Explosives!

Probably all unsafe but...

EDIT: I don't believe I found this thread. It's been years.
EDIT 2 Ooh, forgot to post a linky. Linkage

Really, it's not safe, not will be safe, can't be safe, and it's better idea not to do that if you are not a chemicist. (and if you would be, you wouldn't ask there)

I once blew up a bottle of hairspray, that made a huge bang and sparks that flew 30 feet into the air. Good times, that.

*writes down hairspray*

Oh, and thanks for the link, Tooko. I was wondering where that thread was.

Quote:

Original post by Boris Karloff *writes down hairspray*

Has to be in the bottle though, and you have to get it hot enough.

Actually, take the plastic cap off to begin with, because it'll eventually fly off on it's own. Have something barricading the sides of the fire, since that baby (metal bottle) is going to flatten out and fly off into something.

My friend and I made napalm not too long ago. It doesn't explode but it burns for a really really long time with thick black smoke. All you have to do is dissolve soap or styrofoam in gasoline. We put in a bar of dial soap (it smelled good when burned). You have to crush up the soap into a fine powder for it to work the best. Then you stir it into the gas until it has the consistency of jelly. This take lots of stirring. On out first test we put an extremely small amount on the end of a stick and it burned for 2 minutes.

hairspray flame throwers
straight up black powder, just make a long thin line of it
ducttape about 1000 sparlkers together.

Quote:

Original post by Boris Karloff So what can you recommend? What reasonably safe means of ignition are there? Which easy-to-obtain chemicals could one use?

Disclaimer: Don't be stupid. Explosives are dangerous. Firecrackers and fireworks handled by a trained professional are the way to enjoy yourself safely.

I'm not sure how adventurous you feel around a chemistry lab, but elemental potassium makes quite a tremendous explosion on contact with air. A chunk about the size of your fist hurled into water makes a tremendous explosion accompanied by a blazing column of purple fire. Even though the chunk is heavier than water, it typically continues to streak around the surface of whatever lake or pond you chuck it into, trailing jets of purple/orange fire, and it boils whatever water is under it, creating a radius of localized bubbling around the potassium. It makes an interesting "fwzoom!" sound on the initial eruption, and the rest of the time sounds like hissing steam.

Thermite is fairly easy to make; you just need rust and a pure source of aluminum. You can also buy the brand-name Thermit from some hardware or industrial supply stores as a welding agent. Thermite makes an impressive cracking sound that sounds like many smaller firecrackers banging continuously, and burns with a reddish-white blaze that fizzes and generates columns of fire. You need a substantial source of heat to ignite it, like ignited magnesium ribbon.

Warning: A thermite reaction in progress cannot be put out by anything less than a very substantial quantity of water, like a pool or large pond. Simply dumping a bucket of water on it does not put it out but instead causes a steam explosion which will almost certainly injure you. A thermite reaction puts out in excess of 850 kJ per mol, enough energy to ignite and melt plastic, shatter glass and melt it, ignite wood, etc. About the only safe place for a thermite reaction is outdoors on an open concrete field on a calm day, away from any possible flammable materials. Because you can feel the heat from even a small thermite reaction from at least 15 feet away, you will not want to be anywhere near it when it ignites.

If a large number of GDNeters don't return after New Years, we'll know why.

my recipe for a kickass explosion:
-Full can of silver spray paint
-Two foot long piece of 3" PVC
-Big, hot fire

Place the paint can inside the pvc pipe and place the pipe in the fire. The pipe will melt around the can before the can explodes. When the can explodes there will be:
-Loud bang
-Huge flames
-Large mushroom cloud
-Green sparks everywhere
-Thousands of wicked, silver coated chunks of pvc

Well, for thermite you need small particles of rust. I always wanted to make thermite for some reason. So I need a way to get alot of rust particles. Ideas?

Toolmaker

Well, you did title this thread "Explosives" instead of "Fireworks", and there was mention of napalm. And you can't talk about this kind of thing without mentioning the (Warning, not safe, not reconmended, blah blah) Anarchists Cookbook.

Google it and be safe!

Quote:

Original post by Toolmaker Well, for thermite you need small particles of rust. I always wanted to make thermite for some reason. So I need a way to get alot of rust particles. Ideas? Toolmaker

Connect 4 D-cell batteries in series with copper wire. Place the negative and positive terminals of the wire into a bath of salt water. The negative end bubble more than the positive end, so you should be able to tell them apart. Put the negative terminal in the water. Wrap the positive terminal around a large iron nail; drop the nail into the bath so that it's not touching the negative terminal.

Wait 6-8 hours. Generous amounts of rust should form on the water's surface, the bottom of the jar, and the iron nail. Shake the nail free of rust under the water. Repeat as needed until enough rust accumulates. The water level should have dropped noticeably; refill with fresh (not salt) water at regular intervals.

Drain excess water, spread rust on sheet of aluminum foil. Let dry indoors in the sun for a few hours in a warm place. Scrape off foil, crush into powder. Voila -- rust.

Quote:

Original post by Toolmaker Well, for thermite you need small particles of rust. I always wanted to make thermite for some reason. So I need a way to get alot of rust particles. Ideas? Toolmaker

Go into the woods, find an old rusted out car, take some big chunks, and crush them up.

Oh and btw, thermite CANNOT be put out by water. It can burn under water because it has its own source of oxygen (iron oxide) It burns at around 3000 degrees which is sufficient to melt concrete. Biproducts of the reaction are pure elemental iron and aluminum oxide, which is transparent. When creating a thermite reaction it's best to put it in a ceramic pot (like for plants) which is in turn put into another ceramic pot. There is a hole at the bottom of each one for the molten iron to drip through. The pots are usually suspended over a metal pail filled with sand (NOT water this will create a steam explosion as stated above) The first ceramic pot will probably crack from the heat.

woah...this thermite shit sounds awesome

I want to make thermite...

If you need a nice recipe on thermite, take this one:
http://home.intekom.com/scotland/cookbook/010.htm

Problem is, I don't think I'm able to produce enough rust before new year. Also, I don't see why you need to heat up the rust.

I might call around a bit tomorrow and ask around for magnesium ribbons. Getting a pair or batteries isn't hard.

Toolmaker

magnesium ribbons... aka sparklers

Quote:

Original post by slackey magnesium ribbons... aka sparklers

Do sparklers really put off that much heat?