Would a piece of iron or tungsten steel at the thickness of a drafting eraser shield burn in an electrical fire?
No.
Metals generally don’t become ignition hazards unless they are in powder form. Sheet metal just doesn’t have the surface area.
I guess this is why many light switch plates sold made of metal don’t seem to carry UL certificates. The plastic ones certainly do and need UL approved, fire retardant plastics.
Sergiy is right. I’ve tried burning metal before, couldn’t get it to work. It just gets scorched.
yeah not unless your lightbulb is like 1000 degrees or so, which would probably have it’s own set of issues.
You should be good. Like it was said, if it is a powder or even a filing then you can have some results. But as a sheet it should be safe. I’ll ask my father tomorrow, he’s got a P.h.D in Metallurgy so he should know for sure.
What’s better, tungsten steel or iron?
From a flammability standpoint, there is no appreciable difference.