Chemistry Comes Alive! C C Alive! Table of Contents Index Textbooks

Burning Magnesium in Dry Ice


Magnesium is placed in a cavity in a block of dry ice. The magnesium is ignited... and covered with another block of dry ice. Despite the absence of air, the magnesium continues to glow, due to its reaction with carbon dioxide. Because of this reaction, carbon dioxide cannot be used to extinguish magnesium fires. The reaction products are white magnesium oxide and black carbon.


The file name of this movie is MAGCO2.MOV and is located in the directory/folder named MOVIES/MAGCO2.


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© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.