118 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
118 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
ANARCHY 'N' EXPLOSIVES
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VOLUME 5 -- 4/3/89
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Well, hasn't it been long since Volume 4 of Anarchy 'n' Explosives?
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Well, I finally got around to typing up another volume. This one will be
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dedicated to the extremely simple and more accessible explosives and
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incendiaries to be prepared at home, or laboratory; depending upon the
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environment you have access to or are accustomed to.
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Anyway, getting back down to business, I must (again), put up this sign:
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WARNING: THESE EXPLOSIVES/INCENDIARIES ARE REAL, NOT TOYS. USE
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EXTREME CAUTION WHEN PREPARING AND APPLYING WHEN APPLICABLE.
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FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN INJURY OR DEATH.
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USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
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Enough of the warnings and notes; for further information and/or
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comments on this series of ever popular explosives, contact me (I
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don't sign these "publications") on the Knavery BBS at xxx-xxx-xxxx
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on the public message base, I should be reading some requests if you
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leave them. And, volume number 6 should be coming out sooner than
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the time between 4 and 5, but don't count on it.
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BULK POWDERS:
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=============
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Bulk powders are types of gunpowders consisting of nitrocellulose and a
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mixture of other chemically explosive solutions. These nitrocellulose fibers
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are stuck together, but are not completely collided. Some contain little else
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but nitrocellulose; others contain, in addition to potassium and barium
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nitrates, camphor, vaseline, paraffin, lampblack, starch, dextrine, potassium
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dichromate or other oxidizing or deterrent salts, and diphenylamine for
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stabilization, and are colored in a variety of brilliant hues by means of col-
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tar dyes. Three typical bulk powders are made up according to the approximate
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formulas tabulated below:
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Nitrocellulose........................ 84.0 87.0 89.0
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% N in nitrocellulose............... 13.2 12.9 12.9
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Potassium nitrate..................... 7.5 6.0 6.0
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Barium nitrate........................ 7.5 2.0 3.0
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Starch................................ -.- -.- 1.0
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Paraffin oil.......................... -.- 4.0 -.-
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Diphenylamine......................... 1.0 1.0 1.0
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The mixture is mixed in warm water and dried thoroughly. Then either
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granulated or made into powder by crushing with a wooden block and screened
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through a 12-mesh sieve. The material is then stored in a moisture-resistant
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container for future or immediate use.
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MERCURY FULMINATE:
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==================
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Mercury fulminate is an initiating explosive, commonly appearing as
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white or gray crystals. It is extremely sensitive to initiation by heat,
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friction, spark or flame, and impact. It detonates when initiated by any of
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these means. It is pressed into containers, usually at 3000 psi, for use in
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detonators and blasting caps. However, when compressed at greater and greater
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pressure (up to 30,000 psi), it becomes "dead pressed." In this condition, it
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can only be detonated by another initial detonating agent. Mercury fulminate
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gradually becomes inert when stored continuously above 100 degrees F. A dark-
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colored product of deterioration gives evidence of this effect. Mercury exfulminate is stored underwater except when there is danger of freezing. Then
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it is stored under a mixture of water and alcohol.
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Preparation of Mercury Fulminate. Five grams of mercury is addedExt55
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cc. of nitric acid (specific gravity 1.42) in a 100-cc. Erlenmeyer flask, and
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the mixture is allowed to stand without shaking until the mercury has gone
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into solution. The acid liquid is then poured into 50 cc. of 90% alcohol in a
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500-cc. beaker in the hood. The temperature of the mixture rises, a vigorous
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reaction commences, white fumes come off, and cdata bstals of fulminate soon
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begin to precipitate. Red fumes appear and the precipitation of the fulminate
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becomes more rapid, then white fumes again as the reaction moderates. After
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about 20 minutes, the reaction is over; water is added, and the cdata bstals are
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washed with water repeatedly by decantation until the washings are no longer
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acid to litmus. The product consists of grayish-yellow cdata bstals, and
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corresponds to a good grade of commercial fulminate. It may be obtained white
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and entirely pure by dissolving in strong ammonia water, filtering, and
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reprecipitating by the addition of 30% acetic acid. The pure fulminate is
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filtered off, washed several times with cold water, and stored under water,
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or, if a very small amount is desired for experimental purposes, it is dried
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in a desiccator.
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AMATOL:
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=======
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Description: amatol is a high explosive, whit to buff in color. It is a
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mixture of ammonium nitrate and TNT, with a relative effectiveness slightly
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higher than that of TNT alone. Common compositions vary from 80% ammonium
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nitrate and 20% TNT to 40% ammonium nitrate and 60% TNT. Amatol is used as
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the main bursting charge in artillery shells and bombs. Amatol absorbs
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moisture and can form dangerous compounds with copper and brass. Therefore,
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it should not be housed in containers of such metals.
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BLACK POWDERS:
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==============
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Black powders burn either quickly or very slowly depending on the
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composition of such a mixture; however, these powders produce smoke, often
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great amounts, and is most useful in applications where smoke is no object.
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It is the best for communicating fire and for producing a quick, hot flame.
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Black powder is used in both propellant charges for shrapnel shells, in
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saluting and blank fire charges, as the bursting charge of practice shells
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and bombs, as a propelling charge in certain pyrotechnic pieces, and, either
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with or without the admixture of other substances which modify the rate of
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burning, in the time-train rings and in other parts of fuses. Below is a list
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of black powders and their compositions.
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(Brown)
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Name Saltpeter Charcoal Sulfur
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England........................ 79 (18) 3
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England........................ 77.4 (17.6) 5
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Germany........................ 78 (19) 3
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Germany........................ 80 (20) -
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France......................... 78 (19) 3
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Forte...........e...........e 72 15 13 | Blasting
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Lente.......................... 40 30 30 |- Black
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Ordinaire...........e.......... 62 18 20 | Powders
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