164 lines
7.7 KiB
Plaintext
164 lines
7.7 KiB
Plaintext
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Phrack Seventeen
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07 April 1988
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File 4 of 12 : Nitrogen-Trioxide Explosives
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Working notes on Nitrogen Tri-Iodide (NI-3)
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By: Signal Sustain
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INTRODUCTION
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This particular explosive is a real loser. It is incredibly unstable,
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dangerous to make, dangerous to work with, and you can't do much with it,
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either. A string of Black Cats is worth far more. At least you can blow up
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anthills with those.
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NI-3 is basically a compound you can make easily by mixing up iodine crystals
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and ammonia. The resulting precipitate is very powerful and very unstable.
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It is semi stable when wet (nothing you want to trust) and absolutely unstable
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when dry. When dry, anything will set it off, such as vibration, wind, sun, a
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fly landing on it. It has to be one of the most unstable explosives you can
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deal with.
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But it's easy to make. Anyone can walk into a chem supply house, and get a
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bottle of iodine, and and a supermarket, and get clear ammonia. Mix them and
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you're there. (See below for more on this)
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So, some of you are going to try it, so I might as well pass on some tips from
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hard experience. (I learned it was a loser by trying it).
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Use Small Batches
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First, make one very small batch first. Once you learn how powerful this
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stuff is, you'll see why. If you're mixing iodine crystals (that's right,
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crystals, iodine is a metal, a halogen, and its solid form is crystals; the
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junk they sell as "iodine" in the grocery store is about 3% iodine in a bunch
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of solvents, and doesn't work for this application), you want maybe 1/4
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teaspoonful MAX, even less maybe. 1/4 TSP of this stuff is one hellacious
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bang; it rattled the windows for a block around when it went off in my back
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yard.
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So go with 1/4 TSP, if I can talk you into it. The reason is the instability
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of this compound. If you mix up two teaspoonfuls and it goes off in your
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hand, kiss your hand goodbye right down to the wrist. A bucketful would
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probably level any house you'll find. But 1/4 teaspoon, you might keep your
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fingers. Since I know you're not going to mix this stuff up with remote
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tools, keep the quantities small. This stuff is so unstable it's best to
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hedge your bets.
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Note: When holding NI3, try to hold with remote tools -- forceps? But if you
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have to pick it up, fold your thumb next to your first finger, and grip around
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with your fingers only. Do not grip the flask the conventional way, fingers
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on one side, thumb of the other. This way, if it goes, you may still have an
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opposing thumb, which is enough to get by with.
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The compound is far more stable when wet, but not certain-stable. That's why
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companies that make explosives won't use it; even a small chance of it blowing
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up is too dangerous. (They still lose dynamite plants every now and then,
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too, which is why they're fully automated). But when this stuff gets dry,
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look out. Heinlein says "A harsh look will set it off", and he isn't kidding.
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Wind, vibration, a breath across it, anything will trigger it off. (By the
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way, Heinlein's process, from SF book "Farnham's Freehold", doesn't work,
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either -- you can't use iodine liquid for this. You must use iodine
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crystals.)
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Don't Store It
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What's so wickedly dangerous is if you try to store the stuff. Say you put it
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in a cup. After a day, a crust forms around the rim of the liquid, and it
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dries out. You pick up the cup, kabang!, the crust goes off, and the liquid
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goes up from the shock. Your fingers sail into your neighbor's lawn. If you
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make this, take extreme pains to keep it all wet. At least stopper the
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testtube, so it can't evaporate.
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Making It
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Still want to make it? Okay. Get some iodine crystals at a chem supply
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store. If they ask, say you need to purify water for a camping trip, and
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they'll lecture you on better alternatives (halazone) but you can still get
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it. Or, tell them you've been elected to play Mr. Wizard, and be honest --
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you'll probably get it too. Possession is not illegal.
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Get as little as possible. You need little and it's useless once you've tried
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it once. Aim for 1/4 teaspoonful.
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Second, get some CLEAR, NON SUDSY ammonia at the store, like for cleaning
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purposes (BUT NO SUDS! They screw things up, it doesn't make the NI-3).
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Third, pour ammonia in a bowl. Peeew! Nice smell.
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Fourth, add 1/4 TSP or less of iodine crystals. Note these crystals, which
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looks like instant coffee, will attack other metals, so look out for your
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tableware. Use plastic everything (Bowl, spoon) if you can. These crystals
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will also leave long-standing iodine stains on hands, and that's damned
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incriminating if there was just an NI-3 explosion and they're looking for who
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did it. Rubber gloves, please, dispose after use.
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Now the crystals will sort of spread out. Stir a little if need be. Be
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damned careful not to leave solution on the spoon that might dry. It'll go
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off if you do, believe me. (Experience).
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Let them spread out and fizzz. They will. Then after an hour or so there
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will be left some reddish-brown glop in the bottom of the clear ammonia. It's
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sticky like mud, hard to handle.. That's the NI-3.
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It is safe right now, as it is wet. (DO NOT LET A RIM FORM ON THE AMMONIA
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LIQUID!)
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Using It
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Now let's use up this junk right away and DON'T try to store it.
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Go put it outside someplace safe. In my high school, someone once sprinkled
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tiny, tiny bits (like individual crystals) in a hallway. Works good, it's
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like setting off a cap under someone's shoe after the stuff dries. You need
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far less than 1/4 TSP for this, too.
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Spread it out in the sun, let it dry. DO NOT DISTURB. If you hear a sudden
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CRACK!, why, it means the wind just blew enough to set it off, or maybe it
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just went off by itself. It does that too.
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It must be thoroughly dry to reach max instability where a harsh look sets it
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off. Of course the top crystals dry first, so heads up. Any sharp impact
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will set it off, wet or dry.
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While you're waiting for it to dry, go BURN the plastic cup and spoon you made
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it with. You'll hear small snapping noises as you do; this is the solution
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drying and going off in the flames.
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After two hours or so, toss rocks at the NI3 from a long ways away, and you'll
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see it go off. Purplish fumes follow each explosion. It's a sharp CRACK, you
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can't miss it.
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Anyway. Like I say, most people make this because the ingredients are so
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easily available. They make it, say what the hell do I do now?, and sprinkle
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tiny crystals in the hallway. Bang bang bang. And they never make it again,
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because you only get one set of fingers per hand, and most people want to keep
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them.
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Or they put it in door locks (while still in the "sludge" form), and wait for
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it to try. Next person who sticks a key in there has a big surprise.
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(This is also why most high school chem teachers lock up the iodine crystals.)
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Getting Rid Of It
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If you wash the NI-3 crystals down your kitchen sink, then you have to only
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wait for them to dry out and go off. They'll stick to the pipe (halogen
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property, there). I heard a set of pipes pop and crackle for days after this
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was done. I'd recommend going and throwing the mess into a vacant lots or
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something, and trying to set it off so no one else does accidentally.
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If you do this, good luck, and you've been warned.
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-- Signal Sustain
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