Tdep
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Fulminating Gold (EAu)
Let me introduce you to Explosive Gold. Often called Fulminating Gold, I'm sure you agree that FG is an awful name. So I'm going to refer to it from
now on as either explosive gold (EG makes me think of ethylene glycol, so I'll use EAu) or ammomonical gold(III), or if someone could find a better
name I'd be pleased.
You've probably heard of it, there's the odd note about it on the forum, but no one takes it more seriously than a novelty. I want some healthy
discussion on taking it more seriously, for reasons of which I'll go into now.
Synthesis: Given you have gold metal, the synthesis is as easy as you could dream for an explosive. Dissolve gold in nitric and
hydrochloric (as with most gold chemistry) then add ammonia to the resultant chloroauric acid. You'll get a precipitate instantly, and that's it. Easy
to filter out, zero temperature control, 4 base chemicals needed. I dried the precipitate in an oven at 60 degrees celcius, with no decomposition (I
did take it out once dry however, so the dry powder at 60 may slowly decompose).
Toxicity: it is virtually non toxic! ....maybe. The EAu itself does not irritate or stain skin (take that silver) and is not
posiousous (yeah azide) and while gold is still a heavy metal, it is not a communal posion like lead or mercury. Fascinatingly, when the EAu explodes
the gold produced again is in the form of nanoparticles, colloidal gold, seen by lovely mix of red and purple smoke it releases. Breathing in
nanoparticles probably isn't the best thing for your health, as they might move through cell walls and all, but not breathing smoke from explosions is
already a common sense rule so that's not such an issue.
Explosive properties: The phrase around here is 'unequivocal primary' isn't it? Well EAu is unequivocal. It does not deflagrate at
all, and I've had unconfined pieces barely visible to the naked eye detonate under heat and flame (and breaking through aluminium foil). Honestly, I
haven't played with SA.DS or lead azide but making the DDT transition for any mass unconfined appears to make EAu comparable to them. What makes this
interesting is a very low shock sensitivity (for a primary). Hammer blows could not detonate it on my behalf. The drawback is its
(supposed) high sensitivity to friction. So you have to treat it like a primary explosive still, obviously, but the risk of it detonating via stirring
a suspension ect. is much lower than comparably powerful explosives.
Power: it is intensely powerful and brisant. 50mg easily shattered the side of an al can.
Storage: stable to light! However, not stable with water. A suspension of EAu will decompose to a strange purple black suspension as
well as some elemental gold. The black solid may also be gold, just in a strange colloidal form. I've had plastic cups played in a thin layer of shiny
purple to gold gold metal from the decomposition of EAu, quite a novel experience haha
Dry, EAu stores well, I kept a small sample for 2 weeks in full sun and 8 weeks in darkness, and it performes as before, it looks slightly more purple
than the usual orange, suggesting some slight decomposition so long term storage dry isn't probaby, an option. What is the best way however, is to
just keep the chloroauric acid, and add ammonia to it whenever you need the explosive. Too easy.
So, yes, it's expensive but it shouldn't be prohibitively so! Because lots of people sell native gold, there's not an exponential increase in price as
you go to gram amounts like other chemicals tend to do. I'm asking you experts here to give this compound a shot, buy 1/3 a gram of gold and you'll
have heaps of this exciting unequivocal primary to test. This should be more than just a novelty explosive in my opinion.
Thanks for reading 
[Edited on 20-3-2015 by Tdep]
[Edited on 20-3-2015 by Tdep]
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Bert
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The instability to water along with the raw material cost...
Any idea on sensitivity to static electricity? I have bad memories of both Lead styphnate and Silver azide being handled incautiously during cold dry
weather.
Rapopart’s Rules for critical commentary:
1. Attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly and fairly that your target says: “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it
that way.”
2. List any points of agreement (especially if they are not matters of general or widespread agreement).
3. Mention anything you have learned from your target.
4. Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism.
Anatol Rapoport was a Russian-born American mathematical psychologist (1911-2007).
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Tdep
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The instability to water is more a long term thing, it does survive hours so formation is easy, just can't store it under water, which is a set back
yes. Raw material cost is high yes, but also the fact that onyl the nitric acid would require special shipping permits or raise security issues,
unlike azides or silver nitrate ect.
No idea about static, found nothing in literature about static, but no incidents. Hot dry days here though, definitely an area that would need further
testing.
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deltaH
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What is the formula of this material?
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Tdep
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"Fulminating gold is a fascinating explosive substance of
historic and scientific interest. However, it is a heterogeneous
mixture of polymeric compounds with variable properties.
Thus its constitution cannot be expressed by a simple formula.
Adam’s theory that fulminating gold is the product of partial
hydrolysis of ∞-8[Au2(µ-NH2)(µ3-NH)2]Cl is probably very close to
the truth. In magnetic measurements, fulminating gold
showed to be diamagnetic. Thus the gold atoms are
coordinated by four nitrogen atoms in square planar low-spin
complexes"
From one of the few good references on EAu
What this really means is beyond my knowledge for now, but yes, a mixture of ammonicalgold(III) chlorides is the best bet.
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markx
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Fascinating indeed A single carat initiation system...the gold standard of
primary explosive 
But jokes aside, have you perhaps also encountered any reference on this primary being tested on any of the known secondaries? It would be very
interesting to see some results on the initiation ability of this substance.
Exact science is a figment of imagination.......
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deltaH
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Interesting, thanks. So the detonation products would be Au, N2, HCl and NH3?
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Tdep
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Nope, no testing for initiation properties I found. Looks like a job for....... sciencemad!!
They would seem like the logical detonation products. I never saw any white ammonium chloride 'smoke' but it is very small amounts
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Praxichys
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That reference is excellent. It makes one wonder what happens when one swaps Au for Ag, Hg, Pt, Pb, etc...
Since Au is 77% of Cl(NH2)AuNHAu(NH2)Cl and Au costs $50/g at the moment, this primary is roughly $38.50 per gram.
If one uses 100mg in each initiator, that brings the cost to $3.85 each. Not all that bad if you stop to think about it. Testing can determine if this
is indeed a viable material. Gold is certainly available by gram and half gram quantities on eBay.
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ecos
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It seems Fulminating Gold is a very old topic but I am interested to know more about it.
any idea about its VoD ?
Some interesting references :
http://www.lateralscience.co.uk/gold/
http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_170506.pdf
http://www.standingwellback.com/home/2012/11/3/alchemy-and-h...
it seems there are a lot of hazards around this EM. Unfortunately I won't be able to try it due to cost 
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Hennig Brand
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Expensive but interesting, it seems it was the first high explosive and the first primary explosive discovered. The high cost would normally keep this
explosive from being considered for any practical purposes.
I think you should consider changing the thread title to something with the words fulminating gold in it, which is more conventional and will make it
much, much, easier for most others to find the thread and to immediately understand what the thread is about when they do see it when browsing.
[Edited on 20-3-2015 by Hennig Brand]
"A risk-free world is a very dull world, one from which we are apt to learn little of consequence." -Geerat Vermeij
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Tdep
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Also, let's not ignore the fact that some people just find gold on the ground
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ecos
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it seems you support EAu , can you please provide more details about its
properties (VoD, ....)
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markx
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Money is just a measuring tape....it is very infortunate that in our minds we have cultivated a true belief that it also intrinsically carries the
value that it was meant to measure. Hence it seems very logical for most people to assume that by accumulating measuring tape they increase the amount
of value...a concept that has become increasingly irrational and alien to me 
Exact science is a figment of imagination.......
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Hennig Brand
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Yes, the worship of money is a common thing and undoubtedly very unhealthy in a lot of ways. However, to get some of that fiat money to buy food,
shelter or gold I have to put in real work, take real risk by stealing/selling drugs, or convince a rich uncle to give me some, etc. The tally stick
was very close to your analogy of the measuring tape and it was a very good system for the most part from what I have seen. Probably the biggest
problem currently is that certain groups in control are printing too much "measuring tape", whenever they feel like it, which is causing the
"measuring tape" you have in your pocket to get smaller and smaller all the time. Money is a very perishable item in this system. I think the idea is
that we all keep running as fast as we can, kind of like the donkey chasing the carrot tied to the end of a stick held in front of him by the person
being pulled behind in a cart. It isn't quite that bad, but it isn't too far off either. Regardless of what type of system or ideology normal people
are made to follow, or in what part of the world, more or less the same games seem to end up being played by the powers that be.
[Edited on 21-3-2015 by Hennig Brand]
"A risk-free world is a very dull world, one from which we are apt to learn little of consequence." -Geerat Vermeij
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