Thermite
Termita (mezcla reactante)
- Date
- 1893 · confidence high
- Place
- Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Credited to
- Hans Goldschmidt
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
While trying to obtain very pure metals by avoiding carbon in smelting, Goldschmidt discovered the highly exothermic reaction between iron oxide and aluminium powder. Patented in 1895, its first commercial application was welding tram tracks in Essen in 1899, and it remains today the standard method for welding railway tracks.
What it led to
- Thermite welding of railway tracks
- Use in metal refining and incendiary devices
Built on
- Powdered aluminium metallurgy