JosiahTheScienceGuy]

didnt expect to actually learn something while scrolling through reels on the internet

nice lab coat btw

[splitman]

It's funny that I came across your channel. One of my new years resolutions is I want to start relearning basic highschool information. First on the list is to familiarize myself with (again) and then remembering the periodic table!

[GlorifiedGremlin]

So basically it just encourages the hell out of oxidation, so much that the process of rusting generates enough waste heat that we can actually feel it? Thats crazy

[seigeengine]

I didn't even know handwarmers like this were a thing until I was an adult.

It was this weird alienating revelation. "People buy disposable packets to temporarily keep their hands warm? What?"

[kabc]

Super cool! I was just asking about how the warmers ensure they don't overheat/burn the user. Thanks for the info!

[hygher]

In the Army I used to slip these In my gloves when we were on exercise, best feeling ever

[cotywagnon]

I use them every day while working on the back of a trash truck. They’re my little heroes!!

[SplitxHeart]

"Rust is a really slow form of burning, in a simplified way." Said our physics teacher. Love it! :)

[kennystrawnmusic]

The fact that finely divided rust is used to make thermite should give you a sense of just how exothermic rusting can get if allowed to happen fast enough. Pyrophoric iron powder is also an example of this.