360 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
360 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
|
||
PYRO1.TXT Preparation of Contact Explosives
|
||
|
||
This is part of a series of files on pyrotechnics and explosives. It's serious
|
||
stuff, and can be really dangerous if you don't treat it seriously. For you
|
||
kids out there who watch too many cartoons, remember that if a part of your
|
||
body gets blown away in the REAL world, it STAYS blown away. If you can't
|
||
treat this stuff with respect, don't screw around with it.
|
||
|
||
Each file will start with a set of safety rules. Don't skip over them. Read
|
||
'em and MEMORIZE 'em!! At the beginning, there will be a set of general rules
|
||
that always apply. Then there will be some things that you HAVE TO KNOW about
|
||
the materials you will be using and making this time. Read it thoroughly
|
||
before starting anything.
|
||
|
||
Pyrotechnic preparations and explosives are, by their very nature, unstable,
|
||
and subject to ignition by explosion or heat, shock, or friction. A clear
|
||
understanding of their dangerous properties and due care in the handling of
|
||
ingredients or finished products is necessary if accidents are to be avoided.
|
||
Always observe all possible precautions, particularly the following:
|
||
|
||
1. Mix only small batches at one time. This means a few grams, or at
|
||
most, an ounce or so. Don't go for big mixes -- they only make for
|
||
bigger accidents. The power of an explosive cubes itself with
|
||
every ounce. (9 Ounces is 729 times as powerful as one ounce.)
|
||
|
||
2. When weighing chemicals, use a clean piece of paper on the scale
|
||
pan for each item. Then discard the used paper into a bucket of
|
||
water before weighing the next ingredient.
|
||
|
||
3. Be a safe worker. Dispose of any chemicals spilled on the
|
||
workbench or equipment between weighings. Don't keep open
|
||
containers of chemicals on your table, since accidental spillage
|
||
or mixing may occur. When finished with a container, close it, and
|
||
replace it on the storage shelf. Use only clean equipment.
|
||
|
||
4. Where chemicals are to be ground, grind them separately, NEVER
|
||
TOGETHER. Thoroughly wash and clean equipment before grinding
|
||
another ingredient.
|
||
|
||
5. Mixing of batches should be done outdoors, away from flammable
|
||
structures, such as buildings, barns, garages, etc. Mixes should
|
||
also be made in NON METALLIC containers to avoid sparks. Glass
|
||
also should not be used since it will shatter in case of an
|
||
accident. Handy small containers can be made by cutting off the
|
||
top of a plastic bottle three or four inches from the bottom. Some
|
||
mixes may most conveniently be made by placing the ingredients in
|
||
a plastic bottle and rolling around until the mixture is uniform.
|
||
In all cases, point the open end of the container away from
|
||
yourself. Never hold your body or face over the container. Any
|
||
stirring should be done with a wooden paddle or stick to avoid
|
||
sparks or static.
|
||
|
||
Powdered or ground materials may also be mixed by placing them on
|
||
a large sheet of paper on a flat surface and then rolling them
|
||
across the sheet by lifting the sides and corners one at a time.
|
||
|
||
6. Never ram or tamp mixes into paper or cardboard tubes. Pour the
|
||
material in and gently tap or shake the tube to settle the
|
||
contents down.
|
||
|
||
7. Store ingredients and finished mixes where they will not be a fire
|
||
hazard away from heat and flame. Finished preparations may be
|
||
stored in plastic bottles which will not shatter in case of an
|
||
accident. Since many of the ingredients and mixes are poisonous,
|
||
they should be stored out of reach of children or pets, preferably
|
||
locked away.
|
||
|
||
8. Be sure threads of screw top containers and caps are thoroughly
|
||
cleaned. This applies also to containers with stoppers of rubber
|
||
or cork and to all other types of closures. Traces of mixture
|
||
caught between the container and closure may be ignited by the
|
||
friction of opening or closing the container. Throughout any
|
||
procedure, WORK WITH CLEAN CONDITIONS.
|
||
|
||
9. ALWAYS WEAR A FACE SHIELD OR AT LEAST SHATTERPROOF SAFETY GLASSES.
|
||
Any careful worker does when handling dangerous materials. Be sure
|
||
lenses and frames are not flammable.
|
||
|
||
10. Always wear a dust respirator when handling chemicals in dust
|
||
form. These small particles gather in your lungs and stay there.
|
||
They may cause serious illnesses later on in life.
|
||
|
||
11. Always wear gloves when working with chemicals.
|
||
|
||
12. Always wear a waterproof lab apron.
|
||
|
||
13. If you must work indoors, have a good ventilation system.
|
||
|
||
14. Never smoke anywhere near where you are working.
|
||
|
||
15. Make sure there are NO open flames present, and NO MOTORS (they
|
||
produce sparks inside.) No hot water heaters, furnaces, or pilot
|
||
lights in stoves!! Sparks have been known to very readily explode
|
||
dust floating in the air.
|
||
|
||
16. ALWAYS work with someone. Two heads are better than one.
|
||
|
||
17. Have a source of water READILY available. (Fire extinguisher,
|
||
hose, etc.)
|
||
|
||
18. Never, under any circumstances, use any metal to load chemicals or
|
||
put chemicals in. Fireworks with metal casings are worse to handle
|
||
than a live hand grenade. Never use any metal container or can.
|
||
This includes the very dangerous CO2 cartridges. Many people have
|
||
been KILLED because of flying fragments from metal casings. Again,
|
||
please do not use metal in any circumstance.
|
||
|
||
19. Always be thoroughly familiar with the chemicals you are using.
|
||
Some information will be included in each file, but look for
|
||
whatever extra information you can. Materials that were once
|
||
thought to be safe can later be found out to be dangerous stuff.
|
||
|
||
20. Wash your hands and face thoroughly after using chemicals. Don't
|
||
forget to wash your EARS AND YOUR NOSE.
|
||
|
||
21. If any device you've built fails to work, leave it alone. After a
|
||
half hour or so, you may try to bury it, but never try to unload
|
||
or reuse any dud.
|
||
|
||
22. If dust particles start to form in the air, stop what you are
|
||
doing and leave until it settles.
|
||
|
||
23. Read the entire file before trying to do anything.
|
||
|
||
24. NEVER strike any mixture containing Chlorates, Nitrates,
|
||
Perchlorates, Permanganates, Bichromates, or powdered metals don't
|
||
drop them, or even handle them roughly.
|
||
|
||
These rules may all look like a lot of silly nonsense, but let's look at one
|
||
example. When the move "The Wizard of OZ" was made, the actress who played the
|
||
good witch was severely burned when one of the exploding special effects got
|
||
out of hand. The actress who played the bad witch got really messed up by the
|
||
green coloring used on her face, and the original actor who played the Tin Man
|
||
got his lungs destroyed by the aluminum dust used to color his face. The actor
|
||
we know of as the tin man was actually a replacement. The point is, these
|
||
chemicals were being used under the direction of people a lot more knowlegable
|
||
of chemicals than you are, and terrible accidents still happened. Don't take
|
||
this stuff lightly.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The contact explosives we will be describing use only a few chemicals. Some do
|
||
need extra caution to keep from causing trouble.
|
||
|
||
Iodine Crystals
|
||
|
||
Though most people don't realize it, Iodine is not a brown liquid, but a
|
||
steel-grey solid. The tincture of iodine you buy at the drugstore actually
|
||
contains just a tiny bit of iodine dissolved in a jarful of inexpensive
|
||
alcohol, and resold at a huge mark up. We'll be using iodine in the crystalline
|
||
form. On contact with your skin, it will produce a dark stain that won't wash
|
||
off with soap and water. We'll talk about removing these stains later. If it
|
||
gets hot, it vaporizes into a purple cloud, that smells like the chlorine in a
|
||
swimming pool. This cloud is dangerous to inhale, since it will condense in
|
||
your lungs, and is corrosive. Since we won't need to heat this stuff, it is not
|
||
a problem, but you should make sure that you don't let any iodine crystals
|
||
spill onto a hot surface. If you don't touch it and keep it away from your
|
||
face, you shouldn't have any troubles.
|
||
|
||
Ammonium Hydroxide
|
||
|
||
This is just good old household ammonia. Be sure to get the clear kind. The
|
||
sudsy stuff won't be too useful. It is made from ammonia gas dissolved in
|
||
water, and every time you open the bottle, it loses some of its strength, so be
|
||
sure to use fresh stuff. We need it to be as strong as possible. Some of the
|
||
formulas given here use lab grade concentrated ammonium hydroxide. It is much
|
||
stronger than the supermarket kind, and is very unkind to skin or especially
|
||
the eyes. It is a good idea to wear eye protection with even the supermarket
|
||
grade. Though we don't usually worry about this when using household ammonia
|
||
for cleaning, we usually dilute it for that. Here we'll be using it straight
|
||
out of the bottle, and it is much more corrosive in that form. Never use this
|
||
material if you don't have real good ventilation, as the ammonia vapors can be
|
||
overpowering.
|
||
|
||
Potassium Iodide
|
||
|
||
This is a reasonably safe chemical. You get Potassium ions in some of the fruit
|
||
you eat, and Iodide ions (usually as Sodium Iodide) are added to the table salt
|
||
you buy at the store. So, while you don't directly eat this chemical, you do
|
||
eat the components that make it up. Don't be scared of this stuff.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sodium Thiosulfate
|
||
|
||
Otherwise known as photographic hypo. When dissolved in water, this will remove
|
||
the iodine stains left by touching iodine crystals, and exploding contact
|
||
explosive. Not particularly nasty stuff, but make sure to wash it off after
|
||
cleaning yourself with it.
|
||
|
||
General Information
|
||
|
||
This is a powerful and highly sensitive explosive. A dust sized particle will
|
||
make a sharp crack or popping sound. A piece the size of a pencil lead will
|
||
produce an explosion as loud as any of the largest firecrackers or cherry
|
||
bombs. It cannot be exploded by any means when wet, and therefore can be
|
||
handled and applied with safety. When dry, it will explode with the touch of a
|
||
feather, or a breath of air.
|
||
|
||
The strength of the ammonia water you use will have a direct effect on the
|
||
strength of the final product. If you use supermarket ammonia, the explosive
|
||
will work, but not as spectacularly as if you use a 15% or higher (10 to 15
|
||
molar) solution. The stronger it is, the better. You'll also need filter paper,
|
||
and a funnel. A properly folded coffee filter will do nicely if you don't have
|
||
the filter paper. If you're not sure how to fold filter paper, check an
|
||
elementary chemistry textbook.
|
||
|
||
Methods of Preparation
|
||
|
||
1.) Granular Explosive. This is the easiest kind, and the only kind that will
|
||
work reasonably well with supermarket ammonia. Crush enough iodine crystals to
|
||
make a pile of powder equal to the volume of a pencil eraser. Do not grind into
|
||
a fine powder. Put about 4 ounces or 1/2 measuring cup of strong ammonia water
|
||
into a small container with the iodine, and seal it for about 5 to 10 minutes,
|
||
shaking frequently. While the mixture is reacting, get your filter paper ready.
|
||
While it is best to consult a book that shows how to do this, you take the
|
||
circle of filter paper, fold it in half, fold it again at right angles to the
|
||
first fold, and then open it to form a cone. Open or close it as needed to make
|
||
it conform to the angle of the funnel, and moisten it a little to make it stick
|
||
in place. Place the funnel over a container that will catch the waste liquid.
|
||
Let the mixture settle long enough for the sediment to settle, and pour off as
|
||
much of the clear liquid as possible before filtering the sediment. Pour the
|
||
remaining liquid and sediment into the filter. The sediment (and the filter
|
||
paper covered with it!!!) is your explosive. The small amount you have made
|
||
will go a lot farther than you realize. Particularly if you used good strong
|
||
ammonia. Place the explosive in an airtight leakproof pill bottle. As this
|
||
explosive is unstable by nature, fresh amounts give better results than stale
|
||
ones that have been sitting around for a day or so. Best results are obtained
|
||
with small fresh batches. But as you'll see, there are a few tricks you can do
|
||
with this material that do require it to sit for a day or more.
|
||
|
||
The explosive should be stored and applied while wet.
|
||
|
||
2.) Paint type explosive. This will use up a lot of iodine crystals. Make up a
|
||
strong tincture of iodine using about 4 ounces or 1/2 measuring cup of rubbing
|
||
alcohol, denatured alcohol, or wood alcohol. Wood alcohol is preferable. Add
|
||
iodine crystals and shake thoroughly until no more will dissolve. Pour the
|
||
liquid into a fruit jar. Add the ammonium hydroxide and stir the mixture until
|
||
the mixture is a chocolate brown and shows a little of the original color of
|
||
the iodine. The amount of ammonia necessary will depend on its strength. An
|
||
equal volume of ammonia is usually sufficient for a 15% or higher solution. The
|
||
solution should be filtered at once, and shouldn't ever wait more than 10 or 15
|
||
minutes, because it starts to dissolve again.
|
||
|
||
The explosive again should be stored and applied while wet. This material is
|
||
chemically the same as the granular explosive, but because it was precipitated
|
||
from a solution, it is much more finely divided, and the reaction happens
|
||
almost simultaneously, so you can get it out before it all vanishes back into
|
||
the solution.
|
||
|
||
3.) Paint type #2. Dissolve 1 gram of potassium iodide in about 90cc of
|
||
18%-22% ammonium hydroxide. Add 4 grams of pulverized iodine. A deep black
|
||
sediment should start forming. Let stand, and stir frequently for five minutes.
|
||
Then, filter as usual. While the potassium iodide is not an integral part of
|
||
the chemical reaction, the dissolved potassium iodide will allow the iodine
|
||
crystals in turn to dissolve, and its common ion effect will cause less iodine
|
||
crystals to be wasted. Since the iodine is by far the most expensive
|
||
ingredient, you'll save money in the long run by using it.
|
||
|
||
Care in Handling And Storage
|
||
|
||
Because this material is so unstable it deteriorates quickly. Don't make any
|
||
more than you need to use in the next 24 hours. If you can't use it all
|
||
immediately, the container you keep it in should be recapped tightly after use
|
||
and the mouth wiped clean. The explosive can cause dark stain damage to things
|
||
as rugs, clothing, chair seats, wallpaper, and light or clear plastics. A
|
||
strong solution of sodium thiosulfate is effective for removing stains from
|
||
hands and clothing before they set. Never leave the container of explosive in
|
||
direct sunlight for more than a few minutes, as it will weaken the strength. Do
|
||
NOT attempt to make a large explosion as it is dangerous and can cause
|
||
deafness. All equipment used should be thoroughly washed and the used filter
|
||
paper flushed down the toilet. Under no circumstances attempt to handle the
|
||
dried material which is extremely explosive and hazardous. If you can avoid
|
||
storing the material in a container at all, there will be no chance that a
|
||
loose stopper will let the material dry out and become a potential bomb. Tiny
|
||
bits of this can be great fun, but it has to be handled with care.
|
||
|
||
Application
|
||
|
||
Although largely a scientific curiosity, this explosive finds itself well
|
||
suited for practical jokes. It may easily be painted on the bottom side of
|
||
light switches, sprinkled on floors, painted in keyholes, pencil sharpeners,
|
||
doorknobs and in hundreds of other unsuspected places. It is also ideal for
|
||
catching locker thieves and desk prowlers. It will leave a dark stain on his
|
||
hands when it explodes, and only you will know how to remove it.
|
||
|
||
Reaction Equations
|
||
|
||
Ammonium
|
||
Ammonium Ammonium Nitrogen
|
||
Iodine Hydroxide Iodide Tri Iodide Water
|
||
|
||
3I + 5NH OH ---> 3NH I + NH NI + 5H O
|
||
2 4 4 3 3 2
|
||
|
||
The theoretical yield of explosive from pure iodine is 54.1% by weight. The
|
||
remainder of the iodine may be recovered for reuse from the ammonium iodide
|
||
waste product by evaporating the waste liquid and treating with chlorine if a
|
||
chemistry lab is available. The contact explosive is Ammonium Nitrogen
|
||
Tri-Iodide, which explodes into iodine, nitrogen, and ammonia.
|
||
|
||
Ammonium
|
||
Nitrigen
|
||
Tri-Iodide Iodine Nitrogen Ammonia
|
||
|
||
2NH NI ---> 3I + N + 2NH
|
||
3 3 2 2 3
|
||
|
||
Some Clever Uses For This Material
|
||
|
||
1.) Contact Explosive Torpedos. Get some gelatin capsules, the kind pills are
|
||
made of. Fill the small half with uncooked dry tapioca until it is half full.
|
||
Then place a wet blob of contact explosive about 4 times the size of a straight
|
||
pin head on top of it. Either the granular or paint type explosive will work.
|
||
The capsule is then filled the rest of the way up with tapioca until, when the
|
||
capsule is put together, the grains of tapioca are packed tightly, and none are
|
||
loose. If this is not done properly, the torpedos could go off prematurely, and
|
||
the joke would be on you. The torpedos are then moistened at the joints to seal
|
||
them and stored until the next day. They are not sensitive enough until the
|
||
next day and too sensitive the day after, so plan your activities accordingly.
|
||
These torpedos are the most fiendish devices made. You can lay one on top of a
|
||
door, where it will roll off when the door is opened, and it will explode on
|
||
contact with the floor. If you toss one some distance away it will appear as if
|
||
someone else was responsible for the explosion. These torpedos are ideal as
|
||
booby traps or for pulling practical jokes with. They may be carried in a small
|
||
box filled with cotton until needed. Just treat the box gently, and all will be
|
||
well.
|
||
|
||
2.Contact Explosive Booby Traps. Prepare a small amount of contact explosive.
|
||
Cut strips of newspaper 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 foot long. Cut a piece of
|
||
string 1 foot long. Put a small amount of wet contact explosive on the strip of
|
||
paper 1 inch from the end. Double the string. Now pull one end of the string
|
||
back until there is a double loop in the string about 1 inch long. Do not tie.
|
||
Lay this double loop across the wet contact explosive and tightly roll the
|
||
paper and glue the end. Put away for a few days until thoroughly dry. When dry,
|
||
pull the ends of the string and the booby trap will explode. The strings, when
|
||
pulled, rub against the dry contact explosive, and make it explode.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Getting The Materials
|
||
|
||
There are quite a few chemical supply houses that you can mail order the
|
||
materials you need. You'll have to sign a form stating that you're over 21 and
|
||
won't use the chemicals for the types of things we're learning here. Note that
|
||
the people who run these supply houses know what Iodine Crystals and Ammonium
|
||
Hydroxide can do when mixed together, and if you order both from the same
|
||
place, or in the same order, it may arouse some suspicion.
|
||
|
||
Check the classified ads in the back of magazines like Popular Science for the
|
||
current supply houses. Order as many catalogs as you can find. Not all sell
|
||
every chemical that you may want for this series. Also, you can break the
|
||
orders up so as not to look suspicious. Lastly, some houses are used to selling
|
||
to individuals, and will provide chemicals in 1 or 4 ounce lots, while others
|
||
prefer to sell to large institutions, and sell their wares in 1 or 5 pound
|
||
jugs. Split up your orders according to the quantities of each item you think
|
||
you will be needing. An ounce of Iodine Crystals will cost three or four
|
||
dollars an ounce, and an ounce bottle of iodine is pretty tiny, but it goes a
|
||
long way. If you had to buy that by the pound, you might just want to forget
|
||
the whole thing.
|
||
|
||
|