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Author: Subject: Safely Testing Energetic Materials
Pyro_cat
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[*] posted on 23-7-2019 at 20:46


525.jpg - 17kB

You get the idea.

The highest altitude by a single kite is 4,879.54 m (16,009 ft) and was achieved by Robert Moore (Australia) in Cobar, New South Wales, Australia on 23 September 2014.
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twelti
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[*] posted on 23-7-2019 at 23:11


Quote: Originally posted by Pyro_cat  


You get the idea.

The highest altitude by a single kite is 4,879.54 m (16,009 ft) and was achieved by Robert Moore (Australia) in Cobar, New South Wales, Australia on 23 September 2014.


???
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Tyneman
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[*] posted on 24-7-2019 at 12:03


I use a little adapted version of LL's sawdust thingy.
I have a medium sized dustbin, about 50cm high, 35cm dia. Put in a layer of cocoa-shells. Put test subject on there. Then fill to the brim with cocoa-shells.
This gives way less mess then sawdust and is much easier to clean up.
I never used wet sand because I always had the idea the sheer weight would effect performance.
This weighs nearly nothing. I can use it inside or in the garden, just pick up the bin and place elsewhere. Sounds like a dull thump. My neighbors don't even look up when I test 3 meters away from them.
Point to make is I only test detonators this way. So thats always less then 3g of energetic material. Anything bigger gets buried in the woods.
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twelti
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[*] posted on 24-7-2019 at 12:11


Quote: Originally posted by Tyneman  
I use a little adapted version of LL's sawdust thingy.
I have a medium sized dustbin, about 50cm high, 35cm dia. Put in a layer of cocoa-shells. Put test subject on there. Then fill to the brim with cocoa-shells.
This gives way less mess then sawdust and is much easier to clean up.
I never used wet sand because I always had the idea the sheer weight would effect performance.
This weighs nearly nothing. I can use it inside or in the garden, just pick up the bin and place elsewhere. Sounds like a dull thump. My neighbors don't even look up when I test 3 meters away from them.
Point to make is I only test detonators this way. So thats always less then 3g of energetic material. Anything bigger gets buried in the woods.

I also have a bucket with mixed sand and sawdust, and an outer bucket, with a bunch of holes drilled in the inner bucket, and t-shirts stuffed between the two buckets. Works great! I'm interested to do a larger one and see how far I can push this concept. Would a larger bin with a couple of cubic meters of filler handle 15 or 20 grams HE? We'll see!
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Pyro_cat
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[*] posted on 24-7-2019 at 15:04


Quote: Originally posted by twelti  
Quote: Originally posted by Pyro_cat  


You get the idea.

The highest altitude by a single kite is 4,879.54 m (16,009 ft) and was achieved by Robert Moore (Australia) in Cobar, New South Wales, Australia on 23 September 2014.


???


Fly a kite to haul your test a mile up. Over water would be best. Silly idea but someone might like it. Just thinking be careful though, kites have a way of generating static electricity even with a blue sky.

--

More realistically if I were testing EMs I would get some 1/4 in. x 54 in. drill bit extensions and use them drill a narrow hole deep into the ground. I would think 6 feet plus down in soft earth not much noise would make it to the surface even with the hole uncovered.

Any wood bit should work just fine but if one needs a larger hole they have earth auger bits that fit in standard drills and larger diameter extensions.



[Edited on 25-7-2019 by Pyro_cat]
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twelti
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[*] posted on 25-7-2019 at 19:20


Quote: Originally posted by Pyro_cat  
Quote: Originally posted by twelti  
Quote: Originally posted by Pyro_cat  


You get the idea.

The highest altitude by a single kite is 4,879.54 m (16,009 ft) and was achieved by Robert Moore (Australia) in Cobar, New South Wales, Australia on 23 September 2014.


???


Fly a kite to haul your test a mile up. Over water would be best. Silly idea but someone might like it. Just thinking be careful though, kites have a way of generating static electricity even with a blue sky.

--

More realistically if I were testing EMs I would get some 1/4 in. x 54 in. drill bit extensions and use them drill a narrow hole deep into the ground. I would think 6 feet plus down in soft earth not much noise would make it to the surface even with the hole uncovered.

Any wood bit should work just fine but if one needs a larger hole they have earth auger bits that fit in standard drills and larger diameter extensions.



[Edited on 25-7-2019 by Pyro_cat]

Right. Benjamin Franklin with a twist of ETN! I'm sure a bolt of lightning would be a nice primary.
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[*] posted on 26-7-2019 at 20:16


Quote: Originally posted by twelti  

Right. Benjamin Franklin with a twist of ETN! I'm sure a bolt of lightning would be a nice primary.


Its been on my list for years to either fly a kite or use a weather balloon to lift some fishing wire during a thunderstorm and get a video of a lightning bolt hitting it. That would have to be worth millions of views on YouTube too. Get the kite started with regular monofilament , non conductive, then just set the drag on the fishing reel to slowly let out the fishing wire get away and watch. Remember to tie off the end and ground the reel to something good.

Edit: They sell copper fishing wire and I would imagine the lightning bolt would get a green tint to it if it vaporized. Copper wire 1000 feet up, how could the lightning not like that path to ground best ?

[Edited on 27-7-2019 by Pyro_cat]
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[*] posted on 26-7-2019 at 21:54


Quote: Originally posted by Pyro_cat  
Quote: Originally posted by twelti  

Right. Benjamin Franklin with a twist of ETN! I'm sure a bolt of lightning would be a nice primary.


Its been on my list for years to either fly a kite or use a weather balloon to lift some fishing wire during a thunderstorm and get a video of a lightning bolt hitting it. That would have to be worth millions of views on YouTube too. Get the kite started with regular monofilament , non conductive, then just set the drag on the fishing reel to slowly let out the fishing wire get away and watch. Remember to tie off the end and ground the reel to something good.

Edit: They sell copper fishing wire and I would imagine the lightning bolt would get a green tint to it if it vaporized. Copper wire 1000 feet up, how could the lightning not like that path to ground best ?

[Edited on 27-7-2019 by Pyro_cat]

That would make a nice exploding wire!
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[*] posted on 21-8-2019 at 21:57


Damp sand really works well but you just need to know the right amount.



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[*] posted on 22-8-2019 at 15:18


Quote: Originally posted by johny5  
Damp sand really works well but you just need to know the right amount.


I agree. Back in the day of real M-80s I thought I was going to be funny digging a hole in the sand at the beach dropping one in covering it up real fast then having sand rain down on everyone stuff. Nope, just a tiny thump under the ground. Dug a narrow hole little past my elbow reaching down.

That winter there was a snow pile left by the plows and I poked a hole with the snow shovel handle and dropped one in somewhat expecting to send snow skyward. Nope, just a flash of light at the center of the pile.
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[*] posted on 22-8-2019 at 18:06


Maybe testing only during thunderstorms would mask the light and sound of detonations ?



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[*] posted on 4-9-2019 at 23:04


i saw dr lipton used sand to test blasting caps, i also talked to one guy some years back who used thunderstorms for lighting off bigger things. it still made it into the newspapers with just a few hundred grammes of material
he also dug things down in the ground under some dirt to test against metal targets in his backyard, i would argue that wouldnt be natural for a witness plate test, tamping. however you will still get a very deep thump.

you may also light it off underwater, while respecting underwater detonation physics, the shockwave will impact the nearest object. i suppose strapping it to a bamboo stick and placing it in the middle of a bucket would cause it to target the bamboo stick? but it will transmit a lot of sound still, just 100mg KMnO4 flashpowder under 10L water was quite surely felt by most people in appartment complex

maybe if water was used, and this was then suspended in the air or some rubber/foam like material to absorb the shock, as in a platform for the bucket to be placed on
honestly i would probably call it 50L to be advised for just 1g primary.




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[*] posted on 5-9-2019 at 08:33


I find that Liptakov's idea with coarse sawdust (which can be bought in pet stores) in a plastic container or bucket works very well, at least up to one full gram of PETN. I have placed a 20 L plastic bucket in a hole I dug in the ground inside a small shed. Then I filled the bucket with sawdust and made a double walled lid with mineral wool between the layers. A gram of PETN sounds like someone is closing a door somewhat firmly, but there is no high frequency noise, birds don't stop their singing, and neighbours don't notice anything.
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[*] posted on 6-9-2019 at 22:07


bulb-planting-auger-garden-3-planter-plant-bulbs-faster-no-digging-earth-for-electric-drill-uk-bit-lowes.jpg - 9kB


I still say dig deep ! Use lots of extensions and make the the Kola borehole jealous.
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Laboratory of Liptakov
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[*] posted on 18-9-2019 at 01:11


....."Birds don't stop their singing".....Basical and reliable measurement of intensity of sound...:D
Seriously: Bucket with sawdust is lightweight and easy to move...:cool:




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