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Magnesium iPod? PowerMacs at WWDC?

Sounds great!

My dad has a wrench made out of magnesium and it's almost 2 feet long and weighs almost NOTHING. I mean it's so light I can't hardly believe it due to its size.

Bring it on! :)
 
chris200x9 said:
try lighting aluminum foil..... it won't burn try lighting a strip of magnesium and you have a light show lol
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Aluminium is actually more reactive than magnesium, its just that if you try to "burn" it, it won't set on fire because it forms a protective oxide layer-Aluminium Oxide, which Magnesium doesnt therefore if you try and "burn" it, it sets on fire.
 
dr_lha said:
I had a laptop with a magnesium alloy case back in the days before I became a Mac Convert. It was a Sony VAIO 505-TR, and was a very nice light machine. One of the benefits of the magnesium case over the aluminium Powerbook case is the magnesium case never corroded like my 12" PB case has.
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I think your iBook has a magnesium frame.

Magnesium tanishes, but I believe it is like aluminum and practically transparent. As for the flammability, you have got to be really trying to ignite it. Your iPod is not just going spontaneously light on fire.
 
Mac Fly (film) said:
Is magnesium the main element in fireworks?
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Salts of magnesium are used in fireworks, yes.

Chunks of metal? Nooooo, that would just be shrapnel. Setting magnesium metal on fire takes a lot of effort, so nobody get started on "I left my IPod in the sun for 20 minutes and it blew up!" threads.
 
There's this apparent debate over whether it'll be aluminum or magnesium, but I'm not sure that Wu and AppleInsider's sources are really in disagreement. It'll probably be an aluminum-magnesium alloy, similar to what is used in soda cans, only thicker and with a different finish.
 
I believe the iPods are devices used so heavily, plastic coating should never be used, instead use all metal enclosures (just like the minis).
 
The engine cradle of the new Corvette C6 is made primarily of magnesium. If magnesium is the choosen material to contain a 7 liter engine spinning at 7,200 rpms at temperatures hot enough to boil water, it should be good enough for the lowly iPod. Now the MBP, thats another story.
 
chris200x9 said:
try lighting aluminum foil..... it won't burn try lighting a strip of magnesium and you have a light show lol
Click to expand...


The difference is that no one would make a case out of pure magnesium...it's all about alloys.
 
The real question is, how does apple expect to sell the new Mac Pro when so many of the apps that PROs use are not universal and will be slower than they are on current power macs. Why not just get a refurb to tide you over?

I know they have to release these I'm just saying that it's going to be a hard marketing sell for a lot of people.
 
Before my iPod, I had an old iRiver CD Walkman made of Magnesium Alloy. The interface was horrible, but the main unit's design was SEXYYYY.

However, the magnesium definitely did tarnish (it was finished in silver). I'm not sure if it was poor quality, was actually the paint on top of the magnesium that was wearing off, or something else.

Somehow the magnesium rumor sounds off. Unless Apple intends to start sheathing all of their metal products with magnesium, which would be prohibitively expensive, the colors would no longer match.
 
It is no rumor that Apple has used magnesium alloys in their laptops, it used to be mentioned on the old iBook G4 page.
 
QCassidy352 said:
Let's get a grip here; apple is not going to make ipods that burst in to flames!
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captain_obvious.jpg
 
WildCowboy said:
Yes, magnesium is very flammable, but really only in finely powdered form.
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That's true, but my dad had an old broken laptop with a magnesium frame. Just for fun he decided to try to light it on fire. I didn't think it would work, because I assumed the frame was probably some alloy including magnesium and besides magnesium doesn't burn easily unless it's in small pieces. Well, it took him a fair bit of effort with a propane torch, but he did succeed in lighting it and it burned VERY brightly, just like a firework.
 
We need some kind of iPod update soon, its been way tooo long!

...all we have had was a measly introduction of the 1gb nano.

I know they are busy with intel and all, but the iPod market is verrrrrrry important. Not that apple doesnt know this, just saying...
 
freeny said:
Everything burns and is flamable at the right temperature.
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No. Helium, argon, xeon and other rare gases do not burn (ie be oxidised), whatever the temperature. ;)

But I guess you can play around with their nuclei instead of their electrons.
 
mduser63 said:
That's true, but my dad had an old broken laptop with a magnesium frame. Just for fun he decided to try to light it on fire. I didn't think it would work, because I assumed the frame was probably some alloy including magnesium and besides magnesium doesn't burn easily unless it's in small pieces. Well, it took him a fair bit of effort with a propane torch, but he did succeed in lighting it and it burned VERY brightly, just like a firework.
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Yes, magnesium is definitely sweeeeeeeeeeet!
 
I think a lot of people are thinking too much about their high school experiences with burning up strips of Magnesium, if the nano was to be made out of Magnesium, it would be as flame proof as any other metal/plastic and if the weight is decreased, this could be a nice bonus.
Plus, Aluminium is really energy consuming to make, before WW2, it was a luxury metal, one of the rarest and most valuable metals. With the oil price going up, it is hardly surprising that the Al prices go up too, and people start looking for alternatives

If the rumor is correct, and Apple is still Apple, this change will mean:
Lighter iPod Nano/Shufffle
Cheaper (relatively)
Sexier (according too previous posters)
More scratch resistant (this will be the case whatever material is used)


add these to a larger flash drive and a new sexy design, and the Argo will have no chance whatsoever:)
 
Macbook Pros rock...

Squareball said:
The real question is, how does apple expect to sell the new Mac Pro when so many of the apps that PROs use are not universal and will be slower than they are on current power macs. Why not just get a refurb to tide you over?

I know they have to release these I'm just saying that it's going to be a hard marketing sell for a lot of people.
Click to expand...
We have graphic artists using new Macbook Pros, they didn't know what Rosetta was, they just know Photoshop flies on the new machines. They don't care about Universal versions of software, they care about working fast and efficiently. They all love the new Macbook Pros.
 
SteveRichardson said:
yeah whats the real difference between magnesium and aluminum?
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Strenght to weight ratio. magnesium is stronger for it's weight. It is also more expensive put even if the stuff goes up to $100 per pound it taks so little magnesium to make an iPod cost of the metal would matter little. It might even be cheaper pound for pound than the plastic they use now.

magnesium will burn in air and the fire is very hard to put out. It will even continue to burn if you toss it into a bucket of water. But the fire is hard to start you would need to leave it exposed a flame from a gas stove or tortch for some time, a match or lighter would not do it. I would assume the plastic nano would burn too if exposed to a blow tortch.

It is actually pretty hard to start a big chunk of magnesium burnning. The metal conducts heat so well that as you put the flame to one end the heat conducts to the other end and radiates away into the air. The stuff that does burn are the "chips" on a machine shop floor. And of course the magnesium powder they use in fireworks. But they will not make iPods with small flakes of metal
 
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