Actually burning titanium

I light some fires but also have some thoughts. Subreddit: / explosionsandfire
Discord: / discord
Second Channel: @ExtractionsAndIre
Patreon: / explosionsandfire
Twitter: / explosions_fire

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

"Evidence for Large Planetary Climate Altering Thermonuclear Explosions on Mars in the Past" - Read the full paper here if you uhhh really want to I guess: www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=125770

[@gristCollector]

oh god it's a real article on a real journal

[@Lazerspike]

I love you for bringing this up also funny how mars was known as the planet of war by ancient peoples, there's also some similar funny stuff with the van allen radiation belt if you look hard enough.

[@douglasboyle6544]

Yes, yes I want to.

[@1967sluggy]

After looking it up, apparently this guy has been on this stuff for close to a decade? Just randomly coming out with papers yelling that Martians had nukes. Fascinating.

[@josephd.5524]

Some 500 million years ago, it says. That's, uh, about the time complex life set up shop here and went on to lose its mind. We really aren't likely to find any kind of artefacts from that far back either. Now that's a fun mystery.

[@canadian_grim_reaper]

Thank you for exposing the illegal nuclear weapon testing being conducted by Martians. Can't believe no one is talking about this Very Pressing Issue

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

I agree, it is certainly One of the Issues

[@shrimpnoodles9590]

Its truly terrible. Transplanetary nuclear arms race.

[@peepopalaber]

@@shrimpnoodles9590 *transplanetary

[@virutech32]

​@@peepopalaber*interplanetary

[@trollmcclure1884]

it was the best part.

[@NileRed]

This was amazing

[@agaphmouesu]

Indeed

[@Thefrontdoorscientist]

@@agaphmouesuI agree

[@Icetastesgood]

so do I

[@mastershooter64]

Now you have to burn tungsten to one up him

[@Metal_Master_YT]

He probably could melt the tungsten in an argon atmosphere and if his flame was slightly reducing.

[@user-yx2nr7eq7z]

As a tradesman, thank you for acknowledging that it takes skill. That's all I wanted in life

[@PhoenicopterusR]

Honestly, you'd have to hope the trades are full of skilled people considering what the industry as a whole encompasses. I'm sure as hell not trusting Jimmy from down the road just because he picked up a tool and said he could do it.

[@evilotis01]

it absolutely does. i'm a writer, but i've spent years doing labouring etc as a second job when writing wasn't paying the bills, and the first thing you learn is that literally everything is harder than it looks. i love watching people w decades of experience lay bricks, plaster walls, etc-there's really something about seeing skill put to good use

[@cobra6481]

As an industrial mechanic, I wholeheartedly agree. The amount of skill an apprentice has over the lay person makes a massive difference in quality.

[@DrCranberry]

As a tradesman I kinda cringed at him using a lighter instead of a striker. For those who don't know, doing this risks the gasoline in the lighter reaching ignition temp and exploding it in your hand...

[@PhoenicopterusR]

@@DrCranberry it isn't explosions and fire for nothing

[@bobbutson]

I absolutely love that this is a grudge-based video. Tom couldn't let titanium get off so easily.

[@partlycloudy7707]

Grudge based chemistry is very on Brand for Tom.

[@Nick-rs5if]

Let's be honest though. Is there any more satisfying means of achieving fire than by igniting titanium out of spite? 😂

[@Razza2250]

Thankyou for perfectly capturing the deranged state of recycling in Australia and the slowburning rage it fuels inside us all

[@-bail-]

Unfortunately similar recycling shams exist in MOST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

[@TerraCAD]

Yeah it's very similar here in Germany and it's so freaking annoying

[@purplecat4977]

It's the same in the US, although people don't like to talk about it. There are a lot of incentives all around for everyone to go around pretending that plastic can be recycled. Less guilt, less pressure on manufacturers to use less plastic, etc.

[@shawno8253]

The issue with plastic recycling is that only certain types of plastic can actually be recycled.

[@tsawy6]

​@@shawno8253 that's one of many issues with it. The big one for Australia is that our recyclables are very poorly sorted, making extracting value from them almost impossible.

[@thethoughtemporium]

This was unhinged even for you, and I loved it!! Also that paper is fuckin wild. And ya recyling is totally a scam. Thing is, the burning it isn't the problem. That's actually a great way to get rid of it. The trouble is you need dedicated filtered incinerators, and to recapture the energy from the burning to use for power generation. And ideally, pump all the co2 that comes off it into algae farms or massive hydroponic installations. Then it's at least carbon neutral and we can keep using plastic. If all we used oil for was plastic, we'd basically never run out. But even if we just burnt it in a nice incinerator, if that was our only co2 output, there's enough algae/plants on earth to easily deal with that at the level of plastic that's used in the world.

[@jackiesth]

Can you genetically engineer a martian and then blow it up with a nuke in your next video?

[@markiangooley]

A lot of Europe’s waste plastic goes to Sweden to get incinerated in fairly sophisticated incinerators.

[@jonathanseagraves8140]

While you are still fucking around with genetic engineering, I want no "responsibility" talk out of you.

[@adrianpip2000]

Some countries actually manage to recycle quite a large percentage of their waste, though. Still not perfect, obviously, but pretty good

[@jackroutledge352]

Landfill would still be better though. No toxins entering the atmosphere, all the co2 is captured.

[@onebladeprop]

I have been working as a machinist cutting Ti for a long time now. In 25 years I have witnessed two titanium fires and in both cases it was the chips(shavings) that caught fire. It is incredibly hard to extinguish, but as you've discovered equally hard to get started. I have seen many occasions where bars were glowing from friction but have never seen a solid piece burn.

[@arnaudmenard5114]

alec steele even forged some of the stuff in the past, it only made a powdery sort of dross, but otherwise, uneventfull stuff while in bulk

[@osirine2924]

Working on Ti Aerospace parts rn, I've only seen Ti dust catch fire on a fan in the polish area.

[@cykkm]

​@@osirine2924Try a regular old school medium file, not too rough, not too fine. You'll get the filings going in 30 seconds. When you least expect it, of course. They left pits on my steel bench in these 2-3 seconds they were burning. Just commented on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZ6cc3mIhZ5mlc0&lc=UgwK3fgXa9bqysRdhpN4AaABAg Ti fine dust may not only catch fire, it may explode in higher concentration. Go to the polishing area as never as you only can, if they don't service the filters properly!

[@jeremyrixon150]

Dear KZbin Algorithm, This is the content I'm looking for. More of this. Tom teaching us about chemistry while slowly losing his mind. And rants about the state of recycling. And explosions and fire - don't forget about those. Sincerely, Jezza.

[@snafu5563]

A wise man once told me "the atmosphere is nature's bin"

[@gfhrtshergheghegewgewgew1730]

that same man also huffs chlorine gas while trying to make s4n4 out of shitty jam jars with plastic tubes, so

[@andreasthiemke9520]

@@gfhrtshergheghegewgewgew1730 truly on of the wisest people on earth

[@bensmith4563]

​@gfhrtshergheghegewgewgew1730 now that sounds like high quality entertainment

[@SirFranex]

no, it was "just his bin"

[@CrittingOut]

7:23 "People weren't really caring how much plastic they were buying" and that was the whole goal of recycling, to get consumers to stop caring.

[@alexpotts6520]

This is unduly cynical. Of course when you solve a problem people stop caring about it, which is why people these days don't care about acid rain or smallpox or Y2K. To the extent that environmental action only takes place as a response to political or economic pressures, then that's the system working as intended. That's the *only* way anything ever happens in liberal democracies. (Of course, in this specific case, the government hadn't solved the problem at all, but for me the lesson to take away from this is "governments should not lie to their people, and regulatory structures should be put in place to increase their accountability"; not "recycling is bad".)

[@CrittingOut]

@@alexpotts6520 recycling isn't bad but it was also made popular to hand wave all the negatives of using plastic for literally everything

[@chris.pbacon2068]

@@alexpotts6520 evidently they didnt sole it, that wasnt goal. the goal was to get people to think that recycling worked so that consumers wouldnt care about the effects of their palstic use on the enviroment.

[@CCNorse]

@@alexpotts6520 Recycling is fine, but it's only real for metal and glass and specific grades of paper. Giving the rubbish company all your plastic garbage in a special container is just obfuscation of the environmental cost of plastic packaging, which is important because plastic packaging is cheaper than metal, glass, etc. Certain plastic goods which are made of largish chunks of pure-ish feedstocks with minimal additives can be recycled, but that is a reasonably rare class of plastic packaging compared to what mostly fills our bins. An argument can be made that lightweight plastic packaging is better for the environment than recyclable tins and jars because of the reduced transport energy costs or reduced manufacture energy costs compared to legacy materials, but that is a prioritization of CO2 emissions controls over the idea of not turning the earth into a garbage dump, and also pretends that we can't do better when it comes to electricity generation for industrial use and transportation energy efficiency, reducing the moral imperative to progress in that regard.

[@joshuaboniface]

It's because Recycling has become treated as the only "R". Everyone forgets about the first two: Reduce and Reuse. But those two hurt profits, so...

[@GeraldTheChampionOfEarth]

The “Martian nuclear explosions” papers are truly a real life cognitohazard.

[@Harvester_OS]

This episode gives off big manifesto vibes and I'm here for it.

[@nalgene247]

I like how you really wanted to talk about nukes on Mars and the plastic recycling shenanigans so you made a video about burning titanium.

[@SaltyAsTheSea]

I'd love if he just kept talking about random shit like this but all the while he's attempting to burn or blow something up 😂

[@YounesLayachi]

"shenanigans" is giving it too much credits. It's a scam, plastic recycling basically doesn't exist

[@Dankleberrrrg]

And he released the original burning titanium video to set the stage for this to not look like that

[@Toleich]

*failing to burn Titanium

[@nalgene247]

@@YounesLayachi fair enough

[@jimpollard9392]

"..who's launching these nukes? ...there's nobody on Mars..." Well, not anymore.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

the nuke fairy of course. It's the bigger sister of the tooth fairy

[@johnpublic6582]

@@marcogenovesi8570 The nuke fairy leaves a shroud of cobalt thorium G around your planet for 93 years after taking the nuke from under your pillow.

[@YounesLayachi]

1945 people were like "who's launching these nukes ? There are no nuke launchers in japan"

[@YO-BIZZY]

@@YounesLayachi more like public before 1945: whats a nuke? everyone nowadays: NUKE NUKE NUKE NUKE

[@brycejensen5201]

The third knob on the cutting torch, above the lever you're manipulating, is used to supply oxygen slowly. The lever is meant to use excess oxygen to blow the liquid metal out of the cut. Your flame could be more stoichiometric, which is I think hotter.

[@xxxxxC4xxxxx]

It also comes out of a different hole. I don’t think he is using any O in the primary flame. But hey, it worked.

[@GregBadabinski]

The lever is to make the flame super oxidizing, so it burns the metal out. Doesn't just blow it out, the oxygen is to make it spicy. You're correct though, a neutral flame would be hotter. A cutting torch is the wrong type to use for this imo. A welding torch with the right sized rosebud tip (can't be too big or it'll drain the acetylene bottle too fast) would be perfect for his purposes.

[@mbburry4759]

​@@xxxxxC4xxxxxit comes out of the same hole in the nozel... unless you're talking about seperate holes and valves in the actual torch body. But there's only on firey business hole

[@matthewbeasley7765]

I'm watching months later. It looks like he's only getting oxygen out the center hole and the knob on the cutting torch is closed. He was getting a high temperature but it is far from a cutting torch's potential.

[@matthewbeasley7765]

@@mbburry4759 With a cutting torch, there are periphery holes that are ejecting stochiometric oxyacetylene. Then the center jet is for high pressure oxygen only.

[@CavemanZerron]

As a welder, I can tell you that the flame on that torch was so cold, so very cold

[@fss1704]

Some damn high voltage has no temperature limit, should have tried that.

[@CavemanZerron]

@fss1704 probably harder to get ahold of for him

[@fss1704]

@@CavemanZerron Nope, a simple microwave oven transformer from the junkyard should do the trick, as a physicist he should have at least 3 already.

[@crazy4chickens]

I believe what he was talking about is the fact that his oxygen to fuel mix was off not enough oxygen to balance out the amount of acetylene

[@CavemanZerron]

@@crazy4chickens correct

[@Garjahn]

Well clearly you just need a stronger oxidizer. Maybe try layering thin sheets of magnesium and titanium into a cake of bad ideas, see what happens.

[@joshmyer9]

Ah, yes, the delicate metal pastry, millefiamma.

[@richardunruh4035]

I suggest Chlorine Trifluoride. Go big or go home. ;) 🌩+🔥+ 🍄 (why isn't there a mushroom cloud emoji!)

[@Nathanielbaz]

maybe if he used an oxidising flame type instead of carburising lmfao

[@kti5682]

I see a layered design, how did Russians call this, sloika?

[@ataphelicopter5734]

Best fun is had by powdering your metal and mixing with the oxidiser ;)

[@Samonie67]

im so excited by tom finally succeeding in something metal work shops put thousands of dollars into not happening

[@deathlife2414]

Tom is a genius.

[@DaftFader]

You're not talking about recycling right? >.

[@deathlife2414]

@@DaftFader prime

[@ericscherer7468]

His videos accurately reflect what is going on in my head as someone with untreated ADHD, and I’m here for it lol

[@DDDarray]

the sleep disorder gets diagnosed too late

[@ToTheGAMES]

@@DDDarray sleep? i hardly knew her

[@Pyron420]

I'm an american autist with an ADHD gf, I can't sleep or keep either of us on track but the martian-Australian nuclear recycling scandal makes me feel understood

[@ludvig3242]

People always talk about ADHD this way. I have ADHD and I've never really related to this kind of thing or the "thoughts constantly rushing in your head". My ADHD is demonstrated by the fact that I'm extremely apathetic to things that I don't really enjoy doing, and anything that doesn't give short-term dopamine is incredibly tough to get the motivation to do. Impulse control is also a huge defiency.

[@dsdy1205]

@@ludvig3242 that's because you've sustained so much shame / pressure from outside sources that you've punched through to the other side - burnout.

[@tristenturner832]

I think if you spent more time tuning in the air fuel ratio you could have maybe gotten the tungsten to melt. the flame should get hot enough when its burned at the right air/fuel ratio. also, holding the lever dumps a bunch of excess oxygen down the center port of the torch and is making your flame colder than it has to be.

[@fss1704]

Nah, should have used a microwave oven transformer, high voltage has no real temperature limit.

[@Schmootle]

"A lot of scientists arent very good with practical skills or like trade skills, and thats because doing a trade, unlike science, is actually difficult and requires some level of skill." - As a scientist, can confirm. We spend weeks planning an experiment, buy $1M equipment, have 12 meetings explaining what we are trying to do, then perform the experiment and it fails. Then we write a report of why it failed, spend more money, and if we are lucky it eventually works after a few months. Then we spend the next few months writing about the result, failing to replicate it, calling the vendor to repair the $1M machine we broke, and thats the quarter, done. Meanwhile I text my plumber at 6am and he's job done by 10.

[@texasslingleadsomtingwong8751]

As a master plumber who absolutely is in love with the sciences , you warmed my heart tremendously. My all time favorite conversation have been with mechanical engineers , physicist, chemist , and biologists. Not so much with civil engineers. They don't count. I'm kidding , just poking fun at those poor folks . They are always shunned in scientific circles. 😂

[@marcogenovesi8570]

@@texasslingleadsomtingwong8751 Civil engineers are basically the "nerds" of the engineering community, similar to neckbeards and IT people. Nobody knows why they exist until something goes wrong and then everyone is angry at them because they didn't prevent it

[@thor1829]

@@texasslingleadsomtingwong8751 Can confirm that Civ Eng. are shunned, here in the Netherlands, Civil Engineers are jokingly called 'bicycle repairmen' :P

[@herrbrahms]

This shit is why room temperature superconductors are still science fiction. (science fraud?)

[@SocialDownclimber]

A plumber recently connected my cold tap to the hot water and my hot tap to the cold water. I'm not exactly impressed with their intelligence either.

[@Mindawga]

The martians not recycling spent nuclear weapons is trully one of the issues of all time.

[@SaltyAsTheSea]

​@@OskarHerschha nice 😂

[@UJustGotGamed]

@@OskarHersch did you comment this to divert your attention from the irrationality of your mother's love? (jk)

[@Zaezar]

The Martians government sending spent nuclear warheads to the other side of Mars to be burned was a great shock to their culture when discovered.

[@Mindawga]

@@UJustGotGamed He wanted to mooch off some free internet points. (jk)

[@gtfkt]

What do you mean "the martians" ... right around the time they blew themselves into oblivion, life on earth pretty much boomed all of a sudden. We are the martians.

[@Orillion123456]

I like the part where he says "it's staying-on-topic-time" and then he stayed on topic all over the place.

[@josephhalbohn8100]

I use an OA torch like several times a week if not daily, everyone sucks at it the first time they pick it up. I’m just impressed you even got it burning somewhat correctly tbh.

[@johndeaux8815]

"Titanium is a flammable metal." I think I now understand Tom's true intentions with his chemistry endeavours, to prove that anything is flammable, with enough gumption and stick-to-it-iveness.

[@AlexHegedus-pb1iv]

why can't he just really go for it, Fluorine chemistry

[@matthewmac5787]

​​@@AlexHegedus-pb1iv Fluorine is yellow and thus evil that should not be touched

[@trollmcclure1884]

@@AlexHegedus-pb1iv no, no, brick of lard sealed in a tank of liquid oxygen

[@alexrogers777]

Proving that everything can be flammable kinda really is his thing. New video idea: making flame retardants flammable

[@ChronicSkooma]

He never lost the plot, its just thick as titanium.

[@kenneth_romero]

my monthly dose of australian schizo content. keep up the great work

[@mihael64]

yearly*

[@YounesLayachi]

@@mihael64 *regularly

[@jogandsp]

8:15 I love the slow descent into madness

[@SkelaKing]

Im sure thousands of people have commented this already but its worth trying to learn more about that oxy torch and getting a better neutral flame. based on the videos it looks pretty carburizing

[@TMaxElectronics]

Nonono the plastic isn't just being burned, the energy within is being thermally recycled :D

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Carbon craves the atmosphere. Who are we to condemn it to eternity trapped in a polymer??

[@kuro4841]

@@ExplosionsAndFire And as thanks they make us all feel warmer inside (and outside)!

[@ryanregan5079]

​@@ExplosionsAndFire One of the greatest truths ever told.

[@ElxCriiO]

It might be viable to burn the plástic, get energy, capture the carbón, make carbón fiber/graphite materials, profit

[@qwopiretyu]

​@@ElxCriiO remove viable and profit from that equation and sure. Cleaning the planet isn't going to make anyone any money. It's a debt our grandparents took out that we have to pay.

[@ElementalMaker]

I would like to thank Tom's reitnas for their sacrifice to make this extraordinary video. Now to journey down the Mars nuclear weapons rabbit hole...

[@Peterscraps]

1:25 I find it fucking halarious that he cited the sources to this tangent.

[@Peterscraps]

4:15 I find it disturbing he slipped in this one

[@merlinminy6871]

I love this kind of video. I love you for making it look like you're still shooting a barely edited oneshot in a shitshed with a shitcam and plastic spoons as labware all the while casting some really concerning and interesting infos like it's a joke and uploading moneyshots in 4k of slowmo of vaporizing titanium. This channel is so incredible, imma be sad when cubane is over, I was here. I hope you'll continue with the series in between self standing episodes.

[@ironnam8107]

That poor torch. If only there was a website that had videos that could teach you how to use one

[@peterolsen9131]

or if tom would watch a video on how to change the o-ring in the top of the first he tried! lol!

[@qwopiretyu]

Dang it do be like that

[@sativaburns6705]

Meh

[@johnpublic6582]

It's more fun to mis-use the torch head valves and blow up the hoses and regulators. I mean, it's in the channel name...

[@Walking_Death]

Flashback's a bitch... REAL explosion and fire

[@notmyname327]

This is one of the greatest videos you've made. Nukes on Mars and recycling conspiracies is exactly the kind of content I subscribed for

[@sammygeez.]

If only the recycling stories were conspiracies, governments are just lazy and too cheap to recycle and it's the same almost everywhere.

[@SomeMorganSomewhere]

Yeah, that dumpsite is something SPECTACULAR (and not just the Acetylene bottles...)... horrifying but also spectacular.

[@americangamer1632]

This has to be one of my favorite videos from you for a while, from the unhinged rants, to actual commentary on the state of recycling. Chefs kiss

[@Xe4ro]

Man this has turned from just Explosions & Fire into a Comedic Meme Madness Masterclass art project. I love it.

[@tylerb6981]

Turned? I don't think this channel has ever NOT been a Meme Channel with Chemistry sprinkled in. That's why we love it.

[@Xe4ro]

@@tylerb6981 True. It’s getting better and better. :)

[@phimuskapsi]

Fun story about titanium melting: My dad worked for Kodak back in the 90's and one of the plants had a bad fire. He was there to help where he could and he came home with a chunk of titanium about an inch square with bubble cavities in it. It weighed a lot for what it was, apparently it had been a sheet of thin titanium that melted and then *boiled*. Still has it somewhere.

[@Ryan-lc4bl]

Actually, titanium is quite light/low density compared to many metals (4.5g/cm³), so maybe it was just your impression.... But nonetheless still cool story !

[@phimuskapsi]

@@Ryan-lc4bl yes I realize that, did you miss the part where it was an entire sheet of titanium melted into a one inch square? I guarantee you, it weighed more than you think it would when you hold it.

[@Ryan-lc4bl]

@@phimuskapsi If it was a solid one square inch block, it doesn't matter how big of a sheet it was made from, it doesn't get more "compacted" than if It was just casted in a mold, the density doesn't change...

[@Ryan-lc4bl]

It was probably bigger than a square inch..... 1 inch³ = 16.4cm³ Titanium density : 4.5g/cm³ × 16.4cm³ = 73.7g, or a little over two ounces... not that much weight. If there were air bubbles inside this "blob", the density might be even lower, so it might have felt lighter than if was solid all throughout .....

[@phimuskapsi]

2oz is a LOT of weight for something that small.

[@tomektomek9836]

that SAAB 900 at 4:24 😍😍

[@benjaminhanke79]

I love how this channel went from explaining explosives to raging randomness. ❤

[@xXMACEMANXx]

That paper about the thermonuclear explosions on mars you referenced at the beginning of the video was very fascinating. Also existentially terrifying at the implications

[@crazy4chickens]

My theory is that earth is the second planet humans have inhabited. We had to leave our home planet because we torched it. Our ancestors traveled to earth colonized it made fairly great strides and then faced cataclysm after cataclysm and we've lost the ancient knowledge of our origins which were supposed to be cautionary tales of developing technology for the wrong reasons because if we torch this planet we're gonna have a bad time

[@rwall514]

It's amazing seeing a scientist go off the deep end in real time, isn't it? Like, he started with a natural nuclear reactor (Similar to the ones at Oklo on Earth) blowing up on Mars, and then he slowly morphed into this 'Aliens are REAL and coming for us' stuff.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

2:39 "Doing a trade, unlike science, is actually difficult and requires some level of skill" --Explosion&Fire 2023

[@ramblinghorse]

As others have said, injecting the oxygen without holding the trigger would have many benefits. The main one being mentioned is the higher heat. I think that the most beneficial aspect of dialing in the oxygen mix with the valve is that without the violence of the oxygen stream molten titanium would most likely stay on the plate. This would give a better chance for critical mass to be achieved if indeed it can.

[@no1noone34]

This is correct

[@Kumquat_Lord]

Watching Tom turn on the high-pressure oxygen flow BEFORE he heats the metal up sufficiently causes me pain...

[@neffk]

The eye protection for oxy is usually shade #3. For welding temperatures, you want shade #8.

[@hascrack3783]

Typically for oxy acetylene schadenfreude 3 is for brazing and shade 5 is for cutting (burning). I have 2 pairs of shade glasses, and 3 is light enough to use as regular sun glasses. For welding (mig), it's usually shade 8-14.

[@tylerb6981]

Fantastic autocomplete "typo" haha. Also, I have no idea how what you said was different from OP :P

[@hascrack3783]

@@tylerb6981 shade 5 is what is best for oxy acetylene cutting. An important thing to keep in mind is the whole point of using different shade levels is to use the protection that is sufficient without making things so dark that you can't see what you are doing.

[@Brent-jj6qi]

@@hascrack3783wait so with even the super bright welding techniques can you actually see what you’re doing? I just assumed that at some point it’s just about eye protection, because if you block all that light enough to be eye safe then it’s gonna be hard to see anything else

[@noodlelynoodle.]

@@Brent-jj6qi I'm not sure how it is for welding but for glasswork where you can't see what you're doing cause of how bright yellow the flame gets once the glass is introduced cause of the sodium in it there are glasses that specifically block out that spectrum of light and you can see through the fire to what you're actually working on when to someone watching it's all hidden by bright yellow flame

[@justinbanks2380]

5:05 Tom discovers one of the ways modern fireworks create white spark effects 😆

[@RCReilly]

I like how quickly this went from let’s burn some titanium to let’s burn down the government.

[@papasauce234]

you need much more oxygen in that torch flame judging by the color

[@mikemitchell9157]

Yeah thats a straight acetalyn flame

[@comradesoupbeans4437]

Yeah, he seemed to be balancing it to an almost normal level _with the lever held down_ , which means that he's super far under iirc, since that's for blasting out material with an oxygen rich flame (at least from what I remember when I learned how to cut steel in highscool)

[@papasauce234]

@@comradesoupbeans4437 you can do that and still get a very good flame, he just doesn't know what he's doing, the way to tweak it is you get the blue flame and have bright cones, then turn it down a tiny bit if needed, then you tweak the oxygen with the trigger pulled and you end up with a flame that's hot enough to preheat and cut metal and the oxygen is enough to blast out the metal and superheat metal that is harder to cut

[@papasauce234]

he never even got it to having a blue flame or any cone/cones which is the issue

[@comradesoupbeans4437]

@@papasauce234 yeah, it's been a hot minute since i learned all that and didn't put it into words very well (also assumed not seeing cones might have just been the camera washing out for some of it where the flame was closer to decent)

[@mountieseh]

This episode was particularly unhinged and I'm here for it. Edit: I also found it a good mix of entertaining and informative. It's clear you're pissed at how badly recycling is "being done", so well done using your videos to spread awareness. I'm in New Zealand and had no idea about this REDcycle scandal until now, and I've long thought we're in the same situation where our "recycling" involves shipping it overseas and pretending we don't really know what's happening to it.

[@robynxuxux6232]

I'd buy the "I am having fun" still frame as an art piece.

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

love your vaguely chemistry related rants, Tom. I also love to see the continuation of your saga towards the synthesis of a certain hexahedral molecule.

[@rikaboberts]

Fantastic rant, your best work yet.

[@3089io]

Your videos have been so inspiring to me in so many ways. Thank you.

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

oh yo thank you! i did not know you could do this.......... but anyway i'm glad you like the videos, I hope to make many more of them in the future!!

[@3089io]

@@ExplosionsAndFire I didn't either! I just hit the "thanks" button and it made a comment with it I guess. Lol. Yeah! I want to know more about your phd and the laser stuff, but maybe you don't want to cross the streams here to youtube or a wider audience would find it boring. Anyway, keep all yer digits and eyeballs! Cheers!

[@laurenmp7486]

I clicked wanting to watch titanium burn, now I've got a physics paper to find and read.

[@iansragingbileduct]

The recurring nukes on mars joke + the recycling rant really puts this over the top 100/10

[@Muffin_Masher]

The gas axe is a scary yet fun tool. If you haven't already mastered it, light it, then turn the gas up until you have a nice "feathering" flame with very little to no smoke, THEN turn the oxygen on and adjust until it almost goes BANG! :P the flame shouldn't be yellow/orange, unless that is just how it looks on camera, it should be blue and white when correctly adjusted. VERY effective, the hardest part is not putting holes in or setting fire to anything accidentally... basically perfect for this channel

[@MadScientist267]

Amateur. Get a hot standby flame, "tap it out" on your shoe, fill a styro cup with the now free flowing gas mix, restrike the torch and "brush" the cup. *THAT'S* worth posting a comment about.

[@YounesLayachi]

Wouldn't the extra oxygen in the flame cause unwanted oxidation ?

[@MadScientist267]

@@YounesLayachi The extra oxygen accelerates the combustion of the acetylene. The result is a hotter flame. When it is cutting metal and the "turbo" valve is open, the extra oxygen largely goes to oxidizing the molten metal in the flame, yes. This is useful because it creates even more local heat, helping the melt for making the cut. If that's not what you're referring to I don't know.

[@YounesLayachi]

@@MadScientist267 I'm talking about oxygen leftover after the combustion of the acetylene

[@MadScientist267]

@@YounesLayachi Ok yeah any that is leftover either leaves the flame unused, or goes toward oxidizing whatever the work is, yes.

[@mattiasfagerlund]

Once you've got the titanium melting, turn of the gas and just keep the oxy running. That's an oxidizer too and it felt quite left out. In fact, that's actually how acetylene gas cutting torches work. Once the cutting starts, the oxygen alone is enough to sustain the cutting. Will it work for titanium though? Only you can show us!

[@xerrofoot]

@5:00 Oooh, pretty fireworks. Hell, titanium is probably an ingredient in all those NYE fireworks you see in major cities.

[@valritz1489]

One of the most aggravating videos of all time was the one by I think Wendover that explained that plastic recycling is pretty much a myth in every single country, and companies that purport to recycle consumer plastics really just shipped them to first China, then Malaysia when China didn't want them anymore.

[@YounesLayachi]

Climate Town did an excellent video on this topic

[@reginaldcampos5762]

Yeah, and also cardboard food boxes cant be recycled because grease and oil makes it impossible. This is why countries dont recycle. It is a logistical problem. The only things worth recycling is glass and metals.

[@jamesmnguyen]

​@@reginaldcampos5762 If nothing changes, I'm fine with going back to glass bottles and metal cans for everything.

[@reginaldcampos5762]

@@jamesmnguyen agreed, although aluminum (excuse my American english) cans have plastic inside to prevent the food from rusting it. There's practical applications for plastic, but we overuse it

[@jamesmnguyen]

@@reginaldcampos5762 I'm fairly sure it's to prevent the metal from getting into the drink instead, but the same effect either way.

[@JesusRaves]

I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. Mate your tangent about recycling was top notch XD

[@pezboy715]

Ex&F: 6:26 Also Ex&F: “The atmosphere is not nature’s bin…. It’s just MY bin.”

[@vivalapita8484]

8:27 growing into that mood over a few decades.....::pats you:: I know how you feel. Right there with ya. (your shit is hilarious! please keep creating you bring me and my family joy)

[@JaenEngineering]

I am absolutely shocked that they don't just refill the acetylene bottles like they do here in the UK. You can literally order it online, and when they drop off your full bottle they'll take the empty one away, refill it and so the cycle goes.

[@762x54rr]

they do refill them however when they no longer pass inspection to refill they are having issues disposing of them

[@MoraFermi]

These bottles have a lifespan. They can rust, they can crack, they can have the thread stripped out... There are plenty of reasons one might not be usable anymore.

[@trollmcclure1884]

it's schizophrenia. Some countries are alcoholics, hoarding stuff etc

[@marcogenovesi8570]

@@trollmcclure1884 and some countries are australia so it's all the above

[@laserdollars2018]

It ain't empty unless there's a hole in it

[@viggojira]

I really enjoyed the previous metal fires episode and I’m very happy to see a sequel to it

[@inhopeofabettername]

Damn I had things to do today but that paper sent me down quite the rabbit hole

[@FlatBroke612]

You’ve got nowhere near enough oxygen in your torch flame to be a neutral flame.

[@friedchickenUSA]

yes!! there are both explosions AND fire mentioned in this video. and theyre all from tangents you went on. great job -liz

[@KidneyFailureGaming]

God I love the smell of burning titanium in the morning....

[@ucomp1]

Reading through this mars nuclear explosion paper is wild. A lot of this goes over my head since I'm studying paleontology and not, well, this. But It's a very interesting paper, especially with the implication that these detonations were above mars surface. Might have to bring this paper up with some of my professors when I return to uni in a few days.

[@Daughter0fTh3King]

Keep us updated!!

[@Add_Infinitum]

I think this might be one of your funniest videos up there with fulminating metals

[@AlWaYsFrOmThEbAy]

I've been saying that for a long time , it's good to hear you confirm what the voices in my head have been telling me

[@strategicbacon7349]

You managed to light titanium on fire, and the Australian government lit their plastics on fire. Win-Win for everyone except the environment. Awesome video as always

[@emmp8396]

As said in his carbon tet video "The atmosphere is nature's bin."

[@gtfkt]

The environment always wins, because time is an illusion.

[@penteractgaming]

Ah Titanium. So satisfying to work with. My uncle was a machinist that worked with it and the alloy that he used was surprisingly easy to machine but was a fire hazard if the tool cutting surface wasnt kept cool. The bulk metal is very difficult to set on fire but high surface area to volume chunks of it like powder or chips can.

[@GS-el8ll]

bro, the plastic rant, i felt that, been chucking my plastic in the general waste ever since i found out and its just depressing

[@diabmourani9601]

Looking at the flame colour at 4:40 you are using quite a bit if acetylene you end up adding carbon to the metal try to add more oxygen

[@LoneHawk]

You know it’s gonna be a good weekend when there’s a new explosions and fire video

[@jordanayling9841]

I could totally watch a video of Tom reading through and talking about the thermonuclear Mars paper.

[@trollerdaily3734]

real

[@jessec4677]

I think you stayed on track damn near 20% of that video! Good job, buddy!

[@belacickekl7579]

Funnily enough, I was just visiting Australia from the US, and was somewhat surprised by their more limited recycling options than what I expected

[@nedshead5906]

Hey mate, good to see you're still making content, if I'm ever back over your way we'll have a beer, work and life got busy and I haven't done chem or been on SM for years!

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

Hope you’re doing well mate!! The KNO3 that appears again in this video might be familiar to you… it is still helping me make videos after many years haha

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

I remember you made a sort of arc furnace years ago. I still think about doing that occasionally

[@nedshead5906]

@@ExplosionsAndFire Yeah it was great for high temp reactions like making calcium carbide, and turning rusted wheel nuts to liquid lol

[@breakinglegsandbreakinghea3167]

This is the kind of nervous breakdown content i subscribed for

[@Lux158]

You know it is good when the torch burns on the wrong end :D

[@texasslingleadsomtingwong8751]

😂

[@usedlamp1]

I’d love a slow mo guys collab

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

They should lend me some cameras. I’m sane and can be trusted with hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment

[@mprojekt72]

@@ExplosionsAndFire You write that, yet "nukes on Mars."

[@owenbilling6612]

I cannot put into words how much I love your videos, amazing chemistry, relatable tirades, always worth any wait.

[@crondog]

I work at a recycled paper mill and always tell people to stop putting plastic in the recycling because it's just going to end up getting thrown out by us instead.

[@maxattacks25]

This really encapsulates modern life perfectly. You’re going about your day, maybe even having a good time, and then you learn. You just learn of all the fucked up things that governments/corporations are doing to our planet, maybe you get mad at it, and then just keep going on with your day. It seems like the solution to all of these problems is to either completely reinvent our modern way of life or for our life to not exist at all. But hey at least I can have pizza tonight 😝

[@Amateur.Chemistry]

I am now sure that Tom is going to start his own recycling plant soon, I just wonder how he will call it

[@gwamhurt]

At Tom's Recycling we don't just burn your recycled plastics for no reason. We burn it FOR SCIENCE.

[@ulrichs.3228]

Ex-Plastic and Tire?

[@stalecisco666]

Jesus christ at this rate Tom will be wearing a straight jacket in no time.

[@ericmueller8505]

Absolutely unhinged, one of the most enjoyable videos I've watched in a while.

[@connorwillmore3527]

I love the editing, you're absolutely hilarious man. I was busting a gut a lot this video, fantastic stuff.

[@Sebastian-hv7jz]

Most hilarious episode yet. This is a fantastic comedy channel for chemists 👍

[@LaLaLand.Germany]

Ahh, lovely, the nasal mic sound, the stunning white lab coat in a barn setting stuff off... SCIENCE! Can´t beat that. Great that You´re back, Mate! And I REALLY enjoyed that rant.

[@Xari.04]

Holy crap this was unhinged even for a main channel video lmao, great video as always Tom

[@captininsanoo00]

fantastic video mate, loved to see im not the only one with existential tangents running in the background in my head

[@mikemitchell9157]

When setting up an a torch you adjust the flame to a pencil tip before you hit the turbo switch. Your base flame is just acetylene. Add oxygen to it to make it a tighter flame and then hit the switch and you'll see a difference

[@MadScientist267]

Switch 🤦‍♂️

[@mikemitchell9157]

@@MadScientist267 switch, trigger, doohicky, paddle, thumb button, turbo flame, throttle. Need I go through more?

[@MadScientist267]

@@mikemitchell9157 Yes, actually. You've *attempted* and *completely missed* any kind of accuracy whatsoever. It's called a *VALVE* 🤦‍♂️

[@mikemitchell9157]

@@MadScientist267 no not at all. You are just being pretentious is all

[@mikemitchell9157]

@@MadScientist267 no not at all. You are just being pretentious is all

[@lasagnahog7695]

Fuck yes. Just had a stressful day at work which resulted in me giving an ultimatum that I get a raise or I quit so I could use an upload from this channel. The calming prose and tranquil aussie accent do wonders for my brain.

[@herpderp9774]

I see that Cubane has finally sent Tom over the edge into madness, this may be for the best to lessen the further impact of this experiment on his psyche.

[@gregmarshall6059]

If you can get in contact with a tradie who knows their way round an acetylene torch im sure you could get them to show you how to make sure the mix is good so you can have it be carburating neutral or oxidizing as you need to avoud rust etc

[@ExplosionsAndFire]

I have lost the ability to learn useful life skills

[@berni1011]

​@@ExplosionsAndFireWhat a PhD does to a man

[@skrymerU]

When I started cutting and welding with oxy acetylene as a 14 year old kid (actually 13) i had no idea how dangerous it was. So I have never been afraid of it because I didn't know I should be. I didn't realize how scary other people think it is, until I started watching KZbin 10 years ish ago (or whatever).