pleX
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Suggested Reading Materials for Energetic Materials
I have been interested in energetic materials for a fairly long time. From black powder as a kid to fireworks as a teenager, and this led(years later)
to the creation of Chemistry as a hobby. But I was willing to accept that I did not have the knowledge to dive into high explosives nor the lab
capabilities. Instead I have been studying organic chemistry, grinding my way through The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments by
Robert Thompson and picked up more than a few more books on organic chemistry and worked my way through those. Now a few years down the road, I
consider myself well versed enough in chemistry to actually make explosives(however I do not consider my self knowledgeable at all about
explosives, nor the special care that must be taken with them). So once again, rather than immediately throwing myself into a ETN synthesis, I came
here to ask, what is some recommended reading material before I begin making explosives. I would prefer as many books as you could
think of as I could care less if I spend 100 hours reading, as long as it eliminates(as much as possible) the risk of making/ using explosives. Also
try to remember that I am looking a little more for the books about the mechanics of explosives, less about the synthesis of exotic ones.
Thanks for any help, and sorry if I there is already a thread about it, I did not find one with a satisfactory amount.
Ps: Sorry for my other two posts(not in this section, he meant to, however), these were by my very much smaller brother. He is only twelve and I've
had to very verbally discourage him from making explosives, as he feels he has some special knowledge of explosives in a way that reminds me all to
much of the dawson/holmes1880 debacle  .
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Kalium
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The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives, by Tenney L. Davis is highly recommended as a general encyclopaedia. Although it's very old, it's still
relevant and well written. I wish I read that book before I started any practical work. I think SM has a PDF of it in its library.
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Fusionfire
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I would suggest also reading up on the hot spot theory of initiation of explosives. That way you understand what initiates explosives and how to
initiate them if, and only if, you want them to.
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pleX
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I am actually reading The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives right now, but thanks for the suggestion. Fusionfire- the article I could find on
hot spot theory is quite interesting, and definitely worth the read.
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Swede
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COPAE by Davis is superb. It goes into both the history AND making of energetics. However, it can be a little bit light on theory. I think the best
accumulated knowledge for energetics is the Urbanski series. "The Chemistry and Technology of Explosves." Five volumes? I believe, each hundreds of
pages long.
To contrast, Davis' section on TNT is maybe 4 or 5 pages. Urbanski devotes an entire chapter, ditto on nitrophenols, etc. He goes into the isomers,
the chemistry behind it, and even outlines a number of industrial processes to make energetics.
What he doesn't do, is discuss lab-scale processes like Davis does, nor does he touch much on alternate methods when you don't have fuming nitric on
hand. Although maybe I haven't reached that part yet!
[Edited on 8-9-2012 by Swede]
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DDTea
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"Organic Chemistry of Explosives" by JP Agrawal and R Hodgson looks interesting but I haven't had a chance to read it myself. I've perused the table
of contents and a few pages on that website named after a South American forest. It looks pretty thorough and addresses the topic of explosives from
a synthetic chemist's perspective rather than an engineer's perspective.
"In the end the proud scientist or philosopher who cannot be bothered to make his thought accessible has no choice but to retire to the heights in
which dwell the Great Misunderstood and the Great Ignored, there to rail in Olympic superiority at the folly of mankind." - Reginald Kapp.
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caterpillar
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Quote: Originally posted by DDTea  | | "Organic Chemistry of Explosives" by JP Agrawal and R Hodgson looks interesting but I haven't had a chance to read it myself. I've perused the table
of contents and a few pages on that website named after a South American forest. It looks pretty thorough and addresses the topic of explosives from
a synthetic chemist's perspective rather than an engineer's perspective. |
I do not see, what is the problem with aforementioned book? Do you have it? I found it very interesting. You may read dear Jared Ledgard too, but this
book contents very much extremely stupid errors (read topic "the worst book, even written")
Women are more perilous sometimes, than any hi explosive.
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DDTea
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| Quote: Originally posted by caterpillar |
I do not see, what is the problem with aforementioned book? Do you have it? I found it very interesting. You may read dear Jared Ledgard too, but this
book contents very much extremely stupid errors (read topic "the worst book, even written") |
There is no problem except that I cannot afford to buy it right now. It looks very good.
After typing my earlier message, I read the first chapter (free on that well-known online retailer). I'm extremely impressed. It goes into depth
about how to install multiple nitro groups onto aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Lots of references and examples, too.
At less than 450 pages, this looks like the best, most current starting point for hobbyists interested in the chemistry of energetic materials.
"In the end the proud scientist or philosopher who cannot be bothered to make his thought accessible has no choice but to retire to the heights in
which dwell the Great Misunderstood and the Great Ignored, there to rail in Olympic superiority at the folly of mankind." - Reginald Kapp.
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caterpillar
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Is it so expensive or out of hand reach? I do have pdf and Jared's book too. I can send both of them, but my friend found them in the Net within five
minutes, when I asked him about e-method.
Women are more perilous sometimes, than any hi explosive.
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hyfalcon
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Just type the name of the book into Google along with pdf. On the second page is a direct link to the book I just printed the whole thing out for
my reference library.
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pleX
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Thanks for the suggestions....I'm going to be hung up on all the Urbanski volumes for a while ...
Also it should be fairly easy to find the pdf's of these online, It took me round about 5 minutes to all of the Urbanski volumes and a copy of
"Organic Chemistry of Explosives".
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