• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Attaching it to some kind of ignition, most commonly.

    But even past that, you typically want a very fine concentrate and even distribution of aluminium and rust. Grinding that shit up and mixing it is nasty for your lungs, without quality equipment on hand.

    • Cort@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      I mean a cheap rock tumbler with steel balls for the grinding and standard magnesium sparklers for ignition does would do the trick, I imagine

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        In theory, lots of things work great. In practice…

        You generally want some kind of background and some proper equipment. I’ll concede that making thermite can easily go wrong in the opposite direction - cooking up a recipe that doesn’t ignite at all.

    • Zetta@mander.xyz
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      4 days ago

      I use to make, sell, and ship thermite online when I was 15. It’s easy for anyone to do

    • BrundleFly2077@sh.itjust.works
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      4 days ago

      The problem is that you’ll typically need something like a magnesium strip to set it off. Shit needs to meet with something burning like the surface of the sun before it kicks into chaos mode.

      • Zetta@mander.xyz
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        3 days ago

        Or just mix potassium permanganate and glycerine and it will ignite the thermite.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Detonators are difficult to build and transport. In a high risk activity, like domestic terrorism, the offender has a bias towards getting the thing to work and away from personal safety. This compounds the risk of accidents.

        And that’s before you get into the process of milling the combustion material. Which, again, not great for your long term health if you’re just trying to hack it in your garage or kitchen.

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      You can buy premixed thermite online. Granted, you’ll show up suspicious when they start looking up sellers and their buyers.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Oh sure. You can buy tannerite explosives as part of a gender reveal kit, ffs. But, like with any kind of fireworks or similar explosive materials, there are risks to improper transportation and use.

        You can buy firecrackers from stales on the side of the road in some states. But people injure themselves with firecrackers all the time.