42 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
42 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
How To Make Mercury Fulminate
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When employing the use of any high explosive, an individual must also use some
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kind of detonating device. Blasting caps are probably the most popular today,
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since they are very functional and relatively stable. The prime ingredient in
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most blasting caps and detonating devices in general is mercury fulminate.
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There are several methods for preparing mercury fulminate.
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Method No. 1 for the preparation of mercury fulminate:
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1. Take 5 grams of pure mercury and mix it with 35 ml. of nitric acid.
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2. The mixture is slowly and gently heated. As soon as the solution bubbles
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and turns green, one knows that the silver mercury is dissolved.
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3. After it is dissolved, the solution should be poured, slowly, into a small
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flask of ethyl alcohol. This will result in red fumes.
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4. After a half hour or so, the red fumes will turn white, indicating that the
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process is nearing its final stage.
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5. After a few minutes, add distilled water to the solution.
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6. The entire solution is now filtered, in order to obtain the small white
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crystals. These crystals are pure mercury fulminate, but should be
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washed many times, and tested with litmus paper for any remaining
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undesirable acid.
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Method No. 2 for the preparation of mercury fulminate:
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1. Mix one part mercuric oxide with ten parts ammonia solution. When ratios
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are described, they are always done according to weight rather than
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volume.
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2. After waiting eight to ten days, one will see that the mercuric oxide has
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reacted with the ammonia solution to produce the white fulminate
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crystals.
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3. These crystals must be handled in the same way as the first method
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described, in that they must be washed many times and given several
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litmus paper tests.
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Many other fulminates can be made in the same manner as above, but I will not
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go into these, since most are extremely unstable and sensitive to shock. All
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fulminates, including mercury fulminate, are sensitive to shock and friction,
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and in no circumstances should they be handled in a rough or careless manner.
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