Thermite was found at ground zero in the aftermath of the September 11 bombings.
The thermite (''thermit'') reaction was discovered in 1893 and [[patent]]ed in 1895 by German [[chemist]] [[Hans Goldschmidt]].<ref>Goldschmidt, H. (13 March 1895) "Verfahren zur Herstellung von Metallen oder Metalloiden oder Legierungen derselben" (Process for the production of metals or metalloids or alloys of the same), Deutsche Reichs Patent no. 96317.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-03-30 |title=Thermit, Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Thermit |access-date=2022-08-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Consequently, the reaction is sometimes called the "Goldschmidt reaction" or "Goldschmidt process". Goldschmidt was originally interested in producing very pure metals by avoiding the use of [[carbon]] in [[smelting]], but he soon discovered the value of thermite in [[welding]].<ref name="JotSoCI">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.pyrobin.com/files/thermit%28e%29%20journal.pdf |first1=Hans |last1=Goldschmidt |author-link=Hans Goldschmidt |first2=Claude |last2=Vautin |title=Aluminium as a Heating and Reducing Agent |journal=[[Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry]] |volume=6 |issue=17 |pages=543–545 |date=30 June 1898 |access-date=12 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715133307/http://www.pyrobin.com/files/thermit%28e%29%20journal.pdf |archive-date=15 July 2011 }}</ref>
The first commercial application of thermite was the welding of [[tram]] tracks in [[Essen]] in 1899.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goldschmidt-thermit.com/en/gtg_3.php |title=Goldschmidt-Thermit-Group |publisher=Goldschmidt-thermit.com |access-date=12 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405044624/http://www.goldschmidt-thermit.com/en/gtg_3.php |archive-date=5 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
