jamesraykenney +5

It is a good comment because a lot of people are confused about how ferrocerium or pyrites work and how they are different from the old time flint and steel.

The comment deserves this bump back up to the sidebar.


ps. With the old flint and steel you just want a light glancing blow to shave a thin enough sliver of the steel and the heat of friction is what makes it a spark.

Ferrocerium actually burns in a chemical reaction when it is sparked. This makes the spark from the Ferrocerium quite a bit hotter even though it becomes a spark at a much lower temperature.
The magnesium is added as an oxide and is just there to make the rod more brittle so it is easier to scrape sparks off of.

The rare earth magnets spark the same way and are usually nickel coated to prevent them from sparking or oxidizing.