Editing Magnesium (section)

===Magnesium metal===

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12062, Wasserreiter mit Magnesiumfackeln.jpg|thumb|An unusual application of magnesium as an [[Illumination (lighting)|illumination]] source while [[wakeskating]] in 1930]]

Magnesium is the third-most-commonly-used structural metal, following [[iron]] and aluminium.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9DskDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT256|title=Materials for the 21st Century|last=Segal|first=David|date=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0192526090}}</ref> The main applications of magnesium are, in order: aluminium alloys, [[die-casting]] (alloyed with [[zinc]]),<ref name="BakerM. M. Avedesian1999">{{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=Hugh D. R.|last2=Avedesian|first2=Michael|title=Magnesium and magnesium alloys|date=1999|publisher=Materials Information Society|location=Materials Park, OH|isbn=978-0871706577|page=4}}</ref> removing [[sulfur]] in the production of iron and steel, and the production of [[titanium]] in the [[Kroll process]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|display-authors=6|author=Ketil Amundsen|author2=Terje Kr. Aune|author3=Per Bakke|author4=Hans R. Eklund|author5=Johanna Ö. Haagensen|author6=Carlos Nicolas|author7=Christian Rosenkilde|author8=Sia Van den Bremt|author9=Oddmund Wallevik |contribution=Magnesium |date=2002|publisher=Wiley-VCH |doi=10.1002/14356007.a15_559|title=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry|isbn=978-3527306732 }}</ref>

Magnesium is used in lightweight materials and alloys. For example, when infused with silicon carbide [[nanoparticle]]s, it has extremely high specific strength.<ref name="ucla">{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-researchers-create-exceptionally-strong-and-lightweight-new-metal |title=UCLA researchers create super-strong magnesium metal |publisher=ucla.edu |first=Matthew |last=Chin |date=23 December 2015 }}</ref>

Historically, magnesium was one of the main aerospace construction metals and was used for German military aircraft as early as World War I and extensively for German aircraft in World War II. The Germans coined the name "[[Elektron (alloy)|Elektron]]" for magnesium alloy, a term which is still used today. In the commercial aerospace industry, magnesium was generally restricted to engine-related components, due to fire and corrosion hazards. Magnesium alloy use in aerospace is increasing in the 21st century, driven by the importance of fuel economy.<ref name="aghion00">{{cite journal |doi= 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.350-351.19 |title= Magnesium Alloys Development towards the 21st Century |date= 2000 |last1= Aghion |first1= E. |last2= Bronfin |first2= B. |journal= Materials Science Forum |volume= 350–351 |pages= 19–30|s2cid= 138429749 }}</ref> Magnesium alloys can act as replacements for aluminium and steel alloys in structural applications.<ref name=shu10>{{cite journal |last1=Shu |first1=Dong Wei |last2=Ahmad |first2=Iram Raza |title=Magnesium Alloys: An Alternative for Aluminium in Structural Applications |journal=Advanced Materials Research |date=December 2010 |volume=168-170 |pages=1631–1635 |doi=10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.168-170.1631 }}</ref><ref name=ma17>{{cite web | title=Magnesium alloy as a lighter alternative to aluminum alloy | website=Phys.org | date=2017-11-29 | url=https://phys.org/news/2017-11-magnesium-alloy-lighter-alternative-aluminum.html }}</ref>

====Aircraft====
* [[Wright Aeronautical]] used a magnesium [[crankcase]] in the WWII-era [[Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone]] aviation engine. This presented a serious problem for the earliest models of the [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] heavy bomber when an in-flight engine fire ignited the engine crankcase. The resulting combustion was as hot as 5,600&nbsp;°F (3,100&nbsp;°C) and could sever the wing spar from the [[fuselage]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Condensed-phase modifications in magnesium particle combustion in air|author1=Dreizin, Edward L. |author2=Berman, Charles H. |author3=Vicenzi, Edward P. |journal=Scripta Materialia|volume=122|issue=1–2 |doi=10.1016/S0010-2180(00)00101-2|year=2000|pages=30–42|bibcode=2000CoFl..122...30D |citeseerx=10.1.1.488.2456 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EBmynsBj2BUC&pg=PA40| pages=40–41 | title = Mission to Tokyo: The American Airmen Who Took the War to the Heart of Japan | isbn = 978-1610586634 | last1 = Dorr | first1 = Robert F. | date = 2012| publisher=Zenith Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEwpAQAAIAAJ | title=AAHS Journal |volume=44–45 | date=1999 |publisher=American Aviation Historical Society }}</ref>

====Automotive====
[[File:Bugatti Aérolithe AV.jpg|thumb|The [[Bugatti Type 57#1935 Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe Chassis No. 57331 Prototype|Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe]] featured a lightweight body made of [[Elektron (alloy)|Elektron]], a trademarked magnesium alloy.]]
* [[Mercedes-Benz]] used the alloy [[Elektron (alloy)|Elektron]] in the bodywork of an early model [[Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR]]; these cars competed in the [[1955 World Sportscar Championship]] including a win at the [[1955 Mille Miglia|Mille Miglia]], and at [[24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans]] where one was involved in the [[1955 Le Mans disaster]] when spectators were showered with burning fragments of elektron.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spurgeon |first1=Brad |title=On Auto Racing's Deadliest Day |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/sports/autoracing/on-auto-racings-deadliest-day.html |work=The New York Times |date=11 June 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Porsche]] used magnesium alloy frames in the [[Porsche 917|917/053]] that won Le Mans in 1971, and continues to use magnesium alloys for its engine blocks due to the weight advantage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Chris |date=2021-07-01 |title=The 1971 Porsche 917 KH Had a Chassis Made of Ultra-Flammable Magnesium |url=https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a36902927/1971-porsche-917-kh-magnesium/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Road & Track |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Volkswagen Group]] has used magnesium in its engine components for many years.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-18|title=1950: The metal is magnesium, the car is the Beetle|url=https://www.hydro.com/en-US/about-hydro/company-history/1946---1977/1950-the-metal-is-magnesium-the-car-is-the-beetle/|access-date=2021-04-05|website=hydro.com|language=en-us}}</ref>
* [[Mitsubishi Motors]] uses magnesium for its [[paddle shifters]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-04-12 |title=2007 Mitsubishi Outlander brings sport sedan dynamics to compact sport-utility vehicle segment; performance credentials include 220 Hp V-6, 6-speed Sportronic(R) transmission and aluminum roof |url=http://media.mitsubishicars.com/en-US/releases/2007-mitsubishi-outlander-brings-sport-sedan-dynamics-to-compact-sport-utility-vehicle-segment-performance-credentials-include-220-hp-v-6-6-speed-sportronicr-transmission-and-aluminum-roof |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Mitsubishi Newsroom |language=en}}</ref>
* [[BMW]] used magnesium alloy blocks in their [[BMW N52|N52]] engine, including an aluminium alloy insert for the cylinder walls and cooling jackets surrounded by a high-temperature magnesium alloy [[AJ alloys|AJ62A]]. The engine was used worldwide between 2005 and 2011 in various 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 series models; as well as the Z4, X1, X3, and X5.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Sachin |last1=Kumar |first2=Chuansong |last2=Wu |title=Review:Mg and Its Alloy——Scope, Future Perspectives and Recent Advancements in Welding and Processing |journal=Journal of Harbin Institute of Technology |date=2017 |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=1–37 |doi=10.11916/j.issn.1005-9113.17065 }}</ref>
* [[Chevrolet]] used the magnesium alloy AE44 in the 2006 Corvette [[Corvette C6|Z06]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aragones |first1=Jonathon |last2=Goundan |first2=Kasi |last3=Kolp |first3=Scott |last4=Osborne |first4=Richard |last5=Ouimet |first5=Larry |last6=Pinch |first6=William |title=SAE Technical Paper Series |date=2005-04-11 |chapter=Development of the 2006 Corvette Z06 Structural Cast Magnesium Crossmember |volume=1 |chapter-url=https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2005-01-0340/ |language=English |location=Warrendale, PA|doi=10.4271/2005-01-0340 }}</ref>
Both AJ62A and AE44 are recent developments in high-temperature low-[[Creep (deformation)|creep]] magnesium alloys. The general strategy for such alloys is to form [[intermetallic]] precipitates at the [[crystallite|grain boundaries]], for example by adding [[mischmetal]] or [[calcium]].<ref>{{cite report|title=Tensile and Compressive Creep of Magnesium-Aluminum-Calcium Based Alloys |date=2001 |author=Luo, Alan A. |author2=Powell, Bob R. |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Materials & Processes Laboratory, General Motors Research & Development Center |access-date=21 August 2007 |url=http://doc.tms.org/ezmerchant/prodtms.nsf/productlookupitemid/01-481x-137/%24FILE/01-481X-137F.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928023445/http://doc.tms.org/ezmerchant/prodtms.nsf/productlookupitemid/01-481x-137/%24FILE/01-481X-137F.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Electronics====
Because of low density and good mechanical and electrical properties, magnesium is used for manufacturing of mobile phones, laptop and [[tablet computers]], cameras, and other electronic components.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2020 |title=Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Magnesium [AZ91] Reinforced With Carbon Nanotubes And Sic/Al2O3 |url=https://www.ilkogretim-online.org/fulltext/218-1642679175.pdf |journal=Elementary Education Online |volume=19 |issue=4 |page=6907 |access-date=7 May 2023 |archive-date=7 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507094851/https://www.ilkogretim-online.org/fulltext/218-1642679175.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was used as a premium feature because of its light weight in some 2020 laptops.<ref name="bma">{{cite news |last1=Dignan |first1=Larry |title=Blue magnesium alloy laptops: Premium price, plastic feel, but lightweight |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/blue-magnesium-alloy-laptops-premium-price-plastic-feel-but-lightweight/ |publisher=ZDNet |date=2 January 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Magnesium-products.jpg|thumb|left|Products made of magnesium: firestarter and shavings, sharpener, magnesium ribbon]]

====Source of light====
{{anchor|Flammability}}Magnesium is flammable, burning at a temperature of approximately {{convert|3100|°C|K °F|abbr=on}},<ref name="Dreizin, Edward L.; Berman, Charles H. and Vicenzi, Edward P. 2000 30" /> and the [[autoignition temperature]] of magnesium ribbon is approximately {{convert|473|°C|K °F|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web| title=Magnesium (Powder)| work=International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS)| publisher = IPCS INCHEM |date=April 2000 |url=http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0289.htm| access-date=21 December 2011}}</ref> Magnesium's high combustion temperature makes it a useful tool for starting emergency fires. When burning in air, magnesium produces a brilliant white light that includes strong ultraviolet wavelengths. 

Magnesium powder ([[flash powder]]) was used for subject illumination in the early days of [[photography]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hannavy |first1=John |title=Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-87327-1 |page=84 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3E3AQAAMAAJ|title=Scientific American: Supplement|year=1899|publisher=Munn and Company|volume=48|page=20035}}</ref> Magnesium filament used in electrically ignited single-use photography [[Flash (photography)#Flashbulbs|flashbulbs]] replaced this usage eventually.   Magnesium powder is used in [[fireworks]] and marine [[flare]]s where a brilliant light is required, and in trick self-relighting birthday candles. It was also used for various theatrical effects,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gQkEAAAAMBAJ|title=Billboard|year=1974|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gQkEAAAAMBAJ/page/n19 20]}}</ref> such as lightning,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Altman |first1=Rick |title=Silent Film Sound |date=2004 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-11663-3 |page=41 }}</ref> pistol flashes,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lindsay |first1=David |title=Madness in the Making: The Triumphant Rise and Untimely Fall of America's Show Inventors |date=2005 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0-595-34766-7 |page=210 }}</ref> and supernatural appearances.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCormick |first1=John |last2=Pratasik |first2=Bennie |title=Popular Puppet Theatre in Europe, 1800-1914 |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-61615-7 |page=106 }}</ref>

Magnesium is often used to ignite thermite or other materials that require a high ignition temperature. Magnesium continues to be used as an [[Incendiary device|incendiary]] element in warfare.<ref>{{cite web| title=9N510 (ML-5) Submunition|url=https://cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/submunitions/9n510-ml-5-submunition|access-date=22 November 2022|publisher= Collective Awareness to UXO}}</ref>[[File:Magnesium Sparks.jpg|thumb|Magnesium firestarter (in left hand), used with a [[pocket knife]] and [[flint]] to create sparks that ignite the shavings]]

Flame temperatures of magnesium and magnesium alloys can reach {{convert|3100|C|F|abbr=on}},<ref name="Dreizin, Edward L.; Berman, Charles H. and Vicenzi, Edward P. 2000 30">{{cite journal|title=Condensed-phase modifications in magnesium particle combustion in air|author=Dreizin, Edward L.|author2=Berman, Charles H.|author3=Vicenzi, Edward P.|name-list-style=amp|journal=Scripta Materialia|volume=122|issue=1–2|doi=10.1016/S0010-2180(00)00101-2|date=2000|pages=30–42|bibcode=2000CoFl..122...30D |citeseerx=10.1.1.488.2456}}</ref> although flame height above the burning metal is usually less than {{convert|300|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="DOE">{{cite book |title=DOE Handbook – Primer on Spontaneous Heating and Pyrophoricity |publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]] |id=DOE-HDBK-1081-94 |date=December 1994 |page=20 |url=http://www.hss.doe.gov/nuclearsafety/techstds/docs/handbook/hbk1081c.html#ZZ22  |access-date   = 21 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415172328/http://www.hss.doe.gov/nuclearsafety/techstds/docs/handbook/hbk1081c.html#ZZ22 |archive-date=15 April 2012 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> Once ignited, such fires are difficult to extinguish because they resist several substances commonly used to put out fires; combustion continues in [[nitrogen]] (forming [[magnesium nitride]]),<ref name="Brauer">{{cite book |last1=Ehrlich |first1=P. |editor1-last=Brauer |editor1-first=Georg |title=Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry 1 |date=December 1, 1963 |publisher=Academic Press |location=New York, London |isbn=978-0121266011 |pages=916–917 |edition=Second |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/Handbook_of_Preparative_Inorganic_Chemistry_1_2_Brauer/page/n939/mode/2up |access-date=29 March 2025 |language=en |chapter=Section 17: Alkaline Earth Metals}}</ref> in [[carbon dioxide]] (forming [[magnesium oxide]] and [[carbon]]),<ref name=CO2/> and in water (forming magnesium oxide and hydrogen, which also combusts due to heat in the presence of additional oxygen). This property{{which?|reason=Were there giant swimming pools, CO2 pits, and Nitrogen refineries everywhere?|date=March 2025}}  was used in incendiary weapons during the [[firebombing]] of cities in [[World War II]], where the only practical [[civil defense]] was to smother a burning flare under dry sand{{why?|reason=Magnesium exothermically reacts with sand to produce the silicide;  proper extinguishers are salt based|date=March 2025}} to exclude atmosphere from the combustion.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

====Chemical reagent====
In the form of turnings or ribbons, to prepare [[Grignard reagent]]s, which are useful in [[organic synthesis]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ashenhurst |first=James |date=2011-10-14 |title=Grignard Reagents For Addition To Aldehydes and Ketones |url=https://www.masterorganicchemistry.com/2011/10/14/reagent-friday-grignard-reagents/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Master Organic Chemistry |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Other====
* In the production of [[Ductile iron|nodular graphite in cast iron]].<ref name=LANL_Mg>{{Cite web |title=Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory |url=https://periodic.lanl.gov/12.shtml |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=periodic.lanl.gov}}</ref>
* As an additive agent in conventional propellants. <ref name=LANL_Mg/>
* As a reducing agent to separate [[uranium]] and other metals from their [[Salt (chemistry)|salts]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ainscough |first1=J.B. |last2=Rigby |first2=F |title=Magnesium reduction of uranium oxide |journal=Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry |date=July 1974 |volume=36 |issue=7 |pages=1531–1534 |doi=10.1016/0022-1902(74)80618-4 }}</ref>
* As a [[Sacrificial anode|sacrificial (galvanic) anode]] to protect boats, underground tanks, pipelines, buried structures, and water heaters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-02 |title=Sacrificial Anode |url=https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Analytical_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Analytical_Chemistry)/Electrochemistry/Exemplars/Corrosion/Sacrificial_Anode |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Chemistry LibreTexts |language=en}}</ref>
* Alloyed with zinc to produce the zinc sheet used in [[photoengraving]] plates in the printing industry, [[Dry cell|dry-cell battery]] walls, and [[Flashing (weatherproofing)|roofing]].<ref name="BakerM. M. Avedesian1999" />
* Alloyed with aluminium with aluminium-magnesium alloys being used mainly for [[beverage can]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Multiview |date=2019-12-17 |title=Strong and Ductile: Magnesium Adds Benefits to Aluminum Alloys |url=https://www.belmontmetals.com/strong-and-ductile-magnesium-added-to-aluminum-alloys-provides-amazing-benefits/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Belmont Metals |language=en-US}}</ref> sports equipment such as golf clubs,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hirekogolf.com/clubheads-material-differences|title=Golf Clubheads: Material Differences}}</ref> fishing reels,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Purnell |first=Ross |title=How Aluminum Changed Fly Fishing Forever |url=https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/how-aluminum-changed-fly-fishing/152036 |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Fly Fisherman |language=en}}</ref> and [[archery|bows and arrows]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Compound Bow – Facts and History of Modern Bows |url=http://www.historyofarchery.com/archery-history/compound-bow/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=www.historyofarchery.com}}</ref>
* Many car and aircraft manufacturers have made engine and body parts from magnesium.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Automotive Applications - International Magnesium Association |url=https://www.intlmag.org/page/app_automotive_ima |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=www.intlmag.org}}</ref>
* [[Magnesium battery|Magnesium batteries]] have been commercialized as [[primary battery|primary batteries]], and are an active topic of research for [[Rechargeable battery|rechargeable batteries]], such as [[Magnesium sulfur battery|magnesium sulfur batteries]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leong |first1=Kee Wa |last2=Pan |first2=Wending |last3=Wang |first3=Yifei |title=Reversibility of a High-Voltage, Cl – Regulated, Aqueous Mg Metal Battery Enabled by a Water-in-Salt Electrolyte |journal=ACS Energy Lett. |date=21 July 2022 |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=2657–2666 |doi=10.1021/acsenergylett.2c01255 |s2cid=250965568 |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsenergylett.2c01255 |access-date=25 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Fei |last2=Fan |first2=Xiulin |last3=Gao |first3=Tao |last4=Sun |first4=Wei |last5=Ma |first5=Zhaohui |last6=Yang |first6=Chongyin |last7=Han |first7=Fudong |last8=Xu |first8=Kang |last9=Wang |first9=Chunsheng |title=High-Voltage Aqueous Magnesium Ion Batteries |journal=ACS Central Science |date=25 October 2017 |volume=3 |issue=10 |pages=1121–1128 |doi=10.1021/acscentsci.7b00361 |pmid=29104929 |pmc=5658756 }}</ref>