Laboratory explosion danger from mixing magnesium and copper oxide

Abstract

At least one introductory chemistry textbook (1) discusses the solid state reduction of copper oxide with magnesium. The experiment is suggested as a method of illustrating the greater reactivity of magnesium compared with copper, and it forms part of the topic related to the affinity series. Recently, a violent explosion (which fortunately did not have any casualties) occurred in a school laboratory while a mixture of magnesium and copper oxide was being heated. This paper is intended to warn readers of the potential danger involved in performing this experiment and to discuss briefly some aspects related to the evaluation of its explosive hazard.