Transparent quartz vials were employed for a direct viewing of ignition and propagation phenomena in combustion-like reactions under milling. Combustion temperatures were measured from infrared light emission by two-colours pyrometers. Such a methodological approach allowed one the in situ characterisation of the self-propagating behaviour of a variety of carbides and silicides. Experimental combustion temperatures close to the theoretically calculated adiabatic ones were observed for the reaction which goes to completion within millisecond period. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.