163 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
163 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
ANARCHY 'N' EXPLOSIVES - VOLUME #6
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==================================
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by Doctor Dissector, 6/14/89
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SKY ROCKETS
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Next to the Roman Candle, these are perhaps the most popular articles of the
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pyrotechnical craft and, on good authority, apparently antedate the candle. So
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much has been written about sky rockets that any detailed description would be
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superfluous. The French, particularly, have left a most complete history,
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sometimes amusing, in view of the present status of rocket manufacture. The
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rocket consists of a tube of paper rammed with suitable composition, its lower
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end choked to about one-third of the diameter of its bore, and having a hollow
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center extending upward through the composition to about 3/4 of an inch of the
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top. A stick attached to the tube serves to balance it while ascending.
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Roughly, the composition of a rocket, that is, the portion of it that is
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burning while it is ascending, should be seven times its diameter in length.
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Six-sevenths is pierced through the center while one-seventh is solid and acts
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as a fuse to communicate the fire to the heading when the rocket reaches the
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highest point of its flight.
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The tube is made of strong paper, preferably 3 turns of hardware paper on
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the inside with 4 or more turns of straw board or Kraft paper on the outside.
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A good rocket case can also be made of heavy rag or building paper, if it is
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properly rolled with good paste. The process of choking the case and ramming
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in a mold has been practically discontinued. An average model for a 1 pound
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rocket is given in the file "ROCKET.ANS" (ANSI graphics format).
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Good rockets should be uniform, all those of one caliber ascending to the
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same height and bursting at about the same time. This is particularly
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desirable in bouquets of 100 or more, fired simultaneously, or a straggling
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effect is produced.
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Most rockets larger than 3 ounces are rammed singly or by gang rammers,
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which can be built on a custom basis. Today, hydraulic rammers are also in
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use.
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For very large rockets, a scoop of clay is shaken in and rammed with
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eight good blows of a mallet on the longest rammer. Then, a scoopful of
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composition is rammed with about eight lighter blows. This is repeated until
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the case is filled to about 1 inch from the top. Shift rammer as it becomes
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necessary to use shorter ones. There should be 1 inch of solid composition
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above the top end of the spindle. Now the final charge of clay is put in and
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the hollow pin rammer is used. This sets the clay while leaving an opening for
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the fire to reach the heading. Care must be used to see that the hollow tube
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just pierces the clay. If it does not go through, the heading will fail to
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fire; if it goes too far, the heading will fire prematurely. (The heading is
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the blast charge or whatever you want to ignite) the following are good
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compositions for rockets of the different sizes given: (given in weighted
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parts)
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1-3 ounces 4-8 ounces 1-3 pounds 4-8 pounds
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Potassium Nitrate 18 16 16 18
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Mixed Coal 10 9 12 12
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Sulfur 3 4 3 3
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If rockets burst before ascending, add more coal; if they ascend too
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slowly, add more Potassium Nitrate. For the smaller sizes, use fine coal, for
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larger, coarser in proportion to the diameter. In 4-8 pound rockets, use
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partly granulated Potassium Nitrate.
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SERPENTS
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The eggs for producing this remarkable article consists of small pellets
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of sulfocyanide (thiocyanate) of mercury which has the remarkable property of
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swelling 25-50 times its original size when lighted, producing a ling, snake-
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like ash. To prepare it, make a concentrated solution of mercuric chloride and
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add, little by little, a solution of potassium sulfocyanide, stirring
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constantly. A grayish precipitate will be formed, and when the last addition
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of sulfocyanide no longer produces cloudiness, permit the mixture to settle.
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Drain the supernatant liquid off as much as possible, remove the precipitate
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to a filter paper, placed in a glass funnel, and wash slightly. When it is
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thoroughly dried, reduce it to a fine powder. When ready to for the eggs,
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moisten the composition very sparingly with a weak solution of gum arabic
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which may be added a pinch of potassium nitrate and, made into cones, by
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ramming. However, this product is poisonous to man and other living species,
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since it is composed of cyanide and mercury. Thus, another formula has been
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devised to accommodate safety.
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A safer version of the above serpent can be made of the following:
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Naphtha pitch (10), Linseed oil (2), Fuming nitric acid (7), and Picric acid
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(3 1/2). Reduce the pitch to a fine powder; add linseed oil and mix well in a
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mortar. Add the fuming nitric acid, always a little at a time, Allow to cool
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for 1 hour. Wash several times with water, the last time allowing the mass to
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stand in the water for several hours. Dry thoroughly; powder finely and add
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picric acid, rubbing it in well. Moisten with gum arabic water and form into
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pellets about the size of a #4 star.
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SMOKES
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This branch of pyrotechny seems to have been somewhat overlooked, though
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its possibilities for daylight entertainment as a supplement of night displays
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could open an interesting field for those with enough imagination to develop
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it.
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There are as many colors and tints of smoke as there are flames and
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aerial combinations. The simplest form of the smoke used in pyrotechny is the
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smoke pot, as used in spectacles like THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII and BURNING OF
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ROME, where it is desired to give the effect of destruction by fire. Smoke and
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spark posts consist of short cases about 4-6 inches in diameter and 6-12
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inches in length. A basic formula subject to variation is:
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Smoke 1 Smoke 2 Spark 1 White
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Potassium Nitrate 4 6 --- 12
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Lampblack 1 --- --- ---
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Fine Charcoal 1 --- 1 1
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Realgar 1 --- --- ---
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Rosin 1 --- --- ---
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Sulfur --- 1 1/4 --- 16
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Antimony Sulfide --- 1 --- ---
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Meal Powder --- 1 2 ---
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Sawdust --- --- 1 ---
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WHISTLING FIREWORKS
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The peculiar property of picrate of whistling while burning has been
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known for a long time. You can manufacture whistling fireworks using this
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substance. In a porcelain receptacle, dissolve 1 pound of picric acid in the
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least possible quantity of boiling water; add 1/4 pound of potassium
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carbonate, a little at a time, stirring continuously. When effervescence has
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subsided, add 1 pound of powdered potassium nitrate. Stir thoroughly, allow to
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stand for an hour and then place it on a heavy piece of filter paper in a
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glass funnel, to drain. When it is dry, crush to a fine powder with a wooden
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roller.
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Although this is a reasonably safe composition, only small quantities
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should be handled at a time, as an explosion will cause disastrous result, or
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will they? heh heh. The dry powder may be rammed into tubes from 1/4 to 3/4
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inches in diameter, and will produce the whistling sound when burned. Bamboo
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tubes are most effective.
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Owing to the ease with which potassium picrate detonates, whistles cannot
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be use in shells, but small tubes, 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 1/2 inches
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long, when charged with the above composition, may be placed in the heads of
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rockets or fastened to the outside and arranged to burn while the rocket is
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ascending. Attached to wheels, they are quite amusing, but the most effective
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use for them is in a series of six or eight, ranging in size from 1/4 to 3/4
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inches in diameter, set side by side like a Pandean pipe and burned
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simultaneously.
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A non--picrate whistle, safer than the one above, is made from potassium
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chlorate (3), and Gallic acid (1). This composition makes a very good whistle
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and is not nearly as troublesome to prepare as the one using picric acid.
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COLORED FLAMES
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Colored flames are made by dissolving various substances in alcohol. A
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copper can filled with cotton is impregnated with the alcoholic solution. It
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is lighted by a tuft of cotton protruding from the opening. For green flame,
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use boric acid. Red flame uses strontium or lithium chloride. Yellow flame
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requires sodium chloride. A blue flame may be produced with copper sulfate or
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cesium carbonate
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: The NIRVANAnet(tm) Seven
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Taipan Enigma 510/935-5845
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408/363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510/527-1662
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 801/278-2699
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The New Dork Sublime Biffnix 415/864-DORK
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The Shrine Rif Raf 206/794-6674
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Planet Mirth Simon Jester 510/786-6560
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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