Pyrophoric Zirconium Experiments / Making-of Special Effects

Zirconium metal is mainly used to encapsulate reactor fuel, for surgical instruments and jewelry but also has pyrophoric properties in very fine powdery form. In Special Effects these properties are used to create showers of sparks for ex. to simulate a ricochet bullet.

I am back at VGS together with Pol experimenting with "Zirc-Powder". Under the right circumstances Zirc powder tends to self-ignite under friction what gives of interesting visual effects. From laser beam impacts in Star Wars to bullet hits in Indiana Jones, Zirc-Powder has an impressive story in film making history as for its properties it is a quick and realistic looking effect.

However Zirc-Powder is also a quite dangerous substance. In the form we use it in the movies it needs to be stored under water to be safe for transport. Zirconium ignites at a temperature of 1600 deg. c (2912 deg. f) and oxidizes at around 900 deg. c, so very high temperatures that are more than enough to set fire to nearly everything it touches under the wrong circumstances. Please note that even it sounds like a lot of fun, Pol and i have taken multiple safety precautions to make these experiments safe and we both are professionals, i am also a trained pyrotechnician.

Of course you cannot buy Zirc-Powder as easy as going on ebay, we have it made specially for our purposes and NO we do not sell it eighter!

We hope you enjoy our experiments, there is always more on the Mancave Effects Channel to be discovered, check it out!

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#MancaveEffects #Zirconium #Pyrophoric Music by: Royalty Free Music from Epidemic Sound: https://goo.gl/jlJWJO ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5SaPwvB5r4