Comment Re:Navy? Warships? (Score 1) 101
Because that reactivity is far lower in even common alloys, even when magnesium composes more than 95% of the alloy...
That sounded interesting, but when I read up on it, I saw that those alloys didn't actually have significantly lower reactivity. They have significantly lower surface reactivity, which is a good thing, but when they burn, they burn hot. The problem is that when it starts to burn in reaction with air in an environment well over both the melting points and ignition points of the alloy, it's 95% or more magnesium and that generates a lot more heat per unit volume (and mass) than steel would.
This is where the observation that a considerable portion of your material is ceramic spheres with pressurized nitrogen or halogen gases becomes relevant.