Short question / quick answer - Thread

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug

I think it should work, but you're going to have to be very careful. You would need just enough water to increase the concentration as much as you can, but not enough that you start diluting it.

Quote: Originally posted by DubaiAmateurRocketry

ecos just freeze the nitric acid in your freezer, the coldest possible temperature, and it will become much more whiter, if you need it for RDX its good enough. If there is water during your RDX nitration, it will give some very dangerous by products according to what other members said.

Quote: Originally posted by ecos

while trying to make high conc HNO3 using nitrate salts , the result is RFNA , this is because of the NOx mixtures. to convert RFNA to WFNA we need to make vacuum distillation. I was thinking to add few drops of distilled water on RFNA to increase its concentration using this equation : 3 NO2 + H2O → 2 HNO3 + NO i.e, make a reaction between NO2 in RFNA and H20 to get some more HNO3. would that work ? Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acid [Edited on 20-4-2014 by ecos]

Quote: Originally posted by DubaiAmateurRocketry

Quote: Originally posted by PHILOU Zrealone   Quote: Originally posted by DubaiAmateurRocketry   Can this be nitrated? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydroxyacetone And, can someone help me find synthesis of dinitroethane? or trinitroglycerin? Just interested to see the impact sensitivity and other properties of these liquid EM since the ONO2 group give much more impact sensitivity than NO2 group. I have searched on spinger and WOL, but not much related contents are shown. Thanks. Dihydroxyaceton is not nitratable directly it is a strong reductor because in equilibrium with 2,3-dihydroxy-propanal...it has the ability to polymerize into dark polyphenolic stuffs (see its use as artificial suntanner). Just as aceton (propanone) is unstable towards HNO3, so would DHA. It could be nitrated by a derivated way via war gas lacrymator dichloroaceton and reaction with silver nitrate saturated solution... Cl-CH2-CO-CH2-Cl + 2 AgNO3 --> O2N-O-CH2-CO-CH2-O-NO2 + 2 AgCl (s) The molecule might suffer hydrolysis behavior (and unstability-explosive runaway) because of the cetonic group and enol-ceton equilibrium. This effect is seen in nitrosuggars (nitrate esters of suggars). Dinitroethane can be 1,1 (geminal) or 1,2 (viccinal)... synthesis is pretty easy using the conventional synthesis pathways of nitroalcanes. I suppose you want the 1,2-DNE. R-Br or R-I + AgNO2 (or LiNO2/NaNO2/KNO2 in DMF). Trinitroglycerin is a confusing name for nitroglycerin; I suppose you meant 1,2,3-trinitropropane. There is indeed very little info on those nitroalcanes of the family H-(CHNO2)n-H. Edited: Stil they are of much interest because surprisingly at a certain point of n, the linear polynitroalcanes (with one NO2 per carbon unit (cf nitromethane, 1,2-dinitroethane, 1,2,3-trinitropropane) surpasses in density equivalent lenght polymeric H-(CHONO2)n-H (with one ONO2 per carbon unit (cf methyl nitrate, EGDN, NG, ETN, XPN, MHN) by much; and polymeric H-(CHNHNO2)n-H (with one nitramino per carbon unit (cf methylnitramine, EDNA, propantrinitramine)) by a little. So in theory it can lead to the highest density CHNO explosives this not counting with the fact each CH-NO2 unit: -can react with formaldehyde to make (-C(CH2OH)(NO2)-)n which can be nitrated to make perfect OB polymer related to nitro-isobutyl-trinitrate ester and 2,3-dinitro-2,3-dimethylol-1,4-butanediol tetranitrate ester (O2NOCH2-(-C(CH2ON2)(-NO2)-)n-CH2ONO2) -can react with nitrous acid to introduce a nitroso group in the place of the hydrogen increasing by much the density. One should not pernitrosate the compound in a way to get perfect OB and some H bondings...1 nitroso per 3 unit would be optimum. -(CHNO2-CHNO2-CHNO2-)n + HNO2 --> (-C(NO)NO2-CHNO2-CHNO2-)n + H2O Pernitrosated compound would be denser but would be overoxygenated and would require some extra dense fuel to burn. [Edited on 16-4-2014 by PHILOU Zrealone] Thank you PHILOU Zrealone for anwsering my question in this detail. Interesting, a polymer with positive oxygen balance would be extremely interesting. http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=27095&... In this post last reply, I uploaded a file on easily nitrating HTPB. Also for dinitroethane, is the carbon too acidic for use in propellant additives? Also, what do you think about the nitronium cation nitration on HONH2? Will it yeild HON(NO2)2 ?

What chemical reactions could make >N-H become >N-O-H on rings?



Can the N-H on position on 1,4 or 1 on these become N-O-H through some reactions? I have seen HOOH, oxone used however I have never saw any azoles having 2 N-O-H on a single ring yet.


EDIT :

Can fulminate and azide form tetrazole oxide?

[Edited on 24-4-2014 by DubaiAmateurRocketry]

Looking for details of No. 10 cap casing (NHN confinement)

Quote: Originally posted by NeonPulse

I just have a question on the OB of RDX. being ob negative does anyone think that if balancing it out with ETN would be ideal? Perfect OB is desirable but if the velocity will be reduced too much then I probably won't bother. I'm also struggling to find the correct VOD of ETN also. There are so many conflicting accounts of it vary from 6500 to 8100 km/s from many sources. Most of them say the it is in the 7000s. Does anybody really know? I know it depends on density too so lets say its at its max density?

Quote: Originally posted by NeonPulse

I just have a question on the OB of RDX. being ob negative does anyone think that if balancing it out with ETN would be ideal? Perfect OB is desirable but if the velocity will be reduced too much then I probably won't bother. I'm also struggling to find the correct VOD of ETN also. There are so many conflicting accounts of it vary from 6500 to 8100 km/s from many sources. Most of them say the it is in the 7000s. Does anybody really know? I know it depends on density too so lets say its at its max density?

I also noticed the problem to find reliable info on ETN. Maybe the problem comes from the fact it is on the edge between solid and liquid (in the same polynitrate ester family of compounds propantriol trinitrate (nitroglycerine) is liquid at ambiant pressure and temperature(APAT);while xylitol pentanitrate is solid at APAT) ... Butantetrol tetranitrate (ETN) should be solid but is sometimes in overfusion or in solid solution (uncomplete cristalization) maybe due to traces impurities (nitrate-sulfate esters, oxydation products or uncomplete nitration products) but also to stereo-isomers mix ... those effects will lower the melting point.
Also a density of 1,6 can be 1,5-1,7 interval what is pretty vast.

Just to add a bit of confusion the mixing of two compounds may have a lot of impact on the properties of the mix...properties are not always additive nor logical.
You may have:
-fusion of the two while appart they are solids
-contraction (good for density increase) or expension (bad for density)
-positive enthalpy of mixing (cooling-thus storing some more energy) or negative enthalpy of mixing (generates some heat)
-...

In the balance for VOD and brisance: the density variation of the binary mix vs RDX and the energy variation of the binary mix vs RDX and vs ETN.


[Edited on 28-4-2014 by PHILOU Zrealone]

Quote: Originally posted by Bert

The paper is from India. A quick trip to Google shows the numbers given are standard types, incorporated into India's military and commercial products. Various standards and specifications given out for bidding on production are around the internet. Go forth and google... https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S02/is.7632.1975.txt

Quote: Originally posted by Bert

This would be a good place to learn about making Sodium azide from common over the counter products, rather than asking for information not really having much to do with learning chemistry. Airbags are built with the intent NOT to ever come apart. Also most do not contain azide any more, the stuff is similar to cyanide in toxicity and was a liability for auto shops to have around. I personally know an individual who tried to harvest Sodium azide from several 1990's era inflators back about 12 years ago. He succeeded once and failed twice. On the failed attempts, the inflators went off in his face. He lost hair, got 2nd degree burns and some eye damage the second time- The gas generated is very hot, those airbags are lined with fabric woven from stainless steel wire to stand up to the heat. People who have had their bare faces bounced off a working airbag usually are mildly burned from that contact.

Quote: Originally posted by robart

Not meaning to be an idiot but do you know of a topic that discusses that? I'll start looking for one. Thanks for your help. robart

The best way to "not sound like an idiot" is to read the FAQ BEFORE starting to post. Here: http://www.sciencemadness.org/madscifaq.html#2.1_Board_topic...

As far as finding your information?

Start by looking up at the top left corner of the page for this friendly little fellow:



Hint:

You'll find a WHOLE BUNCH of threads mentioning azides. You could read them all, it will take you a while though.

So maybe you should filter those down somehow?

Go to the top center of the page where there's a utility for finding out about members.



Shuffle that around, look for some people who have been here a while- like since 2002 to 2005? Then look at those names who also have high post counts... Then look at some of their the profiles, where it says which forum they are most active in. Find the one(s) that mostly posts in energetic materials. THEN search on "azide" and some of these old timer energetic materials guy's names...

That avoids you having to look at the many threads about 2 to 3 post long that start by a new guy saying: "How do I make/obtain Sodium azide? And end with a couple of people answering USE THE FUCKING SEARCH ENGINE! And then a moderator closes the thread.

Good luck, looking forward to hearing how you do with this.

Quote: Originally posted by Dany

The experimental properties of ETN has been studied experimental recently by Robert Matyáš et al. and published in Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics journal ( for unkown reasons i can't access the article online) however we have the abstract: "ABSTRACT: The physical and explosive properties of erythritol tetranitrate (ETN) are described herein. Although the chemical structure of ETN is simple and its preparation is undemanding, this explosive is only briefly described in the literature. Nowadays, it is widely prepared by amateur chemists and by criminals as well. Therefore, it is necessary to describe its physical and explosive properties for pre-explosion and post-explosion forensic analyses. However, as a nitric acid ester, it can also be potentially useful for some industrial applications. ETN was prepared in 83 % yield by the reaction of nitric acid/sulfuric acid with erythritol. The molecular structure of ETN was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure of the ETN molecule is composed of a central carbohydrate chain and two pairs of facing coplanar ONO2 groups. The crystal density of ETN is 1.827 g/cm3. It is a non-hygroscopic compound, which is slightly soluble in water (the solubility in water was determined in a temperature range from 5 °C to 80 °C; the solubility at 20 °C is similar to that of PETN). The sensitivity of melt cast ETN to friction significantly differs from powdered ETN. Melt cast ETN is more sensitive to friction than PETN, whereas powdered ETN is less sensitive than RDX. The sensitivity of powdered ETN to impact is slightly lower than for melt cast ETN that is on the level of PETN. The detonation velocity of melt cast ETN is 7940 m/s at a density of 1.69 g cm3, which is slightly below the PETN level..." Another paper by Oxley et al. found that ETN has a density of 1.72 g/cm3. The calculated VoD using CHEETAH 6.0 thermochemical code yield a VoD of 8.2 km/s. the density was measured using gas pycnometer. The question if a zero OB of RDX and ETN mixture has a better performance? it depend on the final density, heat of formation and detonation products composition. Calculate the density of the mixture (use the crystal density of both explosive as a first try) and the heat of formation. Detonation velocity and pressure can be obtained using the Kamlet-Jacobs empirical method for fast and reliable calculations. Dany. [Edited on 28-4-2014 by Dany]

Quote: Originally posted by Lerdan

Is it safe to make cast Ammonium Nitrate/ Aluminium powder ? I'm hesitating to make it, because of safety concerns. If I melt the AN and take the pot from the heating source and mix it with the Al powder at around 80° C (Randomly chosen, I have no idea what the lowest temperature is to still be able to mix it) is there a risk of ignition or detonation ? Of course, I mean , if I don't throw a burning match or cigarette in it.

Quote: Originally posted by Napolean Dynamite

this tube leads through the gas dehydrating chamber, a cylindrical plastic thing roughly 2 inches diameter full of powdered ammonium nitrate, the gas slowly passes through the AN and then through the rubber tube on the other side

Hello I have tryed to search using google for azides (sodium/lead azide etc...) compatibility with stainless steel but with no luck.
So i came here to ask this question to someone who might have read a bit more literature than me

Quote: Originally posted by TheAlchemistPirate

Has anyone here built an air bubbler with a drying system? I am planning to purify my nitric acid by removing the NOx contamination by bubbling dry air through it with urea being added, and I cant figure out how to dry the air being pushed through the system without spending a fortune. I am planning on connecting a fish tank bubbler to a Teflon tube(with holes poked into it) with silicone tubing, and have seen that the air needs to be dry so it wont contaminate/dilute with water the nitric acid or anything else I need to agitate. I have seen where people say to cycle the air through a container with an air dehydrating chemical, but wouldn't this just push the chemical through the system and contaminate whatever I am agitating? I have done many searches on google and cant find an answer to any of these questions, I am planning on using this bubbler in the future for agitating nitroglycerin and other syntheses that might be dangerous to mix by hand.

This link drying column show you how it is usually made.
The flow of gas passes into a washing/dehydrating bottle (down to the bottom where it bubbles up...the upper part of the recipient has an exhaust that goes sometimes into a second washing/dehydrating bottle or a guard bottle (in the case some liquid is splashed from the first bottle into the exhaust).
It works with liquid concentrated H2SO4, but also with solid dehydratants like Ba(ClO4)2 (dryerite), CaO (chalk - Edited thanks to Bert : quick lime), CaCl2 (usual humidity absorbant for home), ...

[Edited on 2-5-2014 by PHILOU Zrealone]

guanidine nitrate from guanidine.X

Quote: Originally posted by Bert

Quote: Originally posted by Lerdan   Is it safe to make cast Ammonium Nitrate/ Aluminium powder ? I'm hesitating to make it, because of safety concerns. If I melt the AN and take the pot from the heating source and mix it with the Al powder at around 80° C (Randomly chosen, I have no idea what the lowest temperature is to still be able to mix it) is there a risk of ignition or detonation ? Of course, I mean , if I don't throw a burning match or cigarette in it. Why exactly do you WANT to mix powdered Aluminum into molten ammonium nitrate? If you have a reference for a use requiring this, please provide it? If both the Aluminum and the oxidizer are pure, and temperatures are below decomposition temperature of the nitrate, it won't go off in your face. Experimental ammonium nitrate/Aluminum compositions But even a low level of contamination with a number of other chemicals can change that. Chlorine, chlorides, Sulfer, Zinc or Chromium compounds, urea and probably several other things I don't know of make for lowered decomposition temperature, increased reactivity of the Aluminum by destroying the Aluminum's oxide coating or BOTH. That could be exciting. How pure are your chemicals?

Quote: Originally posted by Lerdan

I want to make a charge to det. I extract my AN from fertilizer. The bag says it has 27% nitrogen in it : 13.5 % ammonia nitrogen 13.5 % nitrate nitrogen I think these 2 are delivered by the AN ? Also ; recently I tried to det a mixture of - 12.5 % H202 (50% concentration) - 15 % Al powder - rest AN My 7 gr minibooster of ETN/AN/Al did not manage to det it. Should I use a bigger booster or does somebody have a better idea for my ratios ? Keep in mind, this mixture was already liquid-like, so it should not be more liquid (the AL would sink) Also : when I added the H2O2 to the AN/AL, it bubbled, and the mixture was a bit warm for hours) : is the reaction safe ?

sounds like AN...

why are you wasting that many AL?
A composition of 90 (AN) - 8 (C) - 2 (AL) works fine with some strong Det-Cap (at 0.8-0.9g/cm3 bulk density)

50% H2O2 is strong but around above 70% its becomes an explosive by itself...maybe you made the AN "wet" with it and more difficult to detonate....and again, why wasting that good H2O2 ?

even with H2O2 you will not get a even moderate strong explosive (ok, if it was pure H2O2, then yes^^)...and by the way...the higher the density of you compound is the less easy tro ignite it is...

just take the well know compositions like ANFO, ANNM or Ammonal and you will have much fun without wasting chems...a booster (20-50g) is (especially at ANFO, a strong booster!) always good

Worst strategies in making new EM?

Quote: Originally posted by Napolean Dynamite

Also could a 1kg ammonal detonation (90:10) be heard from 5 miles away on flat ground no trees?

Quote: Originally posted by DubaiAmateurRocketry

Since azoles especially tetrazoles have been considered green and energetic, many authors has made derivatives of it and published their results, of course I appreciate their effort, however some strategies are really not helping. I have seen many authors adding a methyl group into tetrazole's derivatives, ending up with a list of compounds having VoD around 6000 to 8000 along with long synthesis procedures. Since TATB, RDX and TNT already have similar performance and low sensitivity, these compounds are not really needed. I personally think adding methyl group is actually the worst idea in terms of performance. Methyl group contribute least density compared to others such as NH2, NHNH2, NO2, NHNO2, C(NO2)3, etc. You see some tetrazole compound's density drop from a high 1.8 to a 1.5 after adding a methyl group. furthermore, It is also very oxygen negative and hydrogen bonds from methyl group are almost negligible, which barely help with the sensitivity. These oxygen-deprived compound will produce toxic gases like CO, and HCN upon deflagration, and still categorized under ''green EM'' which is little ironic. [Edited on 6-5-2014 by DubaiAmateurRocketry]

True that methyl group is not the best with regards to density increase. But to be greener and less toxic; they should go for ethyl dérivatives (bio-ethanol)

Note that:
-Sometimes it is good to have other different molecules for pure accademic study and populate a database of related molecules.
-Methyl group may enhance stability of a molecule that would be to unstable for practical use without it.
See nitramine (H2NH-NO2), methylnitramine and dimethylnitramine.
See hydrazoic acid HN3 and methyl azide.
-In the case of highly positive OB, a methyl group will allow to bring some extra fuel and hydrogen (what is important for propellant properties).

[Edited on 8-5-2014 by PHILOU Zrealone]

"Safe" is not something anyone else but you can determine.

However, Google on:

etn synthesis potassium nitrate

And the exact thing you're interested in showed up, about 4th relevant thread listed on a site you're a member of...

Someone posted that Google worked better than the forum search recently?

Quote: Originally posted by Manifest

Quote: Originally posted by bfesser   <strong>Mesa</strong>, <strong>Variscite </strong>, <strong>Oscilllator</strong>: Don't forget that the forum has a <img src="./images/xpblue/top_search.gif" /> <a href="search.php">Search</a> function. The forum search function is well, crap. It doesn't find much and when you search google you tend to find what you're looking for. use "experiment you're looking for here site:sciencemadness.org"

Quote: Originally posted by TheAlchemistPirate

I just tried making pure erythritol crystals with Truvia sugar substitute, but it isn't crystallizing. I used this method. http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=26679 The only differences between this procedure and mine were: 1.More water used (shouldn't have mattered) 2.When the Truvia was dissolved into the water,and all throughout the process, it remained clear. I now have a clear solution sitting in my refrigerator, and its been 3 hours. I put a Teflon stir bar in it in hopes of starting the crystallization. I will probably leave it in there until I know what's wrong. [Edited on 9-5-2014 by TheAlchemistPirate]

Quote: Originally posted by TheAlchemistPirate

I got it to crystallize, as markx said I used way too much water. I am going to be making etn tonight, if my crystals would freaking dry out in time lol. I wonder if acetone would help... Anyways, I'm still not sure about how to set it off. I saw it regarded as a primary on one thread, a secondary on another, and as in-between somewhere else. I might put a propane torch to a tiny amount later, just to test it.

Quote: Originally posted by Manifest

What synthesis do you guys follow for ETN? Yes, I have U.T.F.S.E and followed the thread titled 'ETN lab synth report' twice with failure. The problem is I am using potassium nitrate, and the mixture clumps up when left to nitrate.

Burning dissolved explosives

Quote: Originally posted by Nitrator

Would a solution simply burn if you dissolved ETN, AP, etc in an organic solent such as ethanol or acetone. I'd like to dispose of some materials in a clandestine manner, and was looking for the safest/quietest method. There would be a high ratio of solvent to solute, I don't want some sort of blasting gelatin. Would this consistently burn calmly, or would it have a tendency to explode?

Quote: Originally posted by Nitrator

Would a solution simply burn if you dissolved ETN, AP, etc in an organic solent such as ethanol or acetone. I'd like to dispose of some materials in a clandestine manner, and was looking for the safest/quietest method. There would be a high ratio of solvent to solute, I don't want some sort of blasting gelatin. Would this consistently burn calmly, or would it have a tendency to explode?

Quote: Originally posted by Nitrator

Would a solution simply burn if you dissolved ETN, AP, etc in an organic solent such as ethanol or acetone. I'd like to dispose of some materials in a clandestine manner, and was looking for the safest/quietest method. There would be a high ratio of solvent to solute, I don't want some sort of blasting gelatin. Would this consistently burn calmly, or would it have a tendency to explode?

Quote: Originally posted by markx

Quote: Originally posted by Manifest   What synthesis do you guys follow for ETN? Yes, I have U.T.F.S.E and followed the thread titled 'ETN lab synth report' twice with failure. The problem is I am using potassium nitrate, and the mixture clumps up when left to nitrate. What constitutes as "failure"? No product at all or just a low yield? I assume you attempted the synthesis at a rather low temperature <10C? To use the salt+sulfuric nitrating mixture one needs a sturdy mixing aid to keep things agitated during synthesis. Also using excess sulfuric (10-20% depending on the gravity of the clumping problem) will alleviate the problem to some extent. As will keeping the temperature of the nitrating mix around +20C. If you cool the mix in the fridge, it will clump up before even having the chance to add any erythritol to it. As far as my experience, the erythritol nitrations seem not to be very prone to thermal runaways, but in some case there may be contaminants that provoke it, so do not count on it not happening. Use a small batch to test the higher temp! Proceed with caution and have a quenching bath ready. One can also dissolve the erythritol in a separate batch of extra sulfuric acid and add that in small portions to the nitrating mix to aid in uniform distribution of the reagents. The erythritol dissolving process is slow and yields a viscous liquid...it will cling to the walls of the dissolving vessel, so expect some losses due to that. In all probability the typical expected yield will be around 50% with this route.

Quote: Originally posted by NeonPulse

Most information for PETN re-crystallizing suggest that acetone is the best choice of solvent for this particular HE. i cant find anyone who has chosen to use Methyl ethyl ketone as a substitute for the acetone, so my question is can MEK be used in place of acetone without any issues? i would think that it would be OK. if anybody knows reasons why MEK can't be used then i would like to know. i did try ethyl acetate recently but the results were tiny low density needles. I was just going to try MEK as an alternative and see what sort of crystals form. i would be starting very small scale if no other information is available about it.

Refer to the according section of Urbanski for information on PETN solubility in different solvents vs temperature. MEK is not discussed there, but aside from the question of PETN's solubility in it I see no problem with using it as a recristallisation medium.

I also want to find out more on the casting of explosives.
If you are going to cast ETN use nothing but a hot water bath and a plastic container for the ETN. 15g or less can be casted this way safely I suppose if the ETN is neutral and recrystalized. I suspect that large amounts of molten ETN (50g or more) would be more prone to spontaneous detonation, I don't know why this is however


An example of a use for cast explosive is pentolite boosters used for ANFO in blasting industry.

I tried making a cast of TNT (15g) by melting it under water that was heated by hotplate. It turned out OK. I did not try making a cast by melting the material dry though .

Pic:





I would comfortably heat a beaker full of TNT heated by water bath until all material is molten and pour this into a mold



Process for preparing pentolite:

http://www.google.com/patents/US2395341

[Edited on 14-5-2014 by Turner]

Quote: Originally posted by NexusDNA

I have a question! It's actually reagent acquisition but it fits energetics too. I've been trying to find erythritol here in Brazil, with no luck. Are there any south american members that can help me with this?

I've only found baking blend Truvia which contains too little erythritol to be a reliable source.

The major problem is shipping edible things from other countries... they have a nasty tendency of not making it to my place (I've tried to import tea twice).

Quote: Originally posted by Turner

I also want to find out more on the casting of explosives. If you are going to cast ETN use nothing but a hot water bath and a plastic container for the ETN. 15g or less can be casted this way safely I suppose if the ETN is neutral and recrystalized. I suspect that large amounts of molten ETN (50g or more) would be more prone to spontaneous detonation, I don't know why this is

Quote: Originally posted by Turner

I also want to find out more on the casting of explosives. If you are going to cast ETN use nothing but a hot water bath and a plastic container for the ETN. 15g or less can be casted this way safely I suppose if the ETN is neutral and recrystalized. I suspect that large amounts of molten ETN (50g or more) would be more prone to spontaneous detonation, I don't know why this is however An example of a use for cast explosive is pentolite boosters used for ANFO in blasting industry. I tried making a cast of TNT (15g) by melting it under water that was heated by hotplate. It turned out OK. I did not try making a cast by melting the material dry though . I would comfortably heat a beaker full of TNT heated by water bath until all material is molten and pour this into a mold Process for preparing pentolite: http://www.google.com/patents/US2395341

Quote: Originally posted by gdflp

Just starting to experiment with EM, and decided to try potassium chlorate. I put as small quantity in a test tube(1-2g) and held the test tube using a clamp and heat resistant gloves. I heated the chlorate with a propane torch until it melted, then put a small amount of sugar into the tube. It started as I expected, then when it just started to get going, the bottom of the PYREX test tube fell out with molten liquid dripping out of it(it looked like glass). Is it normal for borosilicate glass to break like this, or were the test tubes low quality?

Yes gdflp that is normal, KClO3 + Sugar mix will create a lot of heat.

A brilliant method for setting off ETN is to get a thick cardboard tube from the inside of Aluminium foil rolls and to block off the bottom and pour a little bit of wax to block it off.

After the wax hardens I added KNO3/Sugar mixture in a 60:40 ratio and wrapped a few grams of ETN tightly in Aluminium foil and pressed on it to remove air, the aluminium with ETN is then inserted into the corner in the cardboard on top of the KNO3/sugar
A fuse is inserted into the KNO3/sugar



Cardboard tube

Wax melted to hold contents

Arial view of the tube

This method worked for me 6/6 times that I have tried this, the ETN needs to be tightly packed.

Detonation of wet HE