textfiles/anarchy/INCENDIARIES/miss6.txt

Originally Displayed on P-80 Systems


Explosives

     Underground cumputer bulletin boards vary in emphasis. I have seen boards that were devoted to finding a mate, remenisient of the want ads in certain underground newspapers. Some are primarily interested in software piracy. Others are strong on hacking computer systems or phone phreaking. In 1984 a new interest appeared which was quite startling to your present author -- do it yourself explosives. Though seemingly disrelated to telecommunications, it was on the phreak/hack boards that this information began appearing.
     The longest and most descriptive article on explosives ever written for a computer bulletin board showed up about the middle of the year on Pirate-80 and a few other elite underground systems. About the only subjects of consequence not covered by the article are thermite and nitroglycerin both of which established themselves early as very popular. Because of its comprehensive and representative nature I am prsenting it here in its entirety including the warning statement which is a part of the original article.

EXPLOSIVES AND INCENDIARIES

*** W A R N I N G ***

THIS INFORMATION IS PRESENTED FOR ACADEMIC STUDY ONLY. THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE DEVICES AND MATERIALS DESCRIBED IN THIS FILE WOULD BE DANGEROUS, EVEN FOR AN EXPERIENCED CHEMIST. ALSO, THE CONSTRUCTION OR POSSESSION OF MANY OF THESE DEVICES WOULD BE IN VIOLATION OF VARIOUS FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS.

INTRODUCTION: The trouble with text books on chemistry and explosives is the attitude with which they are written. They don't say, "Now I know you would like to blow Holy Hell out of something just for the fun of it so here is how to whip up something in your kitchen to do it". They tell you how Dupont does it or how the ancient Chinese did it but not how you can do it with the resources and materials available to you. Even army manuals on field expedient explosives are almost useless because they are just outlines written with the understanding that an instructor is going to fill in the blanks.

It is a fun game to search out the materials that can be put together to make something go "boom". You can find what you need in grocery stores, hardware stores, and farm supplies. An interesting point to remember is that it is much easier to make a big explosion than a small one. It is very difficult for a home experimenter to make a fire-cracker, but a bomb capable of blowing the walls out of a building is easy. The king of explosives for the do-it-yourselfer is black powder. It is easy to make and when properly confined is capable of devastating power. For this reason, I will begin by telling you how to make black powder, how to make black match fuse, and how to put the two together with results that would please even a wild-eyed anarchist. I will end this introduction and begin my instructions with this statement: "I know you would like to blow Holy Hell out of something just for the fun of it so here is how to whip up something in your kitchen to do it".

HOW TO MAKE BLACK POWDER: You will need potassium or Sodium Nitrate, Sulfur, and hardwood charcoal. The common name for Potassium Nitrate is saltpeter. Sodium Nitrate is sold at farm supplies under the name of Nitrate of Soda. It is also called Chile Saltpeter. Sodium Nitrate makes a slightly more powerful black powder but has the disadvantage of being hygroscopic (obsorbes moisture from the air), so if you use it, store it in tightly closed containers. You can also get sulfur at farm supplies as a wetable powder used for spraying. It is cheap and works well. Some drug stores sell sulfur under the name Flowers of Sulfur. If you use Nitrate of Soda, it will be in the form of prills (little round beads). Bake it in an oven at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes to drive out the moisture. Then dump a cup or two into a blender and switch it on. It will do a beautiful job of reducing it to powder. Buy a bag of charcoal briquettes at a grocery store. Put a few briquettes in a rag and pound with a hammer. Dump the result into the blender, grind,