Quote Originally Posted by Carl View Post
Magnesium alloy stand out. Pure magnesium is easy to ignite and will burn with water. For some to my mind unfathomable reason green energy car concepts have used magnesium based hydrogen storage as a methodology. Quite why anyone would want to combine two such wonderfully pyrotechnic substances as hydrogen and magnesium, (one of which burn in the main firefighting substance used worldwide), is beyond me, but it's been suggested at the very least, and there may even be a car or two on the roads with it.
Well, stuff made from more than one element often doesn't react the same way as its components. To take the common example, both pure sodium and pure chlorine are exceptionally reactive and I wouldn't recommend swallowing a mouthful of either. But sodium chloride, that you can toss on every meal and be none the worse for wear.