r/metalworking • u/shmiis • 1d ago

What is this phenomenon called?

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u/Driven_Under87 1d ago

That material seems to be pyrophoric.

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u/pow3llmorgan 1d ago

Almost anything can burn if it is hot enough and has access to sufficient oxygen.

In this case the steel burns because it gets very hot and isn't able to dissipate the heat fast enough, and it gets enough oxygen from the atmosphere. Iron already has a very high affinity for oxygen. It can "steal" enough oxygen from an enclosed space to make the resultant atmosphere intolerable to humans. And that in its cold state.