From: glhurst@onr.com (Gerald L. Hurst)
Newsgroups: rec.pyrotechnics
Subject: Re: Carbide
Date: 8 Mar 1997 21:05:49 GMT

In article <3321B6E9.224A@netcom.ca>, pfrazier@netcom.ca says:

>Sorry to sound dumb, but what is Carbide?

In the context of this group the term "carbide" refers to
calcium carbide aka calcium acetylide.  It is the material
used to generate acetylene for miners lamps via the reaction

CaC2 + 2H2O --> Ca(OH)2 + C2H2

Elsewhere, the word is used to describe ultra hard tool steel
based on tungsten carbide or the tungsten carbide itself.

In iron metallurgy the word may also be used in conjunction
with iron carbides which account for some of the physical
properties of the metals.  These carbides can also react with
water to form acetylene.  Sometimes one can smell this acetylene
forming on the wet blade of a non-stainless knife blade.

In the most general sense, carbides are the binary compounds of
carbon and other elements, usually metals.

Jerry (Ico)