257 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
257 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
CHLORATE AND PERCHLORATE EXPLOSIVES
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Dennis Fritsinger 6/15/89
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revised 7/29/89
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*** WARNING ***
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The following material is presented here in the interest of
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technical enlightenment only. This information, at the time of its
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writing, is as accurate as the author has knowledge of. This
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material is the result of years of experience and many hours of
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careful experimenting. The manufacture, transportation and detona-
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tion of explosives may be in violation of state, federal or local
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laws. The preparation and handling of potentially unstable explo-
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sive compounds is by its nature a DANGEROUS ACTIVITY and mishaps
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could result in injury or death. The author cannot be held liable
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for the use or misuse of this information.
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The bottom line is: Always exercise CAUTION when preparing or
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utilizing these explosive compositions.
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FLASH COMPOSITIONS
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The chlorate/perchlorate flashpowder described here, if
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prepared and manipulated with moderate caution, is one of the
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safest explosives I've dealt with and my preferred choice for a
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variety of applications requiring a flammable powder explosive,
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such as salutes, aerial displays requiring a loud report, etc. This
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explosive can be quite effective when detonated in moderate to
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large quantities and can be initiated directly by ignition. Its
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brisance is much greater than conventional blackpowder-type explo-
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sives when confined.
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A) OXIDIZERS
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Of the chlorates/perchlorates that I've used, the most stable
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is the perchlorate group. The most active, but harder to get, is
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ammonium perchlorate. The least active seems to be sodium perchlor-
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ate. Potassium perchlorate is by far the most commonly available,
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although on a couple occasions my supplier has substituted chlorate
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much to my chagrin, and performs just as well as its chlorate
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relative. The perchlorates are intrinsically more stable and less
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reactive. In general, perchlorates are much safer in contact with
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combustible substances and are relatively safe to use with sul-
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fur/sulfide compounds. The problem with chlorates and sulfur
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compounds comes from the fact that sulfur/sulfides can react with
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chlorates and form chloric acid, which is a rather unstable explo-
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sive.
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B) FLAMMABLE SOLIDS
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One of the most important components of flashpowder is fuel
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for the reaction. It is important that this fuel burn rapidly, as
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the explosive force is derived from the rapid expansion of gasses
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from this oxidizing/burning fuel when confined. The best fuels
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suited for this purpose are light combustible metals and the two
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best metals I've used are magnesium and aluminum. Finely divided
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magnesium of 100 mesh or finer is the fastest burning but is more
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expensive. Pyro or German black grades of 400 mesh or so is almost
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as fast and at about a third the price per pound.
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C) COMPOSITION PREPARATION
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The beauty of the basic chlorate/perchlorate flashpowder is
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its simplicity. There are only two components to blend together,
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which is a relatively safe procedure providing care is taken to
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eliminate anything that can produce a spark. Using plastic or glass
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containers and utensils is recommended. Try to avoid any kind of
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scraping or fricative activities when mixing or manipulating
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ingredients. Also very important tips to keep in mind are to
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prepare flashpowder FAR AWAY from ANY flame or heat source and to
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take steps to eliminate DUST ACCUMULATION period. Excessive dust
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buildup is probably the major cause of sudden explosions in both
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commercial and clandestine firework factories. A slightly humid
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atmosphere is ideal for reducing combustible dust in the air making
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preparing pyrotechnics safer. I found that a small room humidifier
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to be very effective for this purpose.
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The chlorates/perchlorates are hydroscopic by nature and are
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usually rather chunky and need to be reduced with a mortar/pestle.
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I found that AFTER grinding up the chunks that adding a small
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amount of the aluminum and mixing it in will keep the chlorate from
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clumping and retain a flour-like consistency, which is ideal.
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I found through experimentation that a ratio of 7 to 3 (seven
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parts oxidizer to three parts fuel) works most efficiently. Keep in
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mind that when measuring solid chemicals, the proportions are by
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WEIGHT, not volume. Get a good lab scale. Using a measuring cup
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won't get the job done!
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Most commercial pyrotechnics using chlorate flashpowder use
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the basic aluminum chlorate combination and it works well, but
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improvements can be made by the addition of compounds that will
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change the oxidation or burning rate of the composition.
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Replacing one of the three parts of aluminum with magnesium
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gives both a brighter flash and a louder report. Also, the addition
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of a small amount of antimony sulfide, (but no more than 10 per-
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cent; e.g., with 70 grams of chlorate, use no more than 7 grams of
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antimony sulfide) will speed the reaction by an order of magnitude.
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But be VERY CAREFUL because the more antimony sulfide added, the
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MORE UNSTABLE the composition becomes. Use too much and the compo-
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sition can explode without any initiation. Adding finely powdered
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polyvinyl chloride or cellulose based plastic will add smoke to the
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explosion but slows the burning rate. This can be useful for a
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variety of applications requiring smoke with detonation such as
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signaling, special effects, etc.
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My general rules when preparing this and the following compo-
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sitions are to make only small amounts at a time and never keep
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more than a very small amount on hand. My reasoning is to reduce
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the chance of an accidental ignition causing a chain reaction type
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of explosion. The accidental detonation of large amounts of these
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flash compositions can reduce the average suburban house to splin-
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ters in a matter of seconds. Minimizing friction, heat or static
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electricity is imperative!
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OTHER FLASH COMPOSITIONS
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Here are some alternative formulas that work equally well, but
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employ some different combinations of fuel/oxidizers. They all
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share similarities in velocity of detonation, burning rate (bris-
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ance), sensitivity, etc. Again, proportions are by weight.
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COMPOSITION #2
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1 to 3 parts --- POTASSIUM PERCHLORATE
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1 part --------- SODIUM SALICYLATE, USP, fine powder
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COMPOSITION #3
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3 parts -------- POTASSIUM PERCHLORATE
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1 part --------- ANTIMONY TRISULFIDE
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1 part --------- LAMPBLACK
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1 part --------- ALUMINUM, DARK PYRO, 400 mesh
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1/10 part ------ BARIUM CARBONATE
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COMPOSITION #4
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3 parts -------- POTASSIUM PERCHLORATE
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3 parts -------- BARIUM NITRATE
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4 parts -------- ALUMINUM, DARK PYRO, 400 mesh
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COMPOSITION #5
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60 parts ------- POTASSIUM CHLORATE
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23 parts ------- WASHED (NOT FLOWERS) SULFUR
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5 parts ------- ANTIMONY SULFIDE
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12 parts ------- POTASSIUM NITRATE
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COMPOSITION #6
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6 parts -------- POTASSIUM CHLORATE
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3 parts -------- WASHED (NOT FLOWERS) SULFUR
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1 part --------- POWDERED CHARCOAL or SUGAR (my idea)
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COMPOSITION #7
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6 parts -------- POTASSIUM CHLORATE
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2 parts -------- WASHED (NOT FLOWERS) SULFUR
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1 part --------- METALLIC ANTIMONY, FINELY POWDERED
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NOTE: Compositions 5, 6, & 7 use potassium chlorate in
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combination with sulfur. These formulas came from an
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old textbook and are a bit trickier to work with.
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Use washed or lab grade sulfur, NOT FLOWERS OF
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SULFUR. Flowers of sulfur is too acidic and extreme-
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ly dangerous to combine with chlorates. Remember
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about chloric acid? Blend powders carefully and use
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immediately. It is probably not a good idea to store
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these for any length of time.
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HIGH EXPLOSIVES USING CHLORATES/PERCHLORATES
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An improvised "plastic explosive" can be made from potassium
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chlorate and, of all things, petroleum jelly. This requires that 90
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parts of finely powdered potassium chlorate are blended with 3
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parts Vaseline or other petroleum jelly and then mixed with 7 parts
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of semi-melted paraffin. I found this stuff to be insensitive to
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heat or shock. If ignited, it burns with a yellowish flame. Howev-
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er, this mixture is quite effective when initiated with a number 6
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or 8 blasting cap. When blasting caps are not available, the
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mixture will detonate when initiated with a moderate amount of
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picric acid or mercury fulminate primer exploded by ignition or
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concussive means. Lead azide or lead picrate can also be used but,
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in my opinion, they are too damn sensitive. Using this mixture,
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when confined to a medium density, the velocity of detonation can
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be expected to fall between 2,925 and 3,180 feet per second, which,
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in my opinion, classifies it as a high explosive suitable for
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demolition work. It is a good idea to store it in a airtight/water-
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proof container.
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Here are other mixtures which exhibit similar characteristics.
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These compositions were successfully initiated using a picric acid
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detonator electrically fired and using a 10 inch long, 1 inch
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diameter copper tube for confinement.
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COMPOSITION #1A
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90 parts ------- POTASSIUM CHLORATE
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3 parts ------- HEAVY PETROLEUM OIL (#2 DIESEL)
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7 parts ------- PARAFFIN
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Packing Density = light to medium
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Velocity of Detonation is approximately 2,150 and 2,750 FPS
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COMPOSITION #2A
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89 parts ------- SODIUM CHLORATE
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11 parts ------- PARAFFIN
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Packing Density = light to medium
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Velocity of Detonation is approximately 2,480 to over 2,600 FPS
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COMPOSITION #3A
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90 parts ------- POTASSIUM CHLORATE
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10 parts ------- PARAFFIN
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Packing Density = light to heavy
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Velocity of Detonation is approximately 2,137 to over 3,560 FPS
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Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm)
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The Salted Slug Strange 408-454-9368
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408-363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510-527-1662
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 415-583-4102
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Tomorrow's 0rder of Magnitude Finger_Man 415-961-9315
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New Dork Sublime Demented Pimiento 415-566-0126
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