ssdd
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Pyrotechnic Mixtures
OK so I decided to put this in Miscellaneous because I was not sure if it belonged in Energetic Materials, if someone thinks it should be moved please
do so....
So I recently ordered a fair amount of materials that I felt could be used for pyrotechnics. I am hoping to make some small (Less than a gram)
pyrotechnic mixes, but I was wondering given the materials list below, what would you try?
*All materials were ordered from unitednuclear... assuming the FBI doesn't kill me for ordering all this I should have it in a week or so.
Ammonium Dichromate, 2 oz.
Ammonium Nitrate, 2oz.
Ammonium Perchlorate, 2 oz.
Boric Acid, 2 oz.
Cab-O-Sil, 1 container
Charcoal - Granulated, 2oz.
Copper Nitrate, 2 oz.
Hexamine, 2oz.
Magnesium Metal, 2 oz.
PVC, 2oz.
Red Gum, 2oz.
Sulfur, 2 oz.
Thermite, 2 oz.
Thermite Ignition Mixture, 1 oz.
Zinc Dust, 2oz.
Sodium Benzoate, 2 oz.
Copper Acetate, 2oz.
-ssdd
All that glitters may not be gold, but at least it contains free electrons.
-- John Desmond Baernal
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Xenoid
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There are many pyrotechnics pages on the web!
For starters, you could try Wouter's pyrotechnic site!
http://www.wfvisser.dds.nl/indexEN.html
or Alan Yates site; scroll down until you get to pyrotechnics!
http://www.vk2zay.net/article.php/3
Edit: Actually you appear to be missing the most important "ingredients" potassium nitrate and potassium perchlorate - I think you need a few more
oxidisers!
Regards, Xenoid
[Edited on 4-12-2007 by Xenoid]
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bereal511
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United Nuclear? I imagine you paid quite a hefty sum of money for those chemicals.
Agreed, where are potassium nitrate and potassium perchlorate? Those are a must! Seeing that you don't have either of those, there's not much to try
 . But I would have tried a whistle mix with that sodium benzoate.
http://apcforum.net/forums/
Great site for pyrotechnics.
As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I became a
scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.
-- Matt Cartmill
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ssdd
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Yea I know those are fairly key for a lot of things. Sadly UN stopped selling those some time ago. I'll see if I can get my hands on them in the mean
time... perhaps skylighter will have them.
If not I planned to try substituting ammonium nitrate or chlorate for them. Anyone know how well this works?
-ssdd
All that glitters may not be gold, but at least it contains free electrons.
-- John Desmond Baernal
http://deepnorth.info/ |
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DeAdFX
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Potassium chlorate will work as a subsituted for those listed perchlorates unless you plan on making rocket propellants. THen in that case ammonium
Nitrate will be much better. Ammonium nitrate is fairly shitty for colored pyro comps.
Ammonium Perchlorate and Potassiunm Perchlorate are the ones oyu will want to buy....
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Mumbles
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I appreciate the kind words about my forum. It's always nice to hear my years of work there were not for nothing.
Skylighter will indeed have potassium nitrate, perchlorate, and chlorate. I'm not sure on the prices, but they are likely far less than one might get
them for from UN. UN makes Harry at Skylighter look hes trying to give chemicals away. Should you become more involved and serious about
pyrotechnics, I'd suggest joining a local club. They will be able to help you get chemicals at a more reasonable price. I believe there is at least
one or two in New York actually.
Anyway, I hate to admit it, but most pyrotechnic compositions will not be very impressive in gram or sub-gram quantities. The only ones that can make
a true impact, tend to be those which are not recomended for those beginning, such as flash powders. Of course the quantities you have do not lend
themselves to larger batches. Below however is a list of possible projects, and chemicals required. I cannot promise sub-gram, but they should all
be possible with less than 3g. I'd be more than happy to provide any further details. I don't make it around here as often as I would like, but I am
on the other forum posted quite often if a question is urgent. Many of the descriptions may not be adequate to describe the manufacture or all
factors involved. It is quite impossible to cover all the devices and every factor involved in a single post without staying up for some considerable
amount of time.
Strobe pots - The general prefered composition involves a barium nitrate based strobe with magnalium (an alloy of magnesium and aluminum), and sulfur.
There is another set of compositions involving ammonium perchlorate, magnesium(or magnalium), and sulfates. The latter must be bound with
nitrocellulose lacquer.
Thermite - It seems you have pre-mixed thermite, so that is pretty straight forward. Other metal oxides can be mixed with the Mg or Zn you have in
order to create your own mixtures. There are other threads related to this type of thing on the forum here.
Bottle rockets - Using 1/4" tubes (may need to be hand rolled), small rockets should be possible using potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur, and
grinding said materials with a mortar and pestle. The grinding really is neccesary. There are other methods of incorporating the materials, but are
not economical on the gram scale. If possible, for the best preformance, it is advisable to make your own charcoal from special woods. For the scale
you're working on, a soup can sized batch would last some time.
Fountains - Using 3/8" or 1/2" tubes, small fountains may be possible. The composition is similar to black powder, but not as involved in it's
preparation. The addition of additional charcoal, or metal powders is often done for a larger spark spray.
Whistle pots - These will be possible if you go ahead and aquire some potassium perchlorate. These can be a bit hard to get going just right for
some. Uses potassium perchlorate and sodium benzoate.
Salutes - They go boom, not my favorite effect. Can be a rather dangerous if not treated with respect. It's quite hard to recomend to someone
starting out with a sound concience. Uses flake Aluminum, or magnesium powder along with an oxidiser, generally potassium perchlorate.
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