What is the use of aluminum powder and how it function?

i need to know the function of it?What is the use of aluminum powder and how it function?
thermite reaction, you can use aluminum powder and rust to make the thermite reaction. It's a single displacement Al + Fe2O3 --%26gt; Al2O3 + Fe and the iron gets so hot that it's liquid.





They used to use the thermite reaction on the continental railroad to form iron in the middle fo the desert.