194 lines
9.4 KiB
Plaintext
194 lines
9.4 KiB
Plaintext
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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X X
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X X
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X FOLO ZONE FUN FILES X
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X X
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X FILE "5" -- SILVER ACETYLIDE X
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X X
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X H I G H * E X P L O S I V E X
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X X
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X by X
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X Z. DeBuggah of the Folo Zone Gang. X
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X X
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
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< >
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< Content Hazard Rating -- *EXTREME* >
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< >
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< >
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< Hazard Type -- S E N S I T I V E >
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< H I G H E X P L O S I V E >
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< >
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< Special Precautions -- WHOLE BODY. >
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< Wear heavy clothing including, >
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< gloves, goggles and full-face >
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< shield. >
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< >
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<vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv>
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A L E R T:-
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My alert to you this time is in the form of a tale I often tell.
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From my years at East Des Moines High, I have a friend and fellow member
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of the LEE TOWNSHIP ROCKET SOCIETY, who once acquired fame and even a picture
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on News At Ten by launching a three stage rocket from an East Des Moines City
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park. His name was John Hill, and he was one of our very best rocket engi-
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neers. Rockets crafted by his hands matched the workings of the best of us.
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He did in fact safely soft land stages One and Two right where he wanted them,
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with parachutes. The only problem was that the timing fuse between stages Two
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and Three was slower than expected, and so the third stage didn't interstage
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until the second two stages had entered turnover at the peak of its trajectory
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and so stage Three took off horizontally Westward across the Des Moines River.
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He couldn't find the third stage until he saw on the Ten O'Clock News (KEZI
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Channel 9.) that it had Crash Landed on a Police Car over by Drake University.
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We'd all seen it, but John called the Police right away and said he wanted his
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rocket back. He did get it; but he also got a $5.00 fine as well as a duely
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Authorized permit for the LTRS and a request from the Judge for an invitation
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to our next Official Club Launching. [He came too.]
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Now that intro was so you won't be surprised to know that when Doug Seeley
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found the recipe for SILVER ACETYLIDE in the library, John Hill went directly
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into Mass Production. He is the source of my information on the properties of
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this enticing chemical, <except for how to make it which I got from Doug>.
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John Hill is also the only one of us that ever screwed up with Silver Acetylide,
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and he missed six weeks of our senior year <He was blind for 4 of them> so that
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we could know some of what we know about it. So:-
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P R O P E R T I E S O F S I L V E R A C E T Y L I D E : -
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IT EXPLODES WHEN YOU:-
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Hit it.
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Heat it.
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Grind it.
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Pack it.
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Shake it.
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Drop it.
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WHEN IT DETONATES:-
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It disperses a high velocity powder of molecular silver and of amorphous
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carbon, (both black) which can cause blindness (possibly permanent) unless you
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take proper precautions. <See File Header above.> It can fillet open your
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skin and deposit Silver Poisoning directly into your bloodstream if it detonates
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too close to unprotected skin.
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BEST POTENTIAL USE:-
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Silver acetylide should be properly classed as a detonator type of explo-
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sive. Its explosive strength is concentrated near the material itself only.
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We used to use it to open the nose-cones of our rockets because we knew it
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would not tear the parachute through a cotton ball. We also used it to ignite the
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dispersing charge explosive in a fireworks cluster in the nose cone of a sky
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rocket for the 4th of July.
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Silver Acetylide is only a little less touchy than fulminate of mercury
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but is very MUCH LESS POISONOUS. Its raw materials are readily obtainable, and
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can be stored safely for long periods of time. Ag2C2 can also be detonated by
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fire without compression, allowing for lighter weight construction.
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ESSENTIAL PRECAUTIONS:-
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Make and especially store only small amounts of Silver Acetylide. 1/4 oz.
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(7 g.) or less at a time. Each 1/4 oz. container must be at least 8" through
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styrofoam or 6" through shredded wood from the next nearest container of it.
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Use it fresh. Do not store it for more than a few days because of the
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risk of accidental detonation. If you make too much for a foreseeable need,
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detonate the excess when you are through.
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YOU WILL NEED :-
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An acetylene source; a tank such as on a welders torch, or the Acetylene
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Generator or bags of acetylene filled by the Generator (As shown in the file
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FZFF03; Acetylene Gas.).
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A glass or ceramic container of about 250-400 ml capacity (1-2 cups).
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Silver Nitrate (Technical grade is sufficient). Obtainable form VW&R,
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American Scientific or other lab supply house. Better grades can cost around
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$90/qtr. lb.(4 oz. = 113 g.).
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Distilled Water (or any very low chloride water like rainwater and some
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well, lake, or stream waters. Snow melt is excellent, but can be scarce in
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some parts of the country.)
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Clear aqueous ammonia solution. Very little is needed.
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Filter paper and a filter funnel. Use a fine filter paper.
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CHEMISTRY:-
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NH3
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2 AgNO3 + C2H2 ----------> 2 HNO3 + Ag2C2
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Ammonia Cat.
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Silver Acetylene Nitric Silver
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Nitrate Acid Acetylide
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THE SETUP/ASSEMBLY:-
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Put 150-200 ml of distilled water into the REACTION BEAKER. Then add up
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to two ounces (56 g.) [a rounded TEASPOONFUL] of Silver Nitrate Crystals. Stir
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the Reaction Beaker with a plastic, glass or wood rod <NO METAL> until all the
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crystals have dissolved. Then stir in 5-10 ml (1-2 teaspoonsfull) of clear
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ammonia solution
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THE REACTION:-
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Now from whatever source of acetylene you have <tank, bag or Generator>
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put the outlet tube to the bottom of the Reaction Beaker with the NH3/AgNO3
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solution and begin bubbling acetylene gently through it. Before long, the REACTION
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SOLUTION will turn milky and then white curds will form at the bottom of the
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beaker.
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The reaction is complete when the water begins to clear a bit. The END
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OF REACTION TEST is to stop the bubbling long enough to let the water over the
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precipitated Silver Acetylide to become clear, then take a drop of the clear
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liquid and drop it on a few grains of salt on a dark colored plate. If the
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drop stays clear the reaction is complete. If the drop turns milky around the
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salt grains, resume bubbling the acetylene, as there is still unreacted silver
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in the Reaction Solution.
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COLLECTION/PURIFICATION:-
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When the Reaction Solution tests COMPLETE, filter the white Silver
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Acetylide (powdery curdlets) onto filter paper in the filter funnel. Rinse the
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precipitate on the paper with distilled water with a few drops of clear ammonia
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per cup of water. An ounce or so of rinse water dripped slowly over all of the
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precipitate in the funnel is sufficient.
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DRYING:-
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After rinsing, AIR DRY the filter papers. Remove the filter paper with
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the Silver Acetylide from the funnel and open it carefully to keep all the Ag2C2
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on top of the filter paper. Place the filter paper on a mat of paper towels or
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news paper, indoors in a protected area. Let it dry undisturbed, which will
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take time varying inversely with the relative humidity. <<DO NOT HEAT AT
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ALL>> or you are likely to lose the whole batch in one loud black >BANG<.
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STORAGE:-
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When the filter papers have dried, gently scrape all of the Ag2C2 cake
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loose from and into the center of the piece of filter paper with a spatula or
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a dull (as in butter) knife. Gently chop (spatula or butter knife) the cake
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into grains or powder (depending on your patience level) being careful not to chop
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through the filter paper, or spill it. <DO NOT GRIND OR CRUSH WITH FORCE>,
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that's how John Hill got his; trying to crush the Ag2C2 in a mortar and
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pestile. When you have it ready, fold some envelopes of fresh filter paper,
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and put about 1/4 oz. (7 g.) in each. Fold them closed and put each one
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separately into stamp/coin collector sized zip-loc bags or glassine paper
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envelopes. Store the envelopes in a box of plastic pop-corn or shredded wood
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or paper with 6-8" spaces between envelopes
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Use the Ag2C2 fresh. It is not a safe thing to have lying around.
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USING Ag2C2:-
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If you've gotten this far, you'll have your own use for it. Except for
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holiday celebration amusement, I've given you my uses for it above.
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