Making a Handwarmer out of Steel Wool and Salty Vinegar

[ambiguousChronology]

use the rust and make a thermite hand warmer perhaps?

[tardigrademicro]

I love how everyone's mind immediately leapt to thermite. Mine did too honestly

[kryptoniridium]

Instructions unclear..
Added equal amount of aluminium dust in weight and it burned a hole through my floor and went all the way to the bottom through 7 floors.

[DeathxStrike]

The first thing I thought was, hmm thats a fast way to get rust for thermite.

[rossaaurulia]

Mix the rust powder with some aluminum goodness and BOOM! Home made thermite!

[techniumadeptus]

My mom read us a book when I was kid. I forget what it was called, but one of the children made "fulminating paste" using a recipe from some book about Woodstock, which featured iron filings as a primary ingredient. The fulminating paste, once mixed, would burst into flames around 24 hours after being made. Now, it might sound like just a made up thing, but as a kid, I was fascinated. The more I learned, the more I realized that it was probably a legitimate recipe that the author either knew or at least knew of, because iron produces heat during oxidation, and iron filings have a very high surface area. Sadly, while I've looked for the recipe multiple times, I've never been able to find it.

Anyhow, cool experiment! It might not get hot enough to start a fire, but at least it's still useful application of a slow exothermic reaction using common materals.

[hillbillykennedys]

we always just bake a potato, wrap in aluminum foil, and put it in our pocket. It stays warm for hours and makes a great snack when hiking/hunting in rough terrain.

[palehunter]

You can also use it to make some fun thermite for totatlly leagl reasons

[greenfish]

That’s exactly how actual heat packs work! It’s not necessarily steal wool but is is a substance that can rust, it makes heat and warms your hands!

[taukid]

We used copper sulfate and aluminum foil in a heavy duty ziplock bag, careful though, it can get too hot

[Jacob_graber]

This is a good example of how most commercial disposable hand heaters work - oxidation of iron. You can save them if you accidentally open a pack or only use them for a bit by putting them in a small airtight jar or ziploc. They consume all the oxygen and stop.

[vincentsaitta]

If you leave the steel wool in the vinegar for a few days it also makes good black leather dye or wood stain. I've been using it for years.

[mfkdkscjjr]

used to work at a restaurant as a dishwasher and we called steel wool “robo pubes”

[flemdogscience]

My kids are always wanting hand warmers after we go to the snow and they are always wanting to do science experiments...Thanks! Per-usual a very fun experiment!

[Hazleton]

Mix it with a little bit of aluminum powder and the next time the IRS or ATF come to town, act accordingly

[BenjaminKibbey]

Honestly, steel wool and vinegar as a long-lasting (and eco-friendly) wood finish is probably the best use for that rusting process. Of course, it also stains anything else it touches a rust color, even though the color of the wood will be completely dependent on how much tannin the wood has in it.

[danbev]

Thanks for the on hand temperature conversion now I'll never know how warm it got

[SalMinella]

We should turn Titanic into hand warmers to give it a second life!

[QuantumTap]

I was thinking he was going to harvest the rust for thermite

[donovanpeters]

When he said hand warm I actually thought he was going to say hand grenade. LOL.