Magnesium Magnesium ribbon
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Magnesium ribbon.
Magnesium ribbon can be lit with a match and it will then burn brilliantly and slowly along like a slow-motion fuse. It's really a very gentle, calm thing to see, though it will blind you if you look too long. Burning magnesium ribbon is a standard high school chemistry lab demonstration, to show that metals can burn. Iron burns too (you can light fine steel wool with a match), but magnesium burns a lot brighter.
Surprisingly, it's a little bit hard to buy magnesium ribbon: Standard lab supply companies won't sell it to private individuals. But other companies will (see the Source link).
Source: United Nuclear
Contributor: United Nuclear
Acquired: 11 April, 2003
Price: $7/roll
Size: 3"
Purity: >99%
Magnesium