BusterKeaton6520
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What college courses should be prerequisite for energetics?
For someone who is interested in learning the field of energetics as a hobby, what college courses should I study to be able to have a good enough
foundation to start trying out recipes and tutorials?
I've seen on most colleges' undergraduate Chemistry major curriculums that they usually require:
* 2 semesters of General Chemistry
* 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry
* 1 semester of Inorganic Chemistry
* Varying semesters of physical lab classes to accompany the theory classes
Would I need all of that to have a good chemistry foundation? Is Organic Chemistry needed for energetics? Would I be able to be sufficient with just
General Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry?
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esquizete_electrolysis
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Honestly, college courses do not prepare you very well for working with energetics. It is good to have a solid chemistry background if you want to
start working with them, but your typical university lab will not touch them with a 10 ft pole, and therefore you will not gain the necessary
experience through them.
You will of course need to have the general theory to begin working with them, but energetics pulls from all parts of chemistry, so just doing one in
specific isn’t very helpful. Do take gen chem at the minimum however.
The most important skill you can learn before working with them is safety and risk management. You need to be able to identify possible risks and the
outcome if things go wrong. Attending a few industrial or research safety seminars can be extremely helpful to get you into the right mindset for such
a thing. If you want to learn independently, study CSB disaster reports, as they can help build a strong foundation for identifying risk.
Don’t jump in head first, these things are fun, but if you can’t really enjoy them if you lose your ability to carry them out.
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Sulaiman
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Quote: Originally posted by BusterKeaton6520  | | For someone who is interested in learning the field of energetics as a hobby, what college courses should I study to be able to have a good enough
foundation to start trying out recipes and tutorials? |
. first aid
. general medicine
. trauma surgery
. firefighting
CAUTION : Hobby Chemist, not Professional or even Amateur
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bnull
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It depends on what you mean by energetics as a hobby. If you mean preparing energetics and testing and playing with them, then what
@esquizete_electrolysis wrote fits the bill. But if you mean preparing novel energetics and investigating how to improve and find alternate
ways to make the old stuff, then you'd benefit from a solid theoretical foundation, i.e., general, inorganic, and organic chemistry courses plus a lot
of reading (technical and academic material, not cookbooks and recipes) plus careful experimentation.
In either case I recommend that you buy a copy of Bretherick's Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards (it doesn't need to be the latest edition, a used
copy from the 2000s will do). Not only buy it but read the entries about the substances you want to prepare and the reagents involved.
By the way, always go small scale at first. Going large scale with something you never did before only invites chaos, and scale up is not without its
issues.
[Edited on 30-10-2025 by bnull]
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chempyre235
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I've seen an invitation to an open workshop for classes on dealing with high explosives, posted in this thread. That one has passed already, but surely there will be more.
I agree with the others' advice: have the theory down, research the types of energetics you plan to work with, read up on hazards, and work small.
Also, I'd add that it would be more than wise to notify those in your household about your hobby before pursuing it, and if possible, local law
enforcement.
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." -Winston Churchill
"I weep at the sight of flaming acetic anhydride." -@Madscientist
"...the elements shall melt with fervent heat..." -2 Peter 3:10
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