3.2 LOW-ORDER EXPLOSIVES

 There are many low-order explosives that can be purchased in gun stores and used in explosive devices. However, it is possible that a wise wise store owner would not sell these substances to a suspicious-looking individual. Such an individual would then be forced to resort to making his own low-order explosives.

3.21 BLACK POWDER

 First made by the Chinese for use in fireworks, black powder was first used in weapons and explosives in the 12th century. It is very simple to make, but it is not very powerful or safe. Only about 50% of black powder is converted to hot gasses when it is burned; the other half is mostly very fine burned particles. Black powder has one major problem: it can be ignited by static electricity. This is very bad, and it means that the material must be made with wooden or clay tools. Anyway, a misguided individual could manufacture black powder at home with the following procedure:

MATERIALS

EQUIPMENT

  1. Place a small amount of the potassium or sodium nitrate in the grinding bowl and grind it to a very fine powder. Do this to all of the potassium or sodium nitrate, and store the ground powder in one of the plastic bags.
  2. Do the same thing to the sulfur and charcoal, storing each chemical in a separate plastic bag.
  3. Place all of the finely ground potassium or sodium nitrate in the beaker, and add just enough boiling water to the chemical to get it all wet.
  4. Add the contents of the other plastic bags to the wet potassium or sodium nitrate, and mix them well for several minutes. Do this until there is no more visible sulfur or charcoal, or until the mixture is universally black.
  5. On a warm sunny day, put the beaker outside in the direct sunlight. Sunlight is really the best way to dry black powder, since it is never too hot, but it is hot enough to evaporate the water.
  6. Scrape the black powder out of the beaker, and store it in a safe container. Plastic is really the safest container, followed by paper. Never store black powder in a plastic bag, since plastic bags are prone to generate static electricity.

3.22 NITROCELLULOSE

 Nitrocellulose is usually called "gunpowder" or "guncotton". It is more stable than black powder, and it produces a much greater volume of hot gas. It also burns much faster than black powder when it is in a confined space. Finally, nitrocellulose is fairly easy to make, as outlined by the following procedure:

MATERIALS

EQUIPMENT

  1. Pour 10 cc of concentrated sulfuric acid into the beaker. Add to this 10 cc of concentrated nitric acid.
  2. Immediately add 0.5 gm of cotton, and allow it to soak for exactly 3 minutes.
  3. Remove the nitrocotton, and transfer it to a beaker of distilled water to wash it in.
  4. Allow the material to dry, and then re-wash it.
  5. After the cotton is neutral when tested with litmus paper, it is ready to be dried and stored.

3.23 FUEL-OXODIZER MIXTURES

 There are nearly an infinite number of fuel-oxodizer mixtures that can be produced by a misguided individual in his own home. Some are very effective and dangerous, while others are safer and less effective. A list of working fuel-oxodizer mixtures will be presented, but the exact measurements of each compound are debatable for maximum effectiveness. A rough estimate will be given of the percentages of each fuel and oxodizer: 
 oxodizer, % by weight         fuel, % by weight    speed #     notes
================================================================================
 potassium chlorate 67%          sulfur 33%            5   friction/impact
                                                           sensitive; unstable
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium chlorate 50%          sugar 35%             5   fairly slow burning;
                              charcoal 15%                   unstable
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium chlorate 50%          sulfur 25%            8      extremely
                              magnesium or                    unstable!
                              aluminum dust 25%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium chlorate 67%          magnesium or          8          unstable
                              aluminum dust 33%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 sodium nitrate 65%            magnesium dust 30%      ?        unpredictable
                               sulfur 5%                         burn rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium permanganate 60%     glycerine 40%          4     delay before
                                                             ignition depends
 WARNING: IGNITES SPONTANEOUSLY WITH GLYCERINE!!!            upon grain size
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium permanganate 67%     sulfur 33%             5       unstable
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium permangenate 60%     sulfur 20%             5       unstable
                               magnesium or
                               aluminum dust 20%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium permanganate 50%     sugar 50%              3          ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium nitrate 75%         charcoal 15%            7      this is
                               sulfur 10%                    black powder!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium nitrate 60%         powdered iron           1     burns very hot
                               or magnesium 40%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium chlorate 75%        phosphorus              8  used to make strike-
                              sesquisulfide 25%            anywhere matches
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ammonium perchlorate 70%     aluminum dust 30%        6     solid fuel for
                              and small amount of               space shuttle
                              iron oxide
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium perchlorate 67%     magnesium or           10      flash powder
(sodium perchlorate)          aluminum dust 33%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium perchlorate 60%    magnesium or             8      alternate
(sodium perchlorate)          aluminum dust 20%               flash powder
                              sulfur 20%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 barium nitrate 30%           aluminum dust 30%        9       alternate
 potassium perchlorate 30%                                    flash powder
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 barium peroxide 90%          magnesium dust 5%       10       alternate
                              aluminum dust 5%                flash powder
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium perchlorate 50%     sulfur 25%              8       slightly
                               magnesium or                    unstable
                               aluminum dust 25%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium chlorate 67%        red phosphorus 27%      7     very unstable
 calcium carbonate 3%          sulfur 3%                     impact sensitive
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium permanganate 50%    powdered sugar 25%      7       unstable;
                               aluminum or                     ignites if
                               magnesium dust 25%              it gets wet!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 potassium chlorate 75%        charcoal dust 15%       6        unstable
                               sulfur 10%
================================================================================
NOTE: Mixtures that uses substitutions of sodium perchlorate for potassium perchlorate become moisture-absorbent and less stable.

The higher the speed number, the faster the fuel-oxodizer mixture burns AFTER ignition. Also, as a rule, the finer the powder, the faster the rate of burning.

As one can easily see, there is a wide variety of fuel-oxodizer mixtures that can be made at home. By altering the amounts of fuel and oxodizer(s), different burn rates can be achieved, but this also can change the sensitivity of the mixture.

3.24 PERCHLORATES

As a rule, any oxidizable material that is treated with perchloric acid will become a low order explosive. Metals, however, such as potassium or sodium, become excellent bases for flash-type powders. Some materials that can be perchlorated are cotton, paper, and sawdust. To produce potassium or sodium perchlorate, simply acquire the hydroxide of that metal, e.g. sodium or potassium hydroxide. It is a good idea to test the material to be perchlorated with a very small amount of acid, since some of the materials tend to react explosively when contacted by the acid. Solutions of sodium or potassium hydroxide are ideal.

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