megalomania
June 17th, 2003, 08:08 PM
Mr Cool
Frequent Poster
Posts: 991
From: None of your bloody business!
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 06:01 AM
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This is a two part post. A question, and a suggestion.
Q. You know the picramic acid you make in the procedure for making DDNP? Well has anyone ever reacted this with lead monoxide to make lead picramate? I think this might be more useful than lead picrate, due to the lower nitrogen content and probably therefore higher stability (but yes, it would be better just to make DDNP. I'm just interested to know what it does).
Here's an idea: I've read that PETN in a cap can be set off using 1 mg of lead azide. Well, next christmas get some cheap christmas crackers, and take the brown paper strip out of the middle (or just buy these seperately at £15 for 150). Seperate the two bits of brown paper, and you'll see: two rough black patches that provide friction when rubbed; and a small greyish white blob of primary explosive. It behaves like lead azide. I would have thought it would be a low explosive (e.g. amstrongs or similar), but it detonates violently, without flame, even when lit in the open. I think one or two of these in a cap might be able to set off a base charge of PETN.
the freshmaker
Frequent Poster
Posts: 175
From: Heaven
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 07:11 AM
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I think the explosive in those crackers are somekind of fulminating compound- maybe AgONC or Hg(ONC)2.
CodeMason
Frequent Poster
Posts: 383
From: Your Nightmares
Registered: NOV 2000
posted 06-03-2001 07:31 AM
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I think it's silver fulminate, as you mentioned.
Mr Cool
Frequent Poster
Posts: 991
From: None of your bloody business!
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 08:07 AM
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It seems less sensitive than silver fulminate, but I supose it could be desensitised with starch or something. I've got a few somewhere so I'll do some tests.
Mr Cool
Frequent Poster
Posts: 991
From: None of your bloody business!
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 12:20 PM
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I found them. I didn't do any chemical tests, but after much scraping, banging, heating, igniting etc I'm nearly certain that it's not silver fulminate. It seems a lot less sensitive e.g. I smacked it with a bit of wooden dowel fairly hard and it didn't go off, it just stuck to the wood. It detonates after about a second of being stuck in the flame of a match.
I'll test for Ag+ ions, to make sure.
Frequent Poster
Posts: 991
From: None of your bloody business!
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 06:01 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a two part post. A question, and a suggestion.
Q. You know the picramic acid you make in the procedure for making DDNP? Well has anyone ever reacted this with lead monoxide to make lead picramate? I think this might be more useful than lead picrate, due to the lower nitrogen content and probably therefore higher stability (but yes, it would be better just to make DDNP. I'm just interested to know what it does).
Here's an idea: I've read that PETN in a cap can be set off using 1 mg of lead azide. Well, next christmas get some cheap christmas crackers, and take the brown paper strip out of the middle (or just buy these seperately at £15 for 150). Seperate the two bits of brown paper, and you'll see: two rough black patches that provide friction when rubbed; and a small greyish white blob of primary explosive. It behaves like lead azide. I would have thought it would be a low explosive (e.g. amstrongs or similar), but it detonates violently, without flame, even when lit in the open. I think one or two of these in a cap might be able to set off a base charge of PETN.
the freshmaker
Frequent Poster
Posts: 175
From: Heaven
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 07:11 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think the explosive in those crackers are somekind of fulminating compound- maybe AgONC or Hg(ONC)2.
CodeMason
Frequent Poster
Posts: 383
From: Your Nightmares
Registered: NOV 2000
posted 06-03-2001 07:31 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it's silver fulminate, as you mentioned.
Mr Cool
Frequent Poster
Posts: 991
From: None of your bloody business!
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 08:07 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It seems less sensitive than silver fulminate, but I supose it could be desensitised with starch or something. I've got a few somewhere so I'll do some tests.
Mr Cool
Frequent Poster
Posts: 991
From: None of your bloody business!
Registered: DEC 2000
posted 06-03-2001 12:20 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I found them. I didn't do any chemical tests, but after much scraping, banging, heating, igniting etc I'm nearly certain that it's not silver fulminate. It seems a lot less sensitive e.g. I smacked it with a bit of wooden dowel fairly hard and it didn't go off, it just stuck to the wood. It detonates after about a second of being stuck in the flame of a match.
I'll test for Ag+ ions, to make sure.