378 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
378 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
From: hmg@alkymi.unit.no (Hilde Margrethe Grande)
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This is an attempt to answer a question that seems to be popping up ever
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so often on this group, namely how to make smoke.
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I have been reading this group for a while, and collected earlier answers to
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that question. I have only collected reciepes that has not been pointed out as
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wrong or dangerous by others on the net. Still, I have not had time to test
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any of these reciepes by myself, so I can not vouch for their safety. My
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suggestion to those of you that want to use these reciepes is to wait for a
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while and see if anyone more knowledgeable out there has any corrections,
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and then try small batches in the beginning. I would be very grateful if those
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of you who try the reciepes could email me comments about the results.
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Be careful!
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Hilde (hmg@alkymi.unit.no)
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How to make smoke and smokebombs:
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Stage use:
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For "Stage" use, you almost certainly want to stay far away from pyrotechnic
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devices, in favor of "smoke machines" (which can be rented), dry-ice and hot
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water (fog creator).
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Smokebombs:
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****************************
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There is a very easy to make, simple, safe compound that you can make to
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produce a dense light gray smoke. Only two chemicals are required to make
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this compound, Potassium Nitrate (Salt Peter) and everyday refined sugar.
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For the optimal yield slowly heatand mix together 5 parts Potassium Nitrate
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with 3 parts sugar (parts are by mass) until a yellow liquid forms
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(continually stir the mixture through the entire heating process) pour the
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liquid into whatever container you are going to be using (aluminum foil
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works well) and place a blasting fuse in athe liquid as it dries.
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I have had alot of success with this compound, and it is very easy and quick
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to make. the only major problem that you can have while making it is if you
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heat it too much and it ignites in your lab (kitchen).
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hope this helps,
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brett
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************************
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A way to make a really potent smoke maker is to GENTLY melt a
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60%/40% KNO3/Sugar mixture, and pour the resulting fluid into a suitable
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container (soup can works well). Insert a fuse, and let the fluid s
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solidify. Watch out for the column of flame that shoots out!!!
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I'd be interested to know what kinds of gasses are being produced. I
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imagine CO, CO2, H2O, and maybe NO, NO2, but I'm not skilled enought
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to know for sure. :-)
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I can't imagine anything that burns being much safer than this...
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however, you should ALWAYS be careful with anything that burns (god
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knows enough people are killed by matches, cooking oil, smoking, etc).
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I don't know how suitable this will be for rockets. It tends to
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produce a lot of crap (incompletely burned sugar, melted KNO3, etc)
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which might clog up a nozzle. Perhaps if the proportions were just
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right you might have some luck.
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As you might suspect, it burns much faster when ignited in a liquid
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state. Eight or ten years ago I was melting about two pounds of this
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stuff in my fathers woodworking shop in a tin can over an open
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flame... The setup was on a workbench at about chest level and I was
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stirring the stuff quickly to keep it from over-heating on the bottom.
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Luckily, back then my reflexes (if not my judgement) were good. I saw
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a tiny flash of light on the edge of the can, I jumped back, and the
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can erupted like a volcano! An orange and black column of smoke and
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flame shot out of the can and burning particles of the mixture sprayed
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all over the shop. My parents were away for the afternoon, and I
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spent the next two or three hours cleaning up. The eruption charred
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the rafters and some wood stored overhead (I planed the rafters and
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hid the wood). The burning particles left burned spots on everything
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they landed on. I guess I cleaned up well enough, since they never
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said anything. And luckily the neighbors didn't call the fire
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department when clouds of white smoke were billowing out of the
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windows of the shop.
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Actually, with a little common sense this stuff is extremely safe... just
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make it in reasonable sized batches (say, one cup or less at a time), use it
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un-melted, or melt it outside on a hot plate, don't lean over the
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top of the container as you are heating it, wear eye/face
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protection... etc. The ingredients are non-toxic (but strongly
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diuretic I believe).
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Greg Hamlin
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hamlin@ral.rpi.edu
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************************************************
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A completely other way to make smoke is the "Berger mixture", which smokes
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by emitting large amounts of Zinc chloride to the air. If the air has
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significant moisture, as f.i. on rainy days, it works best.
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The mix is made from Zinc dust, wood meal or a comparable filling stuff,
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and a chlorine donator, f.i. tetrachlormethan or copper chloride.
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Tetra, easily available some years ago, may be hard to get today because
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it's now known to be very toxic.
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The classic smoke/fog device was made by mixing zinc dust with some
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amount of wood meal and adding tetra until it is wet. Then, fill the stuff
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into a pot/tube of cardboard or similar, and ignite it with a pyrotechnical
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setup (fuse and powder, or sparkler). It's sometimes hard to ignite, but
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works great. Once upon a time we set the whole floor of our school into
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dense fog with only a mortar of Berger.
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**********************************************
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My standard smoke (which is actually an U.S. military smoke) consists of:
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45 parts zinc oxide (available as a pigment)
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45 parts hexachloroethane
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10 parts aluminium (any grade)
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This mixture is quite difficult to ignite. I recommend using a sparkler
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as a fuse.
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Hexachloroethane (which is not exactly an essential vitamin, and which
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may be hard to find) can be replaced with 72 parts PVC. This, however,
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makes the mixture yet harder to ignite.
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The zinc oxide can be replaced with titanium dioxide (2 parts ZnO
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replaced by 1 part TiO2). The titanium dioxide is also available as
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a pigment (and very likely originates from Finland! - so use it ;-).
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In theory, this smoke could be colored yellowish brown by adding
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iron oxide (any of them) and preferably some other oxidizer
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(KClO4 should do the job just fine) to burn the carbon from the smoke.
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I once tried this, but the results were not very promising. With
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enough imagination and good will, the smoke _was_ yellowish, though.
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These smokes are slightly irritating and not suitable for indoor use.
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Karri
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*******************************************
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As far as smokebombs are concerned, I have used this recipie several times, and
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have gotten mixed results. It originally came from PMJB2.
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By weights:
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75% Ammonium Nitrate
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10% Sulfur
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15% Charcoal
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The AN must be a fairly fine powder, which is tough to get because it is
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hydroscopic. Everything is mixed together and then packed into a used rocket
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engine. PMJB2 suggested that you put a few paper match heads at the nozzle of
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the rocket, insert a fuse, and then load the mixture a little at a time.
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After each layer, pack it down with the eraser on a pencil. Doing it like this
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helps to give you a more uniform density, and gives you better control on the
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density. After it is packed in, seal the open end up with a few layers of
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newspaper, then a melted wax plug. The reaction is sped up a bit if you
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add around 5% black powder to the mixture. (I didn't want to suggest using
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match heads in a rocket engine...but that is the way the book says to do it.
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You only need about 5 heads at most. You can use other containers other than
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rocket engines, but I have a few emptys at my disposal. NO C02 cannisters
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PLEASE!!!! :-) ) I have done a little bit of experimenting with melting the
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AN/Sulfur mixture then adding the charcoal/Black powder to it. I melted the
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mixture into the bottom of a pop (I'm from Pittsburgh, soda for the rest of
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"yunz" :-) ) can, added the charcoal, let it cool to solid disk and then ground
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it finely. Then I would add the black powder, right before loading it. I
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haven't tried making it into one pellet yet. So far the main problem I've had
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was ignition. Oh, and a C or D sized engine can burn up to 10 minutes,
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depending on your composition. I used the AN that you can get out of
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Instant Ice Packs, very finely ground charcoal briquets, and sulfur from
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a chem kit.
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Also the 5% black powder is substituted in for about 5% of the
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AN.
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Schrec.
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PS. I'll mention it again, this stuff is by weight.
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**************************************
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Ok, seeing all the posts about making smoke bombs, I thought I would
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throw in my version of the smoke bomb.
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If you are familiar with the group of Japanese executioners from 400 years
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ago, formerly called Ninja, then you are aware of some of their diversion
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tactics. One such tactic was to make a throwing motion toward the ground
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and a flash of fire and a bellow of smoke would rise from the ground and
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when the smoke cleared the Ninja would have vanished.
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This will help explain what was used in this simple little device. This
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secret is revealed for your reading enjoyment and had been tested by
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myself under controlled conditions.
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NINJA SECRET
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Items Needed:
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1 - 3/4" chrome steel ball
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1 - box of toy roll caps
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1 - envelope of SHEET flash paper
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1 - bottle of white or silver flash powder
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Take the ball and scratch up its surface with sandpaper. This gives the
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ball a better gripping surface when wrapping the caps. Next, unroll a
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roll of caps all around the ball making several turns so the ball is
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covered completely. Roll the caps tightly around the ball with the
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cap-heads facing outward. Use about 1/2 of a roll and tape the end with a
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small piece of scotch tape. The caps are a small form of contact
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explosive and this is what causes the ignition on sudden impact. Next,
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roll the ball up in the center of a 4" X 4" sheet of flash paper forming a
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tube. Tape the center with a small piece of tape. Now take this tube
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assembly and add a 1/2 teaspoonful of white flash powder into each end of
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the tube. Do each end separately, folding and taping ends securely or
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simply twisting the ends closed. The user must be very careful when
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working with the finished product as it could explode in his/her hands if
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they press too hard. Use extreme care after the powder is added.
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The principle of this entire effect is very simple. The weight of the
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steel ball causes the bottom cap to explode when dropped and, in turn, the
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explosion causes the flash paper to ignite thus lighting the flash powder.
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This chain reaction happens very quickly and it should be noted that
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certain factors are very important in order to obtain a finished product
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that is 100% surefire.
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These factors are:
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1) Size and weight of the ball
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2) Too much flash powder can cause a cushion effect
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3) Too many caps can also cause a cushion effect
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4) Not enough caps can cause a misfire
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The finished ball should be tested outdoors until you perfect the item.
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Do this on a hard flat surface. The ball should be thrown in a downward
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motion landing about 4 feet away from you.
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Any other questions, feel free to leave a post here, or E-Mail me at:
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witninja@crl.com
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Lates.....
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--------------------
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From: sheye@daimi.aau.dk (Simeon Falk Sheye)
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Date: 7 Jan 94 16:28:21 GMT
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A couple of weeks ago, there was one or two articles on the
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subject of smokebombs.
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The idea was to use sugar, and some oxidizing agent to produce alot of
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smoke (mostly vaporized water!).
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I've done this myself a couple of years ago (using sodiumchlorate (NaClO3)
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and sugar) with a fairly good result.
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But what worked *alot* better was to add Ammoniumchloride (NH4Cl) to
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the previous compound. The idea is that NH4Cl sublimates due to the high
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temperature, and when cooled in air, re-crystalizes into very fine
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particles, like a dust cloud.
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In EC, NH4Cl is classified as slihgtly toxic, but still it's used in
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candy here in Denmark (Tastes good actually), so i don't think the smoke
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is very harmfull.
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To make a smokebomb yourself, you need to get a heatsource (gunpowder
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works fine, but i believe almost anything from thermite to dynamite can
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do. Then mix as much NH4Cl into the heat source as possible, so that
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it still is able to burn. (for 100g NaClO3/sugar i used 40g NH4Cl).
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A version i've seen in school is to pour knoc. HCl i one bowl, and konc.
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NH4OH in another bowl nearby. The fumes combine in air to solid NH4Cl.
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This isn't very impressive thoug (boiling the two solutions works *alot*
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better), but the unreacted fumes of HCl and NH4OH are rather unpleasant.
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Cautions: NaClO3 is a powerful oxidzer, but unfortunatly, shock-sesitive
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when mixed with any sort of fuel (including sugar).
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Therefore i recommend *not* to use it if you are unfammiliar
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with it.
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NH4Cl is listed as slightly toxic, and although i myself haven't
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sufferd any harm from inhaling the smoke, i cannot guarantee
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that you won't do so. (Check with your chemistry teacher or
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someone else who know about the substance).
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As to the Ari Jarmala's article on Hydrogen bombs, what i user to do when i
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was a kid; was to fill a 10-25l plastic container (those used for gasoline,
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oil etc. just can't remeber the english name) with 2 parts H2 and one part O2.
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I got the hydrogen from aluminium flakes and HCl, bubbeling i trough water to
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reduce acid fumes. (This gets *hot*). And the oxygen was supplied from 30%
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H2O2 and dirt (MnO2 from the inside of a battery actually, but ordinary dirt
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works fine too). This also gets *hot*.
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A 10L container can be filled in 5 to 10 minutes.
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To fill the container, i first filled it with water, then turned it upside
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down in a big tank also full of water. then i lead Hydrogen/Oxygen in trough
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a rubber pipe. This approach makes easy to get the correct mix of H2 and O2, if
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you fill it with one at a time.
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|------------|
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Surface inside | ----- H2 + O2
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| container __|_________*__| |== <- H2 / O2 |
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| | * | || |
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| Water| | * | || |
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|______|_______| * * |____________||_____________|
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| | | * *| || |
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| |--------__ *| || |
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| |_______| |*| || |
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| *==============| |
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---------------------------------------------------------
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To set the thing of, i used to drill a hole in the screwcap, where i fitted
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a set of wires connecting at thin iron-wire (from those steelsponges that are
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used to clean pots and pans in the kitchen) like this:
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----
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| -----
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======#=== | Thin iron
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/| \ |
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/ | -----
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/ ----
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Hole tihgtend with chewing gum ore whatever is at hand.
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The bomb could be set of through 20 m of ordinary 220V wire (110V in the US?),
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with a 9V battery.
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The report is compareble to a pipebomb containing ~100g NaClO3/Sugar (a small
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handgrenade!), but is alot safer, as the explosion is located a large spot,
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thus reducing the effect at a single point.
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This sort of thing isn't capabel of tearing of your fingers/hands/arms/head, as
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the above mentioned pipebomb is, and it doesn't produce shrapnel flying at
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high speeds, but i can still cause severe burns, and it is sensibel to static
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electricity.
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Preferably do these things out in the open, as it is hard to control whereto
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the excess hydrogen flow. Just so that you don't blow up the bathroom.....
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No need to mention: The container is *not* reusable.
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----- Simeon Falk Sheye -----
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------------------
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From: carl@kbss.bt.co.uk (Carl Reid)
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Date: 13 Jan 94 08:52:34 GMT
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Heres my alternative to the Potassium Nitrate/Sugar smoke mix, that is safe to mix
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indoors:
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Buy some parafin wax from a local hobby shop. Get a glass heatproof bowl and stand it
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in a pan of boiling water. Add enough wax until you have approx 2cm of molten wax in
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the bottom of the glass bowl. Now add Sugar and Potassium Nitrate (or Sodium Nitrate)
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in the ratio 50:50 by mass, a table spoonful at a time. Stir well. Keep adding this mix
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until all the wax is absorbed, keep stiriing and then leave for a few mins. You should
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notice a thin layer of molten wax on top of the mix (if not add more mix). Now remove
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pan from heat source and either a) pour mix into containers (toilet roll tubes) and add
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fuse OR b) pour onto a warm tray and spread into a thin layer. Leave to cool.
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You should now have a hard crystalline substance that can be ground OR re melted into
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whatever shape you want. You can use Sodium Nitrate as the wax over comes its
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hydroscopic tendancies.
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This mix burns very slowly and very hot, and produces 2 - 3 X more smoke than the
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normal Potass/Sugar mix!!!
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Have fun!!
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_________________________________________
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|The views expressed here are not those of|
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|British Telecommunications PLC. They are |
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|just mine, and I'm just plain insane.... |
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|_________________________________________|
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