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From: sagpd1!jharkins@uunet.UU.NET (Jim Harkins)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Aluminum Ships
Message-ID: <1990Jun30.053925.4579@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 30 Jun 90 05:39:25 GMT
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From: sagpd1!jharkins@uunet.UU.NET (Jim Harkins)

In <1990Jun28.025954.19601@cbnews.att.com> George William Herbert says
>Aluminum in ship structures does not burn in shipboard fires.

I don't know if you mean aluminum in general, or when cast to look like a
ship :-), but the current issue of Scientific American has an article on
fireworks.  Turns out one of the ingredients for bright displays is aluminum
because it burns so brightly.  Then again, I seem to remember from my child-
hood chemistry set that iron would burn also.  Just make iron filings and
sprinkle them over your alcohol lamp.  Nobody has yet claimed that we lost
ships in Nasty Number 2 because the steel superstructure caught fire :-)


-- 
jim		jharkins@sagpd1

I hate to see you go, but I love to see you walk away.