Thermite is commonly used for melting refractory metals and welding rails. Aluminum is also used as a deoxidizer in the steelmaking process. Aluminum powder, graphite, titanium dioxide (or other high-melting-point metal oxides) are evenly mixed at a certain ratio, then coated on the metal and calcined at high temperatures to make high-temperature resistant cermets, which have important applications in rocket and missile technology.
Aluminum can emit a large amount of heat and dazzling light when burned in oxygen, and is often used to make explosive mixtures, such as ammonium-aluminum explosives (mixed from aluminum powder, ammonium nitrate, charcoal powder, soot and other flammable organic matter), combustion mixtures (For example, bombs and shells made of thermite can be used to attack targets that are difficult to catch fire or tanks, artillery, etc.) and lighting mixtures (such as containing 28% aluminum powder, 68% barium nitrate and 4% shellac).
