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Author: Subject: The WORST BOOKS Ever Written
The WiZard is In
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[*] posted on 6-4-2010 at 09:38


Quote: Originally posted by quicksilver  
If you are lucky enough to ever find it:

NOTES on MILITARY EXPLOSIVES, Written by Erasmus Weaver (1909!) One of the 1st books published by Wiley (& Sons, Inc.) 382 pp Extremely well made, was text book from Military Collage in Southern US.

Obtained was a 4th edition from 1918. dates of past editions were '09, '12', '17. All are beatifully bound in the old style of book binders fom the past.

---------'
I have an original copy of the 4th edition.

If you want to invest in some toner you can DL a PDF copy from
Google.com/books and print it out.

I believe Marshall's opus is there too. And a wholebunch of others. The site looks more like my book shelves every day!

Spent years looking for a copy (that I could afford) George M. Mowbray's, 1874 classic. Tri-nitro-glycerin: as applied in the Hoosac tunnel, and to submarine ... Gave up and DKL'd it from Google.com/books.
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The WiZard is In
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[*] posted on 20-4-2010 at 13:24
The Green Flame


Andrew Dequasie
ACS 1991

If "worse" ='s I don't recommend it - then this
is one.

A chemical engineers remembrances of a US Gov.
1953-1960 project to make boron based rocket
and jet engine fuels.

A project that proved even a thousand-million US
dollars could not get to work — what science said
would not.

Years ago - I remember reading in some European Space
Agency magazine why using boron based rocket fuels
could not work. I who save most everything ... didn't file
it.

I find it not on the ESA's web site.
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[*] posted on 25-10-2011 at 10:52


On the criticism of the NAClO + "Silver Oxide" method to make AgClO4, please note (I have done this), the use of NaClO on a soluble Silver salt does produce AgClO3 and a AgCl precipitate (albeit, the Silver Chlorate has a rather temporary existence, see Mellor).

My point is what would happen if the "Silver Oxide" is AgO and not Ag2O? (Please pardon the AgO misnomer as it is actually Ag2O·Ag2O3 also written as AgIAgIIIO2).

My opinion, not too likely, but given the poor source material as cited in this thread, perhaps with AgO, AgClO4 could actually be produced. My speculation notes that while silver oxide Ag2O is a mild oxidizing agent, AgO is much stronger, oxidizing NH4OH, for example, violently to nitrides and nitrates. Also, while Ag2O is not soluble in water, it is more soluble in strongly alkaline solutions forming AgOH and Ag(OH)2− complexes.

So unless we want to be as guilty the author in question, someone should check it out or, at least, reserve judgement less we be judged.


[Edited on 25-10-2011 by AJKOER]
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quicksilver
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[*] posted on 25-10-2011 at 11:16


Quote: Originally posted by AJKOER  
On the criticism of the NAClO + "Silver Oxide" method to make AgClO4, please note (I have done this), the use of NaClO on a soluble Silver salt does produce AgClO3 and a AgCl precipitate (albeit, the Silver Chlorate has a rather temporary existence).

My point is what would happen if the "Silver Oxide" is AgO and not Ag2O (pardon the AgO misnomer as it is actually a compound salt)?

My opinion, not too likely, but given the poor source material as cited in this thread, perhaps with AgO, AgClO4 could actually be produced. So unless we want to be as guilty the author in question, someone should check it out or, at least, reserve judgement.





Which book did this come from? I went back into the thread but could not find which synthesis you were quoting from.




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[*] posted on 25-10-2011 at 11:36


Hi:

See the second response on page 1 from Chloric1.

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AndersHoveland
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[*] posted on 25-10-2011 at 17:15


Quote: Originally posted by chloric1  
preparation of silver perchlorate as from silver oxide and sodium hypochlorite!


The reaction of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) solutions with silver oxide only liberates oxygen and produces AgCl.

When chlorine reacts with silver oxide diffused in water, a mixture of silver chloride and silver chlorate is formed.

Silver nitrate can react with sodium hypochlorite to form silver chloride and silver I,III oxide, Ag2O2, is formed, both of which are precipitated. An unknown substance, with bleaching properties, is left behind in the solution. This substance is unstable, and quickly decomposes after several minutes, leaving behind silver chlorate in the solution, which does not bleach. If sodium hydroxide is added to the bleaching substance, oxygen gas is evolved.

However, silver hypochlorite may also be formed from the reaction between silver nitrate and sodium hypochlorite, according to the same book.

If a solution of chlorine is added to excess Ag2O, silver hypochlorite can be formed in solution. AgOCl partially decomposes in darkness, or rapidly if heated above 60degC, into AgCl and AgClO3.

A comprehensive treatise on inorganic and theoretical chemistry, Volume 2 By Joseph William Mellor. p271


The bleaching substance is probably a mix of ClO2 and HOCl. Although it is really rather speculative on my part, I think the reaction might look something like:

(6)AgNO3 + (6)NaOCl --> (6)NaNO3 + (4)AgCl + Ag2O2 + (2)ClO2

The formation of oxygen from the addition of NaOH to the bleaching substance probably only occurs in the presence of excess AgNO3 still disolved in solution. If this is not the case, I cannot see any plausible way that any bleaching compound could be produced in the reaction which would react with NaOH to produce oxygen. One would expect that an excess ratio of AgNO3 had been used, since if there was any excess NaOCl not reacted, then the investigators would not have been able to determine that there was a new bleaching substance that had been formed (since NaOCl acts as a bleaching agent itself). It is, for example, known that Ag2O reacts with HOCl to form AgCl and oxygen gas.





[Edited on 26-10-2011 by AndersHoveland]
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thumbup.gif posted on 3-11-2011 at 10:06


can you help me to get this book in PDF file



http://www.amazon.com/Alchemists-Secrets-Explosive-Chemistry-Moffatt/dp/087364963X

Who can help me ?

[Edited on 3-11-2011 by gemyy]

[Edited on 3-11-2011 by gemyy]
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[*] posted on 15-1-2012 at 23:29


As Jack Sparrow said, I cannot resist, mates! (It is not the worst book, of course).

Some bugs in THE PREPARATORY MANUAL OF EXPLOSIVES A LABORATORY MANUAL by Jared B. Ledgard, A.A.S., B.S., M.A.

1.Ammonium picrate. What makes Mr. Ledgard think, that it is a primary explosive? It is less sensitive than even TNT.
2.PETN. Compare Procedure 13-05A: Preparation of PETN and Procedure 13-05B: Preparation of PETN . Procedure A: 100 grams pentaerythritol plus 90 grams 90% nitric acid. It is wrong, of course- too few nitric acid. Procedure B with same list of materials probably correct.
3.Preparation of Tetraniline. Both procedures A and B: Materials: ...3. 2 grams of meta-nitroaniline (can be prepared by careful nitration of aniline with 70% nitric acid). It cannot be obtained in that way. To say nothing about possible oxidation, amino-group is strong orto-para orientant. Meta-nitroaniline can be obtained by partial reduction of meta-dinitrobenzene.
4.Mercury fulminate gunpowder??? I think, it is not good idea to test such powder. Bye-bye my rifle (and eyes too).
5. All of the salts of perchloric acid are highly explosive. Not true- KClO4 is an exotermic compaund and can explode no more than NaCl. (Of course, mixture with reducing agents will make it dangerous, but is is another story).




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[*] posted on 16-1-2012 at 01:40


Quote:
1.Ammonium picrate. What makes Mr. Ledgard think, that it is a primary explosive? It is less sensitive than even TNT.

Fuck! Did he really say that?
I have his stupid tome for years and hadn't even spotted it!
Reading crap is just sooo tedious . . .
When I got to his, er, novel 'prep'. of C4 ─ that's when the fan hit the shit!
But, off course, I'm in no way a fan, obviously, and if I ever did have the dubious 'pleasure' of actually meeting him, I'd fucking hit the cunt!!!
'Coupla' nice pics. though . . .

[edit] I really meant to say, the shit, but 'cunt' was just what came to mind!

P

[Edited on 16-1-2012 by Pulverulescent]
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[*] posted on 16-1-2012 at 09:05


YES. in the 2nd edition he said that and much more. It is fair to note that there is a 3rd edition and that proof editors will often have macros for descriptors but this is no excuse for the amount of errors in the 2nd edition. As I said previously some of the quoted patents simply don't match up and gross errors of the type above have actually made this book a danger to those with limited background or no other means of cross-check.
What is even more serious is that Legard self published a text dealing with chemical weapons which has within it actual WMD's. (blood toxins, etc). Not ALL of his work is flawed to the extent that the synthesis would not function. Making Chem-weps available to the general public is not new but to have the potential of doing so within the scope of previously flawed material opens Pandora's Box to unforeseen accidents or mass-casualty dead through experiments gone awry by those who may be mentally unstable or immature.
Here again the scope of ethical behavior could be in active & serious discussion. Legard's text makes use of terms such as "conveniently prepared from..." Even IF his material were accurate to a fault would it even be appropriate to downwardly scope a textbook to make a WMD "conveniently prepared" ?




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[*] posted on 16-1-2012 at 11:00


Quote:
As I said previously some of the quoted patents simply don't match up and gross errors of the type above have actually made this book a danger to those with limited background or no other means of cross-check.

Yes, misinformation in the HE-field is pretty unforgivable in this day and age! :mad:
If Ledgard's name could be inserted into the title of this thread and it made a 'sticky', it might help some poor, gullible k3wl someday . . . (:))

P
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[*] posted on 16-1-2012 at 14:28


There are some errors in formulaes too- but I saw no way to demonstrate images here. I do not know, if PICRAMATES are primary explosives (but why?), but ammonium picrate is well- known kompaund. If I'm correct, it was used during WWII under code name "D". As for me, I made TNP and its salts (K and NH4) many times, to say nothing about books that I read.



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[*] posted on 16-1-2012 at 14:40


Ammonium picrate was known as "Explosive D" (Dunnite)!
Slightly less powerful than TNT, its insensitivity made it useful as shell-fill because hardened targets often caused TNT fills to detonate on contact!

p
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[*] posted on 17-1-2012 at 00:33


Really? Shells of large calibers, used for big guns of battle ships, often didn't exploded at all. I got nice book abot battle ships of WWII. Britons used shellit, germans sprengstoffe 88. Both of them was basen on TNP, that is more sensitive that TNT.



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[*] posted on 17-1-2012 at 11:32


One of the other issues surrounding "explosive D is that it is very resistant to "set-back". During the propulsion of a shell, tremendous amounts of energy are exerted within any hollow cavity shell or related design. It is critical that the design and component be able to withstand such force.
One of the more interesting aspects of shell construction was the mortar. The pressure was quite low (that's why it may be "dropped" down a rube - becasue there is limited seal). Therefore in the design phase of the early mortar it was internal pressure that began to play a part in the physics of design and energetics. This continues to the present day; as the propellant gases push behind and yet around the projectile. To conceptualize any accuracy an enormous amount of testing must be completed to note the effects of the surrounding gas propellant. The low "tube pressure" became a mixed blessing.




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[*] posted on 17-1-2012 at 13:39


Quote:
One of the more interesting aspects of shell construction was the mortar. The pressure was quite low (that's why it may be "dropped" down a rube - becasue there is limited seal).

I'm reminded of a (ahem!) piece of film-footage 'I saw' on telly in the mid-seventies in which, during some hostilities or other, in an African country ('won't say which) in which a group of 'raw conscripts' clustered around a small (37mm), fairly antique mortar were asked to pose for a news-shot!
It was required that one of the men be photographed in the act of loading the piece ('for impact')!
So anyway, this extremely thin, tall guy gingerly picked up the round and proceeded to insert the shell nose-first into the barrel ─ as he was on the very point of releasing his grip, the equally tall officer-in-charge just barely managed to grab the shell from his hands and prevent the 'drop'!
What freaked me out was that none of the other 'conscripts' batted an eye, but the bevy of civvies there left the immediate vicinity with, let's just say ─ all due haste . . . !!!
In another incident a similarly rusty, old piece, because of poor 'spade placement' on very soft soil, when fired, tried quite hard to follow its 'new companion' on its short flight!
Small stones and twigs showered the scattering participants and the smoking mortar was later found thirty feet away in thick brush!
And looking back now, all I can say is; "boys-oh-boys ─ them was the days"!!! (:D)(:o)(:D)

P

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[*] posted on 17-1-2012 at 15:09


Well, I remembered- I once read something about anti-tank shells. For such shells TNT was a little bit too sensitive. About old rusty iron- one of my friends showed me a photo of a gun, produced in 1910. That gun was used against soviet troops in Aphganistan.



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[*] posted on 19-1-2012 at 01:26


That last post of mine (ooops!) was entirely 'made up' BTW!
Not true at all, at all . . . ;)

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[*] posted on 18-2-2012 at 00:45


Dear Mr Ledgard presented me with something really interesting. Quote: "hydroxylamine is prepared by dissolving metallic sodium into liquid ammonia, and then evaporating the excess liquid to obtain dry solid". Once I dreamt and I clearly saw how mercury fulminate can be obtained from NH4Cr2O7 + NaSCN (and you may guess, what was my mind loaded with!). But it was only a dream...



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[*] posted on 31-3-2012 at 11:37


From the mind of jared ledgard on his homepage:
http://www.uvkchem.com/
Quote:

"NEWS: I have received e-mail's from customers about how dangerous it is to mix pyrotechnic chemicals; now in most cases this not true. Many pyrotechnic chemicals like nitrates, chlorates, perchlorates, iodates, peroxides, and bromates can be blended with various combustible materials like sulfur, charcoal, and powdered metals in blenders using stainless blades, with no ignition or explosion; For example, You can safely blend pure potassium chlorate and pure sulfur (250 grams KClO3 and 98 grams of Sulfur) in a blender under high speed with no ignition or explosion. You can also blend pure powdered potassium perchlorate with powdered aluminum (300 grams KClO4 and 155 grams Aluminum) using a blender on high speed; no ignition or explosion (forms a uniform mixture of aluminum flash powder). "


...
wow
...

[Edited on 31-3-12 by The_Davster]




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[*] posted on 31-3-2012 at 12:07


Psi-Ops ...... ( or is that oops )



Game Over

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[*] posted on 31-3-2012 at 21:09


Quote:

Jared Ledgard:
"You can safely blend pure potassium chlorate and pure sulfur (250 grams KClO3 and 98 grams of Sulfur) in a blender under high speed with no ignition or explosion. You can also blend pure powdered potassium perchlorate with powdered aluminum (300 grams KClO4 and 155 grams Aluminum) using a blender on high speed; no ignition or explosion (forms a uniform mixture of aluminum flash powder)."


I was laughing reading this; these are instructions for a disaster! In a high-speed blender?! Really?

There are many compositions that can be safely mixed together, but these two instances are just NOT one of them. I am not sure the exact probability of explosion trying to mix each of these compositions with such intense agitation, but I am sure the risk, though perhaps small, is nevertheless significant.

Just leaving a mixture of chlorate and sulfur by itself in storage there can be spontaneous ignition and explosion. And there have been many accidents in factories that manufacture flash powder. There are actually blast shields surrounding the automated mixing stage, because from time to time the flash powder will sometimes explode when it is being mixed. And this mixing involves far less agitation than an industrial mixer! Usually gentle sifting of the two powders together is done, in small batches.
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[*] posted on 1-4-2012 at 02:01


Head of an ordinary match contents KClO3 and sulfur. One needn't a blender- when I was young, there was such a fashion- ignite matches by friction of one's trousers. I do not know about KClO4 + Al, but as for me I'd prefer to make another experiments.



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[*] posted on 5-4-2012 at 12:10


Quote: Originally posted by The_Davster  
From the mind of jared ledgard on his homepage:
http://www.uvkchem.com/
...
wow
...


lol

So now it's not only that ammonium chlorate is stable, but that chlorate and sulfur mixtures are safe to grind in a blender.

But really, here is what happens when even much less sensitive black powder ingredients (potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal) are blended together in a blender - the blender becomes a grenade!:

YouTube - ‪Aftermath, 30 grams of black powder in a Blender, indoors‬: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHLIkyA5Nz0
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[*] posted on 20-12-2012 at 23:45


and now , for something really pathetic and kewl to the max

http://www.youtube.com/embed/RcIMuoUcc1s

<iframe sandbox width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RcIMuoUcc1s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

.
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