Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Noob looking for simple shock sensitive explosives

Noob looking for simple shock sensitive explosives

Emmasis - 11-7-2012 at 09:50

Hello everyone,
I am trying to find a cheap way to make explosives similar in characteristics to AN/AL.
These would be explosive on heavy impact (shooting with a .308 rifle)
Does calcium AN act the same way as straight AN?
I can't get my hands on the chemicals that you guys talk about but,
I am willing to try any procedure with easily attainable chemicals I.e. pool chemicals, general fertilizers, camping fuel tablets, auto paint chemicals or just off the shelf products I can find everyday.
I am just getting into this, unfortunately I don't have a chemistry background.

Also what is Ti + Si? Another: Al+Fe2O3?

Thank you all for your help!!!!!
Terrance

Adas - 11-7-2012 at 10:02

You can use calcium hypochlorite as an oxidizer in explosive mixtures. But be very careful, some stuff can spontaneously ignite after contact with Ca(ClO)2!

quicksilver - 11-7-2012 at 10:33

Impact sensitive materials are not something to work with without some reading and studying. Mixing chemicals together without SOME background is exactly the way many (if not most) people loose eyes, hands, fingers, genitals, etc.
That information in peer reviewed textbooks is available free.
There is some very potent reality here in that if general lab safety issues are not completely understood and practiced on every occasion, the individual is "set up" for a serious injury. This would be the same in any agenda where potentially dangerous actions are undertaken with little or no background (archery, firearms use, rock-climbing, SCUBA, etc). What's more the injury is not in any category "accidental". When one understands the necessity for some educational background with potentially dangerous agenda, the tragedy becomes negligence. That in turn reflects on anyone involved in the same interest. The Site has a library of such literature.

There is no question that you could use a common oxidizer and powdered metal fuel however some are safer than others. It may also be "fire season" where you live and some "exploding targets" throw ignited material. The chemistry, per se' is not the only thing that becomes significant but design & utility.

[Edited on 11-7-2012 by quicksilver]

Emmasis - 11-7-2012 at 15:03

Thank you for your concern and insight, I do not take this lightly and have been trying to find a stable mixture such as AN/AL. I am not try to make anything that is proven unstable, like I said, I am just trying to find stable alternatives.
I post in this forum because of the wealth of knowledge you possess.
I have read about converting urea nitrate, but I would like to know more than one procedure on the internet that may be dangerous!
Does Calcium Ammonium Nitrate act the same as straight AN?
Once again thank you for your help.

Quote: Originally posted by quicksilver

Impact sensitive materials are not something to work with without some reading and studying. Mixing chemicals together without SOME background is exactly the way many (if not most) people loose eyes, hands, fingers, genitals, etc.
That information in peer reviewed textbooks is available free.
There is some very potent reality here in that if general lab safety issues are not completely understood and practiced on every occasion, the individual is "set up" for a serious injury. This would be the same in any agenda where potentially dangerous actions are undertaken with little or no background (archery, firearms use, rock-climbing, SCUBA, etc). What's more the injury is not in any category "accidental". When one understands the necessity for some educational background with potentially dangerous agenda, the tragedy becomes negligence. That in turn reflects on anyone involved in the same interest. The Site has a library of such literature.

There is no question that you could use a common oxidizer and powdered metal fuel however some are safer than others. It may also be "fire season" where you live and some "exploding targets" throw ignited material. The chemistry, per se' is not the only thing that becomes significant but design & utility.

[Edited on 11-7-2012 by quicksilver]

Emmasis - 11-7-2012 at 15:15

What could I SAFELY mix it with and what ratio?
Thank you
Oh and what container material?

Quote: Originally posted by Adas

You can use calcium hypochlorite as an oxidizer in explosive mixtures. But be very careful, some stuff can spontaneously ignite after contact with Ca(ClO)2!

[Edited on 12-7-2012 by Emmasis]

Adas - 11-7-2012 at 21:35

You can safely mix it with plant oil or petroleum ether (both tested).

Emmasis - 11-7-2012 at 23:29

By plant oil do you mean vegetable oil (poly unsaturated fatty acid)
Thanks for helping!

Quote: Originally posted by Adas

You can safely mix it with plant oil or petroleum ether (both tested).

[Edited on 12-7-2012 by Emmasis]

Emmasis - 11-7-2012 at 23:34

You said "some stuff will make it spontaneously ignite"
What do I need to avoid?

Quote: Originally posted by Adas

You can safely mix it with plant oil or petroleum ether (both tested).

Adas - 12-7-2012 at 01:18

You need to avoid alcohols, sulfur. I don't know what else, but if you are not sure, test it in small amounts.

woelen - 12-7-2012 at 01:35

Calcium hypochlorite should NOT be used in any explosive composition. This is asking for trouble. Swimming pool chemicals are not intended for that kind of usage and these chemicals are more dangerous than many people are aware of. Of all oxo ions of chlorine (hypochlorite, chlorite, chlorate and perchlorate) the hypochlorites are the most sensitive and unstable and the perchlorates are the most stable. The others are in between. Only chlorates (with great caution!) and perchlorates are suitable for use in pyrotechnics and explosive. Chlorites already are too sensitive and quite dangerous (there are reports on sciencemadness about that) and hypochlorites are totally useless. Simply too sensitive and too dangerous for this purpose.

Don't maim yourself, it really isn't worth it.

And I also have another remark. Why explosives? If you really don't know anything about chemistry, why this section of chemistry. Try to get some basic understanding. There are many interesting things to experiment with. Are you really interested in chemistry, or do you just want a big and easy BANG to impress your friends? I have no objection to experimenting with energetic materials, it just is one aspect of chemistry, which may be quite interesting and entertaining, but I do have objection to thoughtless making of energetic mixtures with the sole purpose of blowing up things and having k3wls make b0mbz, impressing other k3wls.

Swede - 12-7-2012 at 04:27

In the USA at least, exploding binary targets are inexpensive and plentiful. Are you simply trying to find an alternate source? DIY? Save some $$? If the latter, you'll probably not succeed, as sourcing these materials in the same quantities as what you'd get in a case of Tannerite might not be as easy as you think. A pail of pool chlorinator can be >$100.

If you want to experiment with binaries, do your studying first, please. It's not as simple as it looks to do it safely.

If the problem is sourcing quality AN, here is a good source for the USA...

http://last-man.net/store/products/prilled-ammonium-nitrate/

Emmasis - 12-7-2012 at 07:49

I use this type of explosive so I know whether I have the right "dope" on my optics. Call me lazy but, I am shooting 3-500 yards laying on the ground, controlling my breathing and heart rate.
SO as you can see, I am not doing this to "impress" anyone I am always by my self so I remain focused.
I don't know if we are talking about the same chemical, but I have unlimited access to Sodium Chlorate. Amongst many other chemicals.
I am looking for a safe, stable alternative to AN.
I don't know where you are from but, Az. Has the highest restrictions on it because that douchebag Timothy Mcvey is from here, the cheapest I can find it for online is $4.50# then add shipping and it more than doubles.
That is my quandary, my best friend owns a commercial pool service company so I can get anything from him. At cost.
If there is no safe chemicals that he can get I won't even consider them!
I am not some careless, uneducated kid making haphazard combinations, I have never "experimented" with any combinations other than AN/AL.
once again, that is why I am consult with people more knowledgeable than I on this subject.
Hence, my posting here
Thank you all for your help,
Terrance

Quote: Originally posted by woelen

Calcium hypochlorite should NOT be used in any explosive composition. This is asking for trouble. Swimming pool chemicals are not intended for that kind of usage and these chemicals are more dangerous than many people are aware of. Of all oxo ions of chlorine (hypochlorite, chlorite, chlorate and perchlorate) the hypochlorites are the most sensitive and unstable and the perchlorates are the most stable. The others are in between. Only chlorates (with great caution!) and perchlorates are suitable for use in pyrotechnics and explosive. Chlorites already are too sensitive and quite dangerous (there are reports on sciencemadness about that) and hypochlorites are totally useless. Simply too sensitive and too dangerous for this purpose.

Don't maim yourself, it really isn't worth it.

And I also have another remark. Why explosives? If you really don't know anything about chemistry, why this section of chemistry. Try to get some basic understanding. There are many interesting things to experiment with. Are you really interested in chemistry, or do you just want a big and easy BANG to impress your friends? I have no objection to experimenting with energetic materials, it just is one aspect of chemistry, which may be quite interesting and entertaining, but I do have objection to thoughtless making of energetic mixtures with the sole purpose of blowing up things and having k3wls make b0mbz, impressing other k3wls.

Emmasis - 12-7-2012 at 16:00

Quote: Originally posted by woelen

Calcium hypochlorite should NOT be used in any explosive composition. This is asking for trouble. Swimming pool chemicals are not intended for that kind of usage.

So, Ammonium Nitrate was made as an explosive first and a fertilizer second??

Hennig Brand - 12-7-2012 at 16:54

I don't think any of the following are good, safe or simple replacements for AN/Al. Plane old 70/30 KClO4 flash should be easily set off with a rifle, but KClO4 is normally much more expensive than AN.

If you have sodium chlorate you could mix that with any number of fuels that would produce explosives very sensitive to the shock from a rifle bullet. Sodium chlorate is quite hygroscopic though, meaning it tends to soak up water. Better yet would be to convert the sodium chlorate to potassium chlorate, which is a simple metathesis reaction, normally using potassium chloride. Even better would be to find some potassium perchlorate which is much more stable than either sodium or potassium chlorate and makes much safer mixtures.

There are ways of desensitizing chlorate explosives so that they are semi-safe. Do some reading on cheddite explosives.

There are lots of things that could be made to work, but none of them are direct replacements, and many are extremely unsafe.

[Edited on 13-7-2012 by Hennig Brand]

RadioTrefoil - 12-7-2012 at 16:56

Quote: Originally posted by Emmasis

I am looking for a safe, stable alternative to AN.

Hang on, "stable"? I don't think many "stable" explosives are sensitive to bullet impacts

Is there any specific reason why you cannot use AN, is it because of availability?

AN mixtures are definitely the safest explosives that can be initiated with a bullet.

Calcium ammonium nitrate is actually a mixture of calcium carbonate and ammonium nitrate. You can extract (almost) pure ammonium nitrate by dissolving it in water and filtering it. Calcium carbonate is almost insoluble, so the filtrate will contain about 98% pure ammonium nitrate.

So do you have access to aluminium powder? Al powder is pretty much the key ingredient to bullet-sensitising ammonium nitrate mixtures.

Hennig Brand - 12-7-2012 at 17:07

Many very storage stable explosives can be easily initiated by much, much less than a supersonic rifle bullet.
I think he is using the term "stable" in a relative sense, as in more stable than something that if lightly touched with a feather blows up in your face for instance. We normally refer to that as explosive sensitivity, I think, or maybe explosive stability. Even most dynamites, which are quite safe in normal handling, can be easily initiated from the shock from a supersonic rifle bullet.

Separating AN from CAN is easily done though, that is true.

[Edited on 13-7-2012 by Hennig Brand]

Emmasis - 12-7-2012 at 18:28

Aluminum powder is the easy part especially in a 95AN5AL ratio

Quote: Originally posted by RadioTrefoil

Quote: Originally posted by Emmasis

I am looking for a safe, stable alternative to AN.

Hang on, "stable"? I don't think many "stable" explosives are sensitive to bullet impacts

woelen - 12-7-2012 at 23:07

Quote: Originally posted by Emmasis

Quote: Originally posted by woelen

Calcium hypochlorite should NOT be used in any explosive composition. This is asking for trouble. Swimming pool chemicals are not intended for that kind of usage.

So, Ammonium Nitrate was made as an explosive first and a fertilizer second??

What I meant with my previous post is that hypochlorites are NOT suitable for use in any explosive. This is asking for serious trouble! Mixes of hypochlorites and nearly every fuel are extremely sensitive and many of these mixtures even are self-igniting!

The same is true for sodium chlorite! This chemical can be obtained easily, e.g. from eBay and also from many MMS-sellers, but DO NOT USE THIS in explosive. There are reports on sciencemadness from amateurs who had mixes of sodium chlorite and e.g. sugar, igniting spontaneously because of simple friction, caused by the walls of a small paper bag in which the mix was transported (IIRC mewrox99 is the name of one of these people who warned about this).

Ammonium nitrate is relatively safe, like most nitrates. It does not ignite easily, that is why this compound also is used as explosive, besides its use as fertilizer.

Emmasis - 13-7-2012 at 10:35

Are we talking about the same chemical? I said Sodium Chlorate

"The same is true for sodium chlorite!"

[Edited on 13-7-2012 by Emmasis]

Sedit - 13-7-2012 at 12:32

I have been studying and playing with chemistry since I was a kid and yet I still know that I am not equipped to deal with explosives let alone shock sensitive ones. I think you need to learn a lot more and someone here needs to start providing pictures of missing limbs to put it into perspective for this fellow.

Emmasis - 13-7-2012 at 14:15

I must be phrasing this wrong so this is what I am looking for: an explosive that will not blow up if you have a container of it and throw it on the ground
It will explode when hit with a bullet traveling over 2,000 fps, that is similar to AN/AL. But easier to obtain.
Remember I am in the state that Timothy Mcvey is from!!
BTW, I am a huge Maynard fan!!!

Quote: Originally posted by Sedit

I have been studying and playing with chemistry since I was a kid and yet I still know that I am not equipped to deal with explosives let alone shock sensitive ones. I think you need to learn a lot more and someone here needs to start providing pictures of missing limbs to put it into perspective for this fellow.

[Edited on 13-7-2012 by Emmasis]

Swede - 14-7-2012 at 07:01

Could you not order the AN from that link I provided? Technical grade prilled AN, 50 lb for less than $3 per pound... good stuff. I haven't seen disclaimers that they (or other exploding target makers) cannot ship to certain states, although I may be incorrect there.

Red Jacket firearms (from the show) claims to sell a binary that is sensitive to .22LR. I would not want to mess with anything more sensitive than that.

woelen - 14-7-2012 at 08:49

Quote: Originally posted by Emmasis

Are we talking about the same chemical? I said Sodium Chlorate

"The same is true for sodium chlorite!"

[Edited on 13-7-2012 by Emmasis]

You don't know the difference between sodium chlorate and sodium chlorite? If that is true, then you'd better first do some serious studying before you play around with explosives!

Sodium chlorate is NaClO3, and this makes dangerously sensitive mixes with many reductors. In pyrotechnics, chlorates still are used to some extent though, usually the potassium salt, because that is less hygroscopic.

Sodium chlorite is NaClO2, and this makes mixtures, so sensitive that they cannot be used at all. Even transporting these mixes in a soft paper bag may lead to self-ignition.

Emmasis - 14-7-2012 at 09:16

Yes, I looked there, it was $4.00 #.
that would be fine if there was no shipping involved, with shipping it puts it at $8.00 #ish.
I will read more on cheddite mixes and converting Calcium AN into pure AN.

Quote: Originally posted by Swede

Could you not order the AN from that link I provided? Technical grade prilled AN, 50 lb for less than $3 per pound... good stuff. I haven't seen disclaimers that they (or other exploding target makers) cannot ship to certain states, although I may be incorrect there.

Red Jacket firearms (from the show) claims to sell a binary that is sensitive to .22LR. I would not want to mess with anything more sensitive than that.

Emmasis - 14-7-2012 at 09:24

If I knew the sensitizer for that, which is probably an AN/AL MIX +?
I could stretch out my mix and use less product.
Like I said "probably" the same mix, I will look further into this also.

Quote: Originally posted by Swede

Red Jacket firearms (from the show) claims to sell a binary that is sensitive to .22LR. I would not want to mess with anything more sensitive than that.

Emmasis - 14-7-2012 at 10:07

What about this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316t0TM1EUU

Thebrain - 14-7-2012 at 17:53

What's the objection to ammonium nitrate? Not only is it safe to handle, it's cheap isn't easy to detonate. Try the standard "tannerite" formulation. One pound of prilled ammonium nitrate (often available at hardware stores) mixed with about a teaspoon of powdered aluminum yields a very nice boom. The usual disclaimer is that you don't mix until just before using, but it's still pretty stable even when mixed. I saw an episode of Mythbusters in which they tried to detonated it by dropping it from heights and crashing cars containing tannerite and it wouldn't blow.
Any high powered round will set if off though.

Swede - 15-7-2012 at 06:30

Quote: Originally posted by Emmasis

Yes, I looked there, it was $4.00 #.
that would be fine if there was no shipping involved, with shipping it puts it at $8.00 #ish.
I will read more on cheddite mixes and converting Calcium AN into pure AN.

Quote: Originally posted by Swede

Uh, 50 pounds of AN is $140, + shipping. Your math is wrong. Or you didn't drop the box down.

You're not going to find other oxidizers cheaper than three bucks a pound unless you are a farmer or own a perchlorate factory.

AN = least expensive and most safe. If this logic doesn't click, then I don't know what else to say.

Now if you want to do small-scale experiments for the pleasure of the knowledge obtained, then go for it. But there's a reason cheddites, chlorates, perchlorates, etc are no longer really used industrially. People have been badly hurt or killed.

Emmasis - 16-7-2012 at 07:59

"Uh, 50 pounds of AN is $140, + shipping. Your math is wrong. Or you didn't drop the box down"

But, you HAVE to place an order to find out what shipping will be.
That is where these places get you.

[Edited on 16-7-2012 by Emmasis]

caverjamie - 27-8-2012 at 15:53

I did not realize AN/AL could be detonated with gunfire until I found out about Tannerite. It got me thinking about other "safe" explosives that could be produced easily that could also be detonated in that manner. His question came up in a search for information on this subject.

I wondered if Nitromethane with Diethylaminoethanol additive would be sesitive to a .223 bullet - I'm betting it is. Of course, probably not the most cost effective alternative.

Bert - 28-8-2012 at 06:47

Why reinvent the wheel.

http://www.boomershoot.org/general/eg.htm

Ethylene glycol sold as anti-freeze- Walmart's cheapest is fine.

No Aluminum is needed.

Small enough quantities of Potassium chlorate that you could produce it from thermal decomposition of hypochlorite bleach and either water softener or dietary Potassium chloride.

(start at page 14)
http://utahpyro.org/compositions/PreparingChlorates.pdf

Don't even think about storage, once mixed it may set itself on fire after a couple of days exposure to sunlight...

detonator - 31-8-2012 at 04:00

What about this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrazene_explosive

This is very sensitive to the impact, but the military often use.

[Edited on 31-8-2012 by detonator]

A Safer NCl3?

AJKOER - 31-8-2012 at 04:09

OK, haven't try this (proceed at your own risk) but if true one would have access to one of the top explosives in a possibly safer medium assuming one has mastered a safe preparation route. Start (and I would recommend always) work with only small quantities and a lot of safety gear.

Must have access to CCl4 or CHCl3 (or be able to prepare the later).

1. Prepare or acquire (NH4)2SO4. Preparation: Add NH4OH to Epsom's salt, and filter out the Mg(OH)2.

2. Add a weak acid (Boric, Acetic, Ascorbic,..) or a dilute mineral acid (Sulfuric, Phosphoric, Hydrochloric,..) or a dilute solution of NaHSO4 to Bleach (NaOCl). This creates Hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Note, if your acid is too strong, you get Chlorine gas, and by using HOCl we are trying to avoid it, but Cl2 is still a valid alternate route (ventilation/mask required).

3. Treat (1) with (2) and apply mild heat (or follow other directions for NCl3). Carefully collect avoiding sunlight, strong light, dust or other organic material (degrease with NaOH to remove even fingerprints) the yellow oily liquid (one could have the nonpolar solvent CHCl3 or CCl4 above forming at most a 10% solution) and store cold in the dark. Chloroform and CCl4 are described as reputedly safe NCl3 mediums (described as 'mildly stable' to 'undetonatable' by some, see http://parazite.nn.fi/roguesci/index.php/t-182-p-3.html ) to further employ NCl3 for reaction purposes. As to how safe, well I would still treat it like it was the usual NCl3 as it explosive proneness may be a function of medium specific concentration.

Now, shoot it from a very very great distance (for 3 ml I would recommend a distance of 300 feet). If this does not cause it to explode, well it is indeed safe to work with. Note, if one doubles the mass, the power of the explosion goes up approximately by the cube or eight times (triple - 27 times, 10 fold - a 1,000 times).

[Edited on 1-9-2012 by AJKOER]

detonator - 31-8-2012 at 04:49

The accident occurred in China, is about NCl3 and use NCl3 synthetic N (N3) 3 of an accident.
For sensitive explosives, synthesis and use to be more careful, it's a very bad temper.

One of my friends preparation of a point N (N3) 3, the equation is shown below:

Electrolytic NH4Cl-HCl solution (pH = 4):
NH4Cl + 2HCl = NCl3 + 3H2

NCl3 with NaN3 reaction:
NCl3 + 3NaN3 = N (N3) 3 + 3NaCl

He is strictly in accordance with the experimental standard experiments, but also in order to prevent the emergence of greater danger (local temperature of about 20 to 33 ° C), specifically used only 0.25gNaN3, and reacted in an ice-salt bath, the result was a tragedy.
Fortunately, he directly assembled instrument electrolyzer and flasks connected, turn on the power and then ran away (about 30m), the only camera in there, the results he's okay, the camera disappeared. However, the photos and all equipment are gone.
In fact, afterwards, he estimated the damage effect, found that in addition to N (N3) 3 outside, NCl3, H2 was bombed scene, one slightly pungent smell.
However, everything disappeared.

Warning:
Looks simple experiment is likely to be very dangerous, and even the rest of your life you can only do this one experiment;

The spirit of exploration is certainly good, but pay attention to safety, from trace amounts to semi-micro, last longer constant synthesis. If his day more than 2g NaN3 will suffer a fatal injury.

Fans, especially playing with explosives to be careful, most people play the explosives will slack off, and no longer pay attention to details, which is the most important guarantee of security.

[Edited on 1-9-2012 by detonator]

detonator - 31-8-2012 at 16:30

By the way, the sentence: In China, many enthusiasts are the common pursuit of security and insensitive.No pursuit of sensitive explosives.

AJKOER - 1-9-2012 at 06:17

Per a reference supplied in a prior thread by Plante1999 (see http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=16203 ), the NCl3/CHCl3 solution should be repeatedly washed (shaken for 5 minutes) with a 5% (NH4)2SO4 solution and dried with CaCl2 (to remove unreacted HOCl and water in the solution, which I suspect, could slowly decompose the NCl3).

It should be stored in the dark under (NH4)4SO4 solution and washed and dried as described above before use. Max strength of a safe solution is cited as 18%.

I suspect that 'safe' solutions are not prone to detonation, but with respect to the question as to whether solutions at over 20% are still marginally safer and capable of being detonated is a possibility. Understanding the process by which a solution is made safer would be helpful.
___________________________________

The chemistry of NCl3 synthesis:

With Chlorine:

6 Cl2 + (NH4)2SO4 --> 2 NCl3 + H2SO4 + 6 HCl

With HOCl, noting that 6 Cl2 + 6 H2O = 6 HOCl + 6 HCl

6 HOCl + (NH4)2SO4 --> 2 NCl3 + H2SO4 + 6 H2O

and the creation of NCl3 should proceed at a solution temperature under 50 C (will form between 20 C to 90 C, see http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chin.199646028/ab... ) and a sufficiently low pH (one reference note a pH between 2.5 and 7.1 for the formation of NCl3, see Table I at "Nitrogen Containing Disinfection By-Products.." at http://www.pwtag.org/researchdocs/NITROGEN%20CONTAINING%20DI... ). However, note that an excess of acid (or Chlorine) is not advisable due to a reverse reaction. To quote (reference cited below): "Therefore, so long as the liquid is alkaline from the presence of ammonia the chief product will be nitrogen. The reaction NH4Cl + 3 Cl2 = NCl3 + 4 HCl is reversible; with a dilute solution it proceeds in the above described direction (perhaps owing to the affinity of the hydrochloric acid for the excess of water), but with a strong solution of hydrochloric acid, it takes the opposite direction"

Now, once the NCl3 has been created, I would recommend adding NH4HSO4 as the decomposition reaction per one source (see "The principles of chemistry", Volume 2, by Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev, George Kamensky, Thomas Atkinson Lawson, page 476, link: http://books.google.com/books?id=GukWyQnHW6wC&pg=PA476&a...
) is given as:

NCl3 + 3H20 + H2S04 = NH4HS04 + 3 HCl0

to drive the reaction to the left.

[Edited on 2-9-2012 by AJKOER]

niertap - 16-9-2012 at 06:36

Isn't every explosive shock sensitive? I was under the impression a shock causing something to detonate essentially defined high explosives.

Emmasis - 17-9-2012 at 08:35

Most primary explosives are.
But, they are way to dangerous for my application

Bert - 20-9-2012 at 06:56

Quote: Originally posted by Emmasis

What about this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316t0TM1EUU

That's about as safe a mixture as you're going to have with "noob" level chemistry skills and easy access to ingredients. The large visual signature is a plus, but the scattering of hot thermite reaction products would keep me from trying this on a range with dry grass/brush in the vicinity.

detonator - 8-12-2012 at 22:19

potassium chlorate + phosphorus red + calcium carbonate.

An extremely sensitive mixture.

[Edited on 9-12-2012 by detonator]

Bert - 9-12-2012 at 07:21

Quote: Originally posted by detonator

potassium chlorate + phosphorus red + calcium carbonate.

An extremely sensitive mixture.

Armstrong's mix is not something I'd want to carry down to the backstop at a rifle range, it's far more sensitive than required for the stated use.

Back when they sold throw down crackers of this type, there were plenty of bad explosions when manufacturers tried to ship cases of them... The use of Phosphorous in consumer fireworks is banned in the USA for a good reason.

http://yarchive.net/explosives/armstrongs_mixture.html

EVERY person I know who has tried this mixture (including myself) has had an accidental explosion, only the severity of the damage has varied. Red Arsenic and Chlorate mixes are just about as bad.

tarzan - 27-3-2013 at 17:31

Emmasis, on 14/7/2012 (and afterwards) asked about easily available explosives.

Everyone looks for cheap ammonium nitrate for targets; try Walmart coldpacks at ~2lb/$10.
You can also get ~40 lbs for ~$50 by reacting 155-0-0 calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizer with ammonium sulfate fertilizer in water and filtering off soluble AN from insoluble calcium sulfate ; both fertilizers are readily available unlike ammonium nitrate.As for using calcium hypochlorite - - the armed forces' improvised munitions handbook recommends 3 parts of petroleum naphtha to 27 of calcium hypochlorite in a metal pipe as a low explosive "detonable" by blasting cap. So maybe a high velocity bullet might explode the same mixture under suitable confinement. I know from experimentation that 75% pool hypochlorite mixed with a stoichiometrically correct ratio of sulfur (and possibly non stoichiometric ratios also) will ignite by hammer strike and spontaneously ignite after a delay. I'd like to see target range reports for various hypochlorite mixtures.

Fantasma4500 - 28-3-2013 at 04:32

i think it could possibly be of economical advantage to make KClO4 into NH4ClO4 to then sentisize ammonal with, but there would be some chemistry involved in that ofcourse
you could take calcium nitrate and mix with ammonium carbonate to get ammonium nitrate and calcium carbonate..