Magnesium burns so bright because the reaction releases a lot of heat. As a result of this exothermic reaction, magnesium gives two electrons to oxygen, forming powdery magnesium oxide (MgO).

Why do you think the chemicals have to be heated in the flame first before the colored light is emitted? The heat gives the electrons energy moving them to the excited state, then you take the heat off, snapping the electrons back to ground state, releasing the energy that was absorbed causing light to be emitted.

Hazards: The burning magnesium ribbon produces light of sufficient intensity to cause temporary loss of sight. Avoid looking directly at the light source. The burning of magnesium in air produces intense heat which can cause burns and initiate combustion in flammable materials.

Flammability. Magnesium is highly flammable, especially when powdered or shaved into thin strips, though it is difficult to ignite in mass or bulk. Flame temperatures of magnesium and magnesium alloys can reach 3,100 °C (5,610 °F), although flame height above the burning metal is usually less than 300 mm (12 in).

Since magnesium reacts with oxygen, it must be ensured that the molten metal is not exposed to it under any circumstances. Otherwise, the molten magnesium could ignite and burn.

Magnesium has the ability to tarnish, which creates an oxide layer around itself to prevent it from rusting. It also has the ability to react with water at room temperature. When exposed to water, bubbles form around the metal.

Magnesium’s corrosion performance in pure water is strongly dependent on temperature. At elevated temperatures, the resistance to corrosion in water decreases with increasing temperature, corrosion becoming particularly severe above 100°C [3]. Magnesium is subject to dissolution by most acids.

The magnesium donates electrons to the iron, which slows down the rusting process. The magnesium corrodes instead of the iron, ‘sacrificing’ itself. This is called sacrificial protection, and is used commercially to protect iron structures in corrosive environments. The nail wrapped in copper will rust the most.

Severe rust. Salt water is an electrolyte which conducts ions, speeding up rusting. Salt solution acts as an electrolyte (any substance containing free ions that allows the substance to conduct electricity) allowing iron to lose electrons more easily and so speeds up the rusting process.

Usually, a temperature or pressure increase directly leads to a higher corrosion rate because electrochemical reactions generally occur faster at higher temperatures. Temperature increases add energy to the reactions, which increases the corrosion rate.

Common metals that don’t rust include:

• Aluminum.
• Stainless Steel (some grades)
• Galvanized Steel.
• Red Metals (Copper, Brass & Bronze)

Wearing a piece of vermeil jewelry to the beach is like taking Ajax to it. Solid gold, solid silver, or solid anything, on the other hand, should be fine. Sea salt is very corrosive to copper and it will cause the jewelry to collapse much faster than yellow gold, which has brass and silver in it.

If your rusty cookware happens to be made of cast iron, most culinary authorities say it’s completely salvageable. Experts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign agree that a little bit of rust on cookware isn’t likely to harm you. (Even rust in drinking water isn’t considered a health hazard.)

Rust isn’t inherently harmful to human beings. In particular, touching rust or getting it on your skin isn’t associated with any health risks. While you can get tetanus from a wound caused by a rusty object, it’s not the rust that causes tetanus. Instead, it’s caused by a type of bacteria that may be on the object.