Will magnesium burn with no oxygen?
Your respondent is right that Mg will burn in CO2, but I think he is wrong in saying it is more vigorous in CO2 than in oxygen. To burn in CO2 it must break it down into C and O2, which takes away energy from the combustion. I once burnt Mg ribbon in a fluorocarbon vapour, which was almost an explosive reaction. It was the only way I could think of breaking down a fluorocarbon, because they are very stable. Mg burns under water too, but it has to be burning before being submerged, and you would need the wire rather than the ribbon because the latter would not make enough heat to volatilise the water into steam.
