343 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
343 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
Pyrotechnics #2
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Touch Paper, Self Igniting Mixtures, Percussion Explosives
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Sodium Azide - NaN
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3
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This white powder is very poisonous. It is also a bit unstable, so treat it
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gently.
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Lead Nitrate - Pb(NO )
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3 2
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This contains poisonous lead and is very water soluble so your body will
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absorb it quickly, given the chance. The government has banned leaded paints
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and is phasing out leaded gasoline because the stuff slowly accumulates in
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your body and can screw up all sorts of important innards. If you are careless
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with Lead Nitrate you can do a few lifetimes' worth of damage in one
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afternoon.
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Ammonium Nitrate - NH NO
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4 3
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Commonly used as fertilizer, this stuff is somewhat dangerous in large
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quantities, particularly if it gets very hot. (Entire shiploads of this
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material have been known to go up all at once.) When heated gently, it
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decomposes into water and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Farmers sometimes use
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it to blow up tree stumps by mixing it with fuel oil and setting the gunk off
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with a detonator. We'll have a very different use for it here.
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Potassium Nitrate - KNO
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3
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Also known as saltpeter, this is commercially used as a diuretic for animals.
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It also works as an oxidizing agent in various pyrotechnic mixtures. That is,
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when heated it provides the oxygen needed to make the rest of the mixture
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burn.
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Potassium Potassium
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Nitrate Nitrite Oxygen
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2KNO ---> 2KNO + O
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3 2 2
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Potassium Chlorate - KClO
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3
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A much more spectacular oxidizing agent than Potassium Nitrate. It not only
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yields more oxygen than Potassium Nitrate, it does so more easily. Pyrotechnic
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mixtures containing this chemical will require much less of it, and yet burn
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more fiercely. Even percussion can readily set the mixtures off. This can be
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useful, but it sometimes makes the mixtures more sensitive than you'd like.
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Mixtures containing this chemical must be handled carefully. Potassium
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Chlorate is also poisonous.
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Potassium Potassium
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Chlorate Chloride Oxygen
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2KClO ---> 2KCl + 3O
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3 2
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Aluminum Dust
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Very finely divided aluminum. When put in a glass jar, it almost looks like a
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solid piece of grey metal. In this form it is flammable. Also, it can
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seriously damage your lungs if you inhale it. Be careful not to stir up any
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clouds of dust, and it goes without saying that you shouldn't use it near an
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open flame.
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Zinc Dust
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Very finely divided zinc. Not quite as flammable as Aluminum Dust, but still
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worth handling carefully. Can also damage your lungs if inhaled.
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Lampblack
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This is very finely divided carbon, usually obtained as a soot from other
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manufacturing processes. It is much more effective in pyrotechnic mixtures
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than powdered charcoal. Tiny spots of this are almost unnoticeable, but they
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stick to your hands and smear incredibly far. If you're not very tidy you
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should expect to find black smears all over your face and hands after using
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this.
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Sulfur
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A yellow powder used as a reducing agent in many pyrotechnic mixtures. Buy
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this in the finely powdered form. You can also get it in hard lumps, but these
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will just waste extra time as you have to grind them yourself.
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Potassium Permanganate
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An oxidizing agent that's somewhat less vigorous than others mentioned here.
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Not usually used in pyrotechnic mixtures because it's more expensive and less
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effective than some of the alternatives. There are a few cases when it's just
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the right thing. Don't let this accidentally come in contact with glycerine.
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If such an accident happens, the resulting mess should be immediately wiped up
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with wet paper towels and buried or flushed down a toilet. It should NOT be
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thrown away in a dry waste receptacle!!!
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Gum Arabic
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A white powder which is mixed with water to make a glue like substance. Useful
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for coating various mixtures or binding them together into a solid mass.
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Sodium Peroxide
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A very strange and dangerous oxidizer. Don't let it get wet and don't let it
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touch your skin.
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Glycerine
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A thick liquid, chemically similar to rubbing alcohol. Though harder to get
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burning, it will burn in the right circumstances. Fairly safe stuff.
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Iodine Crystals
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Pure Iodine is a steel grey solid, which is poisonous and which produses
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poisonous vapors when heated. Smells similar to the chlorine used in bleaches
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and swimming pools. If you accidentally should drop some on a hot surface and
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notice the odor, you should leave the area.
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Touch Paper
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This is an easily made material that acts like a slow burning fuse and is
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ideal for testing small amounts of a pyrotechnic mixture. It is made by
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soaking a piece of absorbent paper, like a paper towel, in a saturated
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solution of Potassium Nitrate. (A saturated solution means that you have
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dissolved as much of the chemical in water as is possible.) Hang the paper up
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to dry, and be sure to wipe up any drips. When dry it is ready. Cut off a
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small strip and light the edge to see how different it acts from ordinary
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paper. This will ignite all but the most stubborn mixtures, and will ignite
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gunpowder, which will in turn ignite most anything else.
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Don't dip the towel in the Potassium Nitrate solution a second time to try to
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make it "stronger". This will actually make it less effective. Some of the
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fancier paper towels don't work too well for this. Best results are obtained
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from the cheap folded paper towels found in public restrooms everywhere.
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Self Igniting Mixtures
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Pulverize 1 gram of Potassium Permanganate crystals and place them on an
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asbestos board or in an earthenware vessel. Let 2-3 drops of glycerine fall
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onto the Potassium Permanganate. The mixture will eventually sizzle and then
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flare. Potassium Permanganate is the oxidizing agent. The glycerine is
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oxidized so quickly that heat is generated faster than it can be dissipated.
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Consequently, the glycerine is ignited. Because this mixture takes so long to
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catch on fire, it is sometimes useful when a time delay is needed to set off
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some other mixture. If you lose patience with this test, DO NOT THROW THE
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MIXTURE AWAY IN A WASTEBASKET!!! Either bury it or flush it down a toilet. I
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know of at least one house fire that was started because this was not done.
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Given time, this stuff WILL start to burn.
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This demonstration produces a very nice effect, but sends out a lot of
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poisonous fumes, so do it outside. Make a mound of equal volumes of iodine
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crystals and aluminum dust. Make a small indentation at the top of the mound
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and add a drop or two of water and move away. It will hiss and burst into
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flame, generating thick purple smoke. The fumes are Iodine vapor which is
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very caustic, so make sure you are upwind of the fire. Since this is set off
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by moisture, you should not store the mixed material. Mix it immediately
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before you plan to use it.
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Shred a small piece of newspaper and place on it a small amount of sodium
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peroxide. Add two drops of hot water. The paper will be ignited. CAUTION: Keep
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Sodium Peroxide from moisture and out of contact with organic materials (your
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skin, for example.)
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Ammonium Nitrate, 5 grams, 1 gram of Ammonium Chloride. Grind these
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SEPARATELY, and add 1/4 gram of zinc dust. Form a cone and add 2-4 drops of
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water. A bright blue flame with large volumes of smoke forms. Depending on the
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quality of your zinc dust, you may need to increase the quantity of zinc.
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Since this is ignited by moisture, you should not attempt to store this
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mixture.
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Percussion Explosives
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This section will not only introduce a couple of mixtures with interesting
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possibilities, but it will also demonstrate how sensitive mixtures containing
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Potassium Chlorate can be. Keep in mind that Chlorate mixtures can be a LOT
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more sensitive than the ones shown here.
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Mix 1 part by weight of Sulfur, and 3 parts Potassium Chlorate. Each should
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be ground separately in a mortar. They should be mixed lightly without any
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pressure on a sheet of paper. A small amount of this mixture (less than one
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gram!!) placed on a hard surface and struck with a hammer will explode with a
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loud report.
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Mix the following parts by weight, the same way as above,
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Potassium Chlorate 6
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Lampblack 4
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Sulfur 1
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Both of these mixtures are flammable. Mix small quantities only.
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Lead Azide Pb(N )
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3 2
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Unlike many explosives that must be enclosed in a casing to explode, and
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others that require a detonator to set them off, Lead Azide will explode in
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open air, either due to heat or percussion. Mixed with gum arabic glue, tiny
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dots of it are placed under match heads to make trick exploding matches. The
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same mixture coated onto 1/2 " wood splinters are used to "load" cigars. In
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larger amounts, it is used as a detonator. A moderately light tap will set it
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off, making it much more sensitive than the percussion explosives already
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mentioned. It is very easy to make.
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Take about 1.3 grams of sodium azide and dissolve it in water. It's best not
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to use any more water than necessary. In a separate container, dissolve about
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3.3 grams of Lead Nitrate, again only using as much water as needed to get it
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to dissolve. When the two clear liquids are mixed, a white precipitate of Lead
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Azide will settle out of the mixture. Add the Lead Nitrate solution, while
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stirring, until no more Lead Azide precipitates out. You may not need to use
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it all. Note that the above weights are given only for your convenience if you
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have the necessary scales, and give the approximate proportions needed. You
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need only continue to mix the solutions until no more precipitate forms.
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The precipitate is filtered out and rinsed several times with distilled
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water. It is a good idea to store this in its wet form, as it is less
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sensitive this way. It's best not to store it if possible, but if you do, you
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should keep it in a flexible plastic container that wont produce sharp
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fragments in case of an explosion. (NO MORE THAN A GRAM AT A TIME !!!!) Also,
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make sure that the mouth of the container is wiped CLEAN before putting the lid
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on. Just the shock of removing the lid is enough to set off the dry powder if
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it is wedged between the container and the stopper. Don't forget that after
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you've removed the precipitate from the filter paper, there will still be
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enough left to make the filter paper explosive.
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Lead Azide is very powerful as well as very sensitive. Never make more than a
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couple of grams at one time.
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Reaction Equations
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Lead Sodium Lead Sodium
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Nitrate Azide Azide Nitrate
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Pb(NO ) + 2NaN ---> Pb(N ) + 2NaNO
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3 2 3 3 2 3
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Don't try to salvage the Sodium Nitrate that's left over (dissolved in the
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water). Sodium nitrate is cheap, not really useful for good pyrotechnics, and
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this batch will be contaminated with poisonous lead. It's worthless stuff.
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Dump it out.
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To demonstrate the power of a little bit of Lead Azide, cut out a piece of
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touch paper in the following shape
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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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! !
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! !
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-----------------------------
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Where the size of the wide rectangle is no more than one inch x 1/2 inch, and
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the length of the little fuse is at least 3/4 inch. Apply a thin layer of wet
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Lead Azide to the large rectangle with a paint brush and let it dry
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thoroughly. When done, set this tester out in the open, light the fuse at the
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very tip and step back. If done properly, the tiny bit of white powder will
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produce a fairly loud explosion.
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A Lead Azide Booby Trap
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Get some string that's heavy enough so that it won't break when jerked hard.
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A couple of feet is enough to test this out. You may want to use a longer piece
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depending on what you plan to do with this. Fold a small "Z" shape in the
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center of the string, as shown in figure 1. The middle section of the "Z"
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should be about one inch long.
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-------------------------------------.
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.
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.
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.
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--------------------------------------------------
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Figure 1. Fold string into a small Z
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Next, twist the Z portion together as tightly as you can. Don't worry if it
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unwinds a bit when you let go, but it should still stay twisted closely
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together. If it doesn't, you will need a different kind of string. Figure 2
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tries to show what this will look like.
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-------------//////////////////-----------------
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Figure 2. Twist the Z portion tightly
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Next, apply some wet Lead Azide to the twisted portion with a paint brush.
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The Lead Azide should have a bit of Gum Arabic in it to make it sticky. Cut
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out a piece of paper, two inches by 6 inches long, wrap it around the twisted
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portion, and glue the end on so that it stays put. You should now have a two
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inch narrow paper tube with a string sticking out each end, as shown in figure
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3.
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-------------------------
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! !
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----------! !-------------------
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! !
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-------------------------
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Figure 3. The completed Booby Trap
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You should now set the booby trap aside for at least two weeks so that the
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Lead Azide inside can dry completely. Don't try to speed up the process by
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heating it. When the two ends of the string are jerked hard, the friction in
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the wound up string will set off the Lead Azide. The booby trap can be
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attatched to doors, strung out as tripwires, or set up in any other situation
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that will cause a quick pull on the strings. Be careful not to use too much
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Lead Azide. A little will go a long way. Before trying this on an unsuspecting
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soul, make a test booby trap as explained here, tie one end to a long rope,
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and set it off from a distance.
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The paper wound around the booby trap serves two purposes. It keeps the Lead
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Azide from flaking off, and it pads the stuff so it will be less likely to get
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set off accidentally. A good vigorous swat will still set it off though, so
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store these separately and keep them padded well.
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Getting The Chemicals
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As always, be sure to use your brains when ordering chemicals from a lab
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supply house. Those people KNOW what Sodium Azide and Lead Nitrate make when
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mixed together. They also know that someone who orders a bunch of chlorates,
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nitrates, metal dusts, sulfur, and the like, probably has mischeif in mind,
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and they keep records. So break your orders up, order from different supply
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houses, get some friends to order some of the materials, and try to order the
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things long before you plan do do anything with them. It's a pain, and the
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multiple orders cost a lot in extra shipping charges, but that's what it costs
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to cover your tracks. DO it!
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